Westinghouse miniature power lever frame - Bolton Abbey signal box.

The signal box at Bolton Abbey is the former Midland Railway signal box from Guiseley which was moved to the railway when the station at Bolton Abbey was rebuilt. This is located on the Embassy & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.

Bolton Abbey signal box now has a refurbished Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co. Ltd. Style 'B' Power Lever Frame which originated from London Transport Liverpool Street (Central Line) signal box where it is believed to be the last manually operated frame in a deep level tunnel. The frame at Liverpool Street was installed second-hand in 1939 and is actually style 'B' albeit a rebuilt one sometimes referred to as a B/K. The lever frame st Bolton Abbey is installed but not yet commissioned to work the signal box controlled area at the station, and the installation will also "recognise its LT origin".

Bolton Abbey signal box taken in 2005, houses a Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd miniature power lever frame.

The exterior of Bolton Abbey signal box, it's a Midland style signal box, from Guiseley station obtained when it became redundant. It is currently fitted out for display, although the ex-London Underground power frame will control the station when the instalation is complete. Picture by kind permission of Tim Warner, © Tim Warner

Bolton Abbey signalbox interior in 2007 with its Westinghouse Style B Lever frame

Inside the ex-Guiseley signalbox and hte lever frame has been assembled in roughly the configuration it will retain for operations, although there may be further changes as the scheme progresses. Picture by kind permission of © Pete Burke.

Bolton Abbey signal box interior with its Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd style 'B' miniature power lever frame photograph 1

A close up view of the 'B' Style frame from above as it was first placed in the 'box. The levers are very small as they do not need any force to operate - the signals and points are operated electro-pneumatically. 10 Levers of the Bethnal Green lever frame were used in this frame as somebody unfortunately stole 10 of Liverpool Street's lever frame before it was recovered. Picture by kind permission of William Lister, © William Lister

The frame is a Westinghouse Style 'B' Power Frame which is mechanically locked between the levers, with additional electrical locking provided for track circuit and signal function type locking. The frame was formed of 2 x 12 way sections which makes a total of {2x12}-1 = 23 levers, as the last “lever” space is unavailable.

Bolton Abbey signal box interior with its Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd style 'B' miniature power lever frame photograph 2

The frame in the 'box looking more towards the station buildings (just visible through the window). The compactness of this is clear! Picture by kind permission of William Lister.

Bolton Abbey signal box interior with its Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd style 'B' miniature power lever frame photograph 3

Bolton Abbey signal box interior with its Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd style 'B' miniature power lever frame photograph 4

Bolton Abbey signal box interior with its Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co. Ltd style 'B' miniature power lever frame photograph 5

This time the whole unit is seen from the door of the 'box. Picture by kind permission of William Lister, © William Lister

Additional information 2006.
Although the 'box is not ready to be commissioned for quite some time, the installation of the frame means that the Waiting Room on platform 2 at Embassy can be brought back into use (this was where it had been stored since acquisition). It may be possible to look around the 'box when it has been completed until it is brought back into use. Picture by kind permission of William Lister, © William Lister

The frame is from Liverpool Street (Central Line) box where I believe it was the last manually operated frame in a deep level tunnel. The frame was installed second-hand in 1939 and is actually style B albeit a rebuilt one sometimes referred to as a B/K. The give away is that the contact shaft is about half the length of the K style equivalent.The contacts themselves are the type fitted to N and V frames. It is also worth bearing in mind that K style frames were not widely used on the Underground, in fact I believe only at Baker Street and Edgeware Road, these being installed by the Metropolitan Railway who used the "all electric" system as opposed to electro pneumatic system.

We also have the frame from Bethnal Green, of identical style to Liverpool Street, but unfortunately I have had to use its levers at Bolton Abbey as some kind person stole 10 of Liverpool Streets' before we were able to recover it. I have managed to get hold of some more "bare"levers (from Manchester Victoria West I believe) but not the mounting brackets or quadrant pieces (Do you know of any?). We also have the frame from Holborn (Central Line) which is a style 'N' of 11 levers.

Peter Burke
S&T Engineer E&BASR.

Adjacent boxes
Stoneacre