Stevens & Sons Tappet frame

Newport East

Please note that this is not a Westinghouse lever frame signal box, it is included as it is of historical and geographic interest.

The Newport EastSiemenssignalling installation was the result of a desire to reduce to a greater degree the amount of lever pulling the signalman had to do by the use of route lever working throughout the lever frame. This happened at the beginning of the 1920's. The ideal aimed at was to just pull one lever to set up the entire route necessary. The route lever would set all the points, and all that remained was to pull the signal lever.

The interior of Newport East showing the Siemens Frame which was designed by R.J Insell and L.M Ferrera and utilised the Insell - Ferrera Route working principle. Details were worked out in a joint collaboration between Mr R.J Insell and Mr L.M Ferrera the later being the assistant signal engineer to the Great Western Railway. The first system to be installed was on a small scale at Winchester Cheese Hill on the Didcot to Newbury and Southhampton line.Once the system was thoroughly proved the system was then installed on the then very busy Newport {Monmouth} on the South Wales main line of the Great Western Railway. This form of route working using the miniature levers was destined to be one of a kind and unique in British practice, but it proved to be reliable and though heavily worked, it gave excellent service and lasted nearly forty years

Diagrams
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Adjacent boxes
Information to follow.