Signal post colour

[David Bigcheeseplant]

I'm sure it has been asked before but I can't seem to find the answer. Looking at photos of signal post seem to be painted silver in BR days, was there any rules as until I started to think about it would have thought they were white, was there a time period or region variation in which silver was applied?

[iands]

I'm sure it has been asked before but I can't seem to find the answer. Looking at photos of signal post seem to be painted silver in BR days, was there any rules as until I started to think about it would have thought they were white, was there a time period or region variation in which silver was applied?

Certainly by the time I started my railway career in 1973 colourlight signal posts were painted grey/silver. The colourlight signal posts at York (commissioned just after WW2) were grey/silver, so not sure when (or if) there was ever any early 'mandate' for the grey/silver colour until "standards" became the key documents they are today. However, I seem to recall that the lineside locs had to be painted grey/silver (it was a specific colour code), which just happened to be the same colour the workshop staff painted the signal posts. All that said, I have also seen colourlight signals with white posts even into privatisation. Sorry, but this is probably no help at all in answering your query.

 

Regards, Ian

[Swindon 123]

As already mentioned there was a silver-grey colour that was used, mainly on colour lights, especially on the WR. Semaphores still seemed predominantly white posts although I have seen the odd one or two in grey, as have I seen some colour lights with grey posts The LM still seemed to persevere with white posts on their colour lights, at least in the early days, but most of the recent installations I saw had grey posts.  The only rule seemed to be there was no hard and fast rule. Regions seemed to have their own ideas as to what to paint the post, especially when they got around to repainting them in later years.

 

Paul J.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

I have now found a photo of a bracket signal at Princes Risborough with brown posts!

[Trog]

In the 1980's the signal posts changed from grey to white as you left the Rugby PSB area and went onto the Nuneaton patch. So the colour choice was probably at a lower than regional level. Or knowing British Rail there was a national standard ignored by anyone who did not agree with it, and whose signals could not be seen from the HQ building at Marylebone.

[TheSignalEngineer]

On the LMR white was the normal colour until at least the early 1970s. After that our standard posts usually came pre-finished in grey from St Rollox works. Some also came galvanized but I can't remember the date that started.

 

 

In the 1980's the signal posts changed from grey to white as you left the Rugby PSB area and went onto the Nuneaton patch. So the colour choice was probably at a lower than regional level. Or knowing British Rail there was a national standard ignored by anyone who did not agree with it, and whose signals could not be seen from the HQ building at Marylebone.

Up until 1983 I think it was, the Divisional Boundary was just north of Brinklow. Rugby came under DS&TE Nottingham and Nuneaton was under DS&TE Crewe. 

 

Our S&T Painting Gangs disappeared around the late 1970s and after that they didn't get painted, they just rusted through and fell over.

Edited December 23, 2017 by TheSignalEngineer

[David Bigcheeseplant]

Aylesbury station was repainted in 1950 and came under LMR control from that date and the tubular post signals installed after this time and are in silver.

 

It seems strange thee is no definite answer on this so far, as I would have thought someone could have given the chapter and verse.

 

David

[The Stationmaster]

Aylesbury station was repainted in 1950 and came under LMR control from that date and the tubular post signals installed after this time and are in silver.

 

It seems strange thee is no definite answer on this so far, as I would have thought someone could have given the chapter and verse.

 

David

 

The Western changed over to painting metal posts with aluminium paint around the early 1950s (possibly earlier - I've never been able to find an exact date or suitably reliable photo to date it exactly) and that remained the Region's standard for the remainder of it independent life (white continued to be used on timber posts).  The undercoat/base preservative colour definitely changed on metal posts at some stage and I can recall seeing examples in a sort of greenish-grey colour and, later, in bauxite loaded outwards from Reading works.

 

Presumably your question refers to Aylesbury and the answer there will depend on several things - firstly when Regional boundaries changed (April 1950), secondly which Region was responsible for the signalling equipment, next when signals received a periodic repaint, and finally what colour scheme was being used by the 'owning' or maintaining Region at the time of that repaint (either ER or LMR).  Photos will be of some help plus, depending on date, knowing the date when the LMR scheme for metal posts changed from white to grey (given by Signal Engineer above) plus knowing what various forms of signal were in use because their origin might influence the colour scheme.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

Yes I started to look at the colour for Aylesbury which seem to be silver, but them my thoughts turned to more of a general question. At Aylesbury the LMR took control of the station in 1950 and over a few years replaced the signals as there were lower quadrant GC design, and before that GWR square posts, plus a few Met ones. Such is the joy of a triple joint station.

 

 

Presumably your question refers to Aylesbury and the answer there will depend on several things - firstly when Regional boundaries changed (April 1950), secondly which Region was responsible for the signalling equipment, next when signals received a periodic repaint, and finally what colour scheme was being used by the 'owning' or maintaining Region at the time of that repaint (either ER or LMR).  Photos will be of some help plus, depending on date, knowing the date when the LMR scheme for metal posts changed from white to grey (given by Signal Engineer above) plus knowing what various forms of signal were in use because their origin might influence the colour scheme.