For many years, mechanical signalling has been a mystery to all but those intimately involved in the subject. Over the past 30 years however, a number of excellent books have laid the subject bare, certainly with regard to the aspects of history and basic operation.
Now very much in its twilight days, the doyen of all mechanical systems first developed by the GWR only remains in existence at a few select locations. Worcester remains the largest area that is still mechanically worked, though it is a sad shadow of its former glory.
Under British Railways and more recently Network Rail, ‘The Worcester Patch’, as it has become known, has been both contracted and extended. The equipment at each location has been reduced, whilst the area referred to has expanded considerably. It now has what is unquestionably the widest variety of surviving mechanical signalling operation in the country.
Within this exciting new book, Matthew Morgan, a former Worcester Patch signalman, describes in detail his experiences of the last few years of operations. The lively text is supplemented by a superb collection of unpublished photographs and a variety of signal diagrams. The Great Western, and likewise its successor, the Western Region, may have been defunct for years but the spirit of the old railway lives on, both in the men and the entertaining anecdotes now recounted. Perfect for readers interested in signalling, the area referred to, or the recent past, this is a volume certain to both delight and entertain.
