Friends of Romsey Signal Box

Called by Romsey Signal Box today. It’s now a working museum in its own right, and still provides a remarkable flavour of an age of railways gone by.
This Signal Box has been restored to full working order, with all the equipment and workings you would have found in a traditional railway signal box.
Several of the levers have been connected to points and signals outside and on open days visitors get the opportunity to go into the signal box and if you are lucky your might be invited operate the points and signals, and to literally see the place in action as it would have been in its operational days.
The signal box itself dates from around 1865 and stands alongside the main line from the town’s station to Southampton.  It has a short stretch of track as well as the points and signals.
Until 1982 the signal box controlled the railway junction at Romsey for both passenger and freight trains between Southampton and Salisbury and a branch line leading to Eastleigh. 
But resignalling meant that its working days were over and it was initially scheduled for demolition. Then the local Buildings Preservation Trust stepped in and bought it and the workings and had it moved into the grounds of an adjacent infants school, alongside the main track.

Today, the Friends of Romsey Signal Box care for the restored piece of railway history and open it to visitors at least twice a month.