Signalman's desk at Wittersham box

Only the second day of the new season on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Back in the box for my first turn of the year. And what a beautiful day it was too, warm and sunny, too hot in the box even with all the windows open.

On the desk you can see the Train Register which records the various times required by the regulations - when you've accepted a train for your section, when it has entered your section, when it departs, when it enters the next section and so on. I find keeping the book one of the more difficult aspects of the job and it takes my mind away from the signalling moves.

Also on the desk is the cloth which is used when pulling the levers - never pull a lever with bare hands, it can cause the steel to tarnish. Underneath the cloth is a yellow sheet of paper, recording a signalling fault. Resting above the desk is today's timetable. And on the wall a whole series of notices and other stuff and of course, the signalbox clock. Hanging from the ceiling is a gas lamp, which does work but is rarely used. Of the two telephones, only one works.

It was an interesting day for the first day back as it was a Thomas the Tank Engine service where the trains pass the station differently to normal. The normal working for a crossing move here is that the down train will come into the platform first and wait while the up train passes on the through line. Today the up trains came into the loop while the down trains passed on the through line. We worked it out in the end and had a thoroughly enjoyable day.