Severn Bridge Junction
| Severn Bridge Junction signal box | |
|---|---|
The signal box as viewed from Shrewsbury station. Shrewsbury Abbey is in the background.
|
|
| General information | |
| Type | Signal box |
| Location | South of Shrewsbury railway station |
| Town or city | Shrewsbury |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°42′32″N 2°44′45″W / 52.70889°N 2.74583°WCoordinates: 52°42′32″N 2°44′45″W / 52.70889°N 2.74583°W |
| Construction started | 1903 |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Client | Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Height | 38 feet (12 m) |
| Dimensions | |
| Diameter | 95 by 11 feet (29.0 m × 3.4 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Brick and cement; slate roof |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | London and North Western Railway |
| Designations | Grade II listed |
Severn Bridge Junction is the area of railway lines just south of Shrewsbury railway station, in Shropshire, England. It is controlled by a mechanical interlocked signal box of the same name, which is now the largest operational mechanical signal box in the world. The Network Rail signalling area code is 'SBJ.'
The complexity of the railway system in the area is brought about by the convergence of five major lines at Shrewsbury, built in the Victoria era by two competing and yet also co-operating railway companies, the Great Western Railway and the London and North Western Railway. They were competing to connect the coal and raw material supplies of South Wales with the industrialised Midlands and Northwest; and secondly to transport passengers to and from London to the port of Liverpool. After the GWR amalgamated with the Cambrian Railways in 1921, it was also a major point of accessing GWR services into Mid and West Wales:
Lines formerly converging in the area also include the regionally important Severn Valley Railway (GWR), and the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line (LNWR).
The railway junction lies directly south of the railway station. It was constructed jointly by the GWR/LNWR after the completion of improvements to their jointly owned Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway, which at this location junctioned with the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line. To allow freight trains to move to/from South Wales direct to the Midlands and hence avoid the passenger railway station, the junction was constructed in a tight triangular form south of the River Severn.
...
Wikipedia