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Ledbury Signal Box is a typical Great Western Railway traditional level frame signal box which remains in daily use at Ledbury Station, Herefordshire, England on the railway line from Worcester to Hereford. == History == The railway line from Worcester to Hereford opened in several stages, with the section from Malvern to Shelwick Junction, just north of Hereford, opening on 15 September 1861.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.miac.org.uk/herefordline.htm )〕 The current signal box however dates from 1885 just before the branch line from Ledbury to Newent and Gloucester opened (27 July 1885). It is thought that this current signal box replaced two earlier 1861 built signal boxes, located at each end of the station, but there is currently no written or physical evidence to support this theory. A recent suggestion has been that one of these signalboxes may have been located on the proposed trackbed of the Newent branch and thus had to be replaced. The current 1885 signal box was built by MacKenzie & Holland of Worcester, as their 'type 3' box design under contract to the Great Western Railway. It has a striking feature in that it is unusually tall, providing good visibility over the goods yard to the east and rear (south) of the box. A balcony was also provided on the east side to allow the signalman to communicate with drivers and other personal working in the goods yard. Ledbury signalbox was designed to be operated by one person and has always provided all the essential modern hotel services such as an office area, heating and cooking. When the box was built in 1885 this was before the general use of electricity, and at a time when toilet facilities were considered unsanitary and placed outside of dwellings and offices. Ledbury signalbox was built with an open fireplace and chimney, oil lamp lighting, and a separate outside toilet. The fireplace, now blocked off remains as does the chimney and two cast iron oil lamp ventilation ceiling roses, a "modern" toilet has been added in a square wooden extension on the balcony (see second photograph above). Note that a further signal box was located just outside Ledbury station on the Newent branch. Ledbury Branch Signal Box opened 27 July 1885, closed 1925. In March 2013 the signal box was repainted externally. It is expected that this was its last repaint before the estimated closure date of between 2017 (+/- 3 years). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ledbury Signal Box」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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