Duke of Norfolk to cut turf at Barham signal box's new home

The Duke of Norfolk will tomorrow (Friday, October 9) cut the first turf on the site which will become the new home of the Barnham railway station signal box.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Oct 2009, 13:01 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 17:44 BST

The ceremony will take place on the recreation ground off Olivers Meadow in Westergate at 3pm.

A new base will then be constructed on the site ready for the moving of the signal box from the station platform in late December.

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The Duke is a keen supporter of the project and it could be said railways are in his blood.

Several of his ancestors played a role in the railway system, including granting permission for stations to be built on their land only if all trains stopped there.

That resulted in Ford '“ then known as Arundel '“ station in 1846 and the present Arundel station in 1863.

They also gained permission, by Act of Parliament in 1851, for an ultimately-abandoned plan for a horse-drawn railway from Havant to Langstone, and in 1896 cut the first turf for the Sheffield District Railway main line.

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Other railway achievements and activities by previous Dukes include being very influential in the design of Temple station in London, and in 1958 naming a steam locomotive The Territorial Army 1908 to 1958 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Territorial Army.

Guests at the ceremony will include Southern Railway managing director Chris Burchell, Barnham station manager Kevin Nye, West Sussex county councillor Derek Whittington, council divisional manager Tony Collins, Jerry Martin of Network Rail and project manager Dave Baker of BCMRail.

Also, there will be representatives of the Save Barnham Signal Box Campaign, including Paul Hopkins and John Wakeman of the Bognor Regis Model Railway Club, which will use the signal box as its new headquarters.

Aldingbourne Parish Council chairman Cllr John Penfold, Aldingbourne Community Centre trustee Mike Burton, and Andy Ayling will be there too.

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Project co-ordinator Roger England and Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert are not available to attend but have sent messages of support.

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Related topics:Barnham