Box Boy to Bobby Jales from the signal box

摘要

When I got the railway bug at the age of 12, courtesy of my cousin Russ, it was the autumn of 1972. I would then regularly cycle to my local station of Branksome to spot trains. Once there I would stand by the concrete section wall so that I was as near to the signal box as possible, enabling me to hear the block bells and the sound of the moving levers that were the early signs that a train would be arriving. This was to be my first awareness of and interest in signalling. The next four years would be spent train spotting until such time as I was able to join British Rail. I began my railway career at 16 years and 3 days. My birthday fell on a Friday, but the system dictated that I had to start on a Monday, when I reported to Mr Jack Mellor, the Station Manager at Bournemouth, a pleasant portly man with striking white hair and a strong Lancashire accent He told me that the plan was for me to have a couple of weeks being shown around the 'patch', shadowing the Junior Railman Messenger. I was then to attend a one-week induction at Eastleigh Training School and after that I was to begin my Box Boy duties in Bournemouth Central box, working alternate early (0600-1400) and late (1400-2200) shifts until my 18th birthday.