Meet the Yorkshire railway historian dedicated to preserving the memories of traditional signal boxes

“I wanted to make sure that there was a record made of the signalling that had been in place in the Leeds area over the years,” says Pulleyn who is now in his seventies and lives in Otley.

"The history of railway signalling might seem a rather obscure topic, yet it has great relevance to today’s railway when traditional mechanical signal boxes are being replaced rapidly by a small number of Rail Operating Centres – indeed, the signalling at Leeds (and for much of West Yorkshire) is now controlled from a ROC at York.”

The changes in the railways have come about pretty rapidly, he says.

"Up until the 1960s there was very little change, but from that period onwards things started to change.

"The old lever systems you recognise from traditional signal boxes were replaced with panels of buttons – especially in Leeds which controlled the signals right out to Skipton. Then from around the year 2000 it moved to a computerised central system system in York which controls signals as far away as Kings Cross.

"There used to be a signal box every mile or two. The signalman’s responsibility was to make sure that the trains were kept apart and allowed to run safely on the tracks from one place to another.

"They used the levers to operate the points and signals which required a lot of physical effort.

"They’d check each train as it went passed, to make sure it was passing safely and there were no problems with the trains, like doors being left open – hard to believe today when everything is automated. They even waved to the train drivers. There were no mobile phones or walkies talkies in those days, in fact they communicated via a telegraph – which operated similar to Morse code. It was a very skilled job and required a good level of intellect.”

Centralisation has meant that many of the signal boxes, which were a feature along our railways, have vanished,

“There were about 40 signal boxes around Leeds but now there are none. They have all been demolished.” As well as being a hugely responsible job, the signalman was also an important part of the local community.

"They were a particular type of person. Those based in more remote areas could go hours without seeing anyone. Others were very much part of the social scene. I remember one signalman at Kirkham Abbey who had a little sideline going selling newspapers like the Yorkshire Post to local people – it was all part of the community.”

As part of his research Pulleyn spoke to former Leeds signalmen Keith Long and Keith Brining – now in his 90s.

“We worked together 50 years ago when I worked as a temporary Train Recorder in various signal boxes around the York District. We kept in touch over the years and his memories were integral in the book. I am believer in primary research – going back to the original source rather than just reading what others have written.”

Pulleyn became fascinated with railways, and signal boxes in particular, as a young boy.

"When I was a youngster we lived in York and I was at the station one day with my grandfather and a train was due to come into the goods yard and the stationmaster told me to go into the signal box to keep safe and out of the way. I just remember seeing all these big levers, instruments and flashing lights and being fascinated with what what was happening – I was hooked.”

By the time he was teenager Pulleyn got a summer job on the railways

"When I told them I wanted to be a signalman they told me to go and speak to the signalman at Skelton and see what he had to say. I already knew a lot about the job and the safety aspects.” It turned out that the signalman concerned was called Reg Pulleyn and obviously the pair hit it of off.

"He said we must be related and showed me what the job was really about.

"He rang the manager and said that he should take me on.”

When he went to university on a bursary from British Rail he again spent his summers working as a signalman at Shipley before leaving the railway to pursue a career in industrial relations and employment law.

“By then there were very few opportunities for a career on the railways and so I decided to pursue a different path.” But he never lost his love for the railways.

He is Deputy Director of Film Archive of Railway Signalling and People” (FARSAP) on behalf of the Friends of the National Railway Museum and also help to demonstrate “heritage” signalling to the public at the NRM.

As well as detail record of the signals and signal boxes around Leeds Richard Pulleyn’s book includes fascinating archive photographs, many of the from The Yorkshire Post.

“I spent a lot of time travelling and researching for this book,” says Pulleyn. "I can’t thank the Yorkshire Post enough for helping me with this project. Network Rail was also really helpful and given me permission to access things that aren’t normally available to the public.

"I really wanted to make a record of something that is quickly dying out. There was a kind of romanticism about the way the railways were run even though it was a vital job on which lives depended, it is something that we have pretty much lost today.”

www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/signalling-demonstration