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The Signal Box is normally open to the public during the afternoons of the first Sunday of every month, excluding January, and the third Saturday of every month, excluding December. For 2024 we have again added extra dates on Thursdays during the school summer holidays. We will also introduce full timetable demonstrations on some dates, which will be publicised through this website. Scroll to the bottom of this page for opening dates.
The Box is open between 11am and 4pm (with last entry at 3.45pm), and the admission charge is £2.50 per adult (accompanied children under 16 are free) – cash or card payments are available. Members of the Friends of Romsey Signal Box, and special pass-holders, gain free admission. Note that the site can also be opened on special days for private groups, please get in touch for more information.
Facilities
At the site, there is the signal box and two pavilions containing various exhibits relating to railway signalling equipment, with a third pavilion forming a discovery centre about railway signalling, which will have it’s formal opening in 2024. We have a small café serving hot and cold drinks and cakes/biscuits, and a disabled-accessible toilet.
The main signal box has regular demonstrations of the work of a signalman, and on our normal opening days we invite children and adults to take part (we’ll do that on our timetable demonstration days when we can, but it can get quite busy at times when following a realistic timetable of train movements).
Elsewhere on the site there is a miniature lever frame with full size instruments which is based on the signal box at Cowley Bridge Junction, just outside Exeter. On Open Days this can often be seen being operated by a trained signalman (subject to available volunteers).
Coming by car/bike/on foot
If you have a SatNav or phone app, the post code for the housing in Brick Lane is SO51 8LG; the site is adjacent to house no. 28. We have very limited car parking adjacent to the site. Visitors with disabilities or very limited mobility may wish to reserve parking in advance by phone (01794 500523/07743 942576) or email. Alternative car parks and the route from them to the site are shown on the map in our publicity leaflet – see below.
Public transport
The signal box is only a 5-minute walk from Romsey railway station: exit the station, and after just a few yards walking down Station Approach take the steps down to the left, then follow the footpath forwards between the fence and the railway embankment, and cross the footbridge over the canal (see the map on our information leaflet below).
The bus stop nearest to the site is on Winchester Road (“Abbey Lodge”) and is served by Bluestar line 4 from Southampton and Stagecoach route 66 from Winchester. Bluestar route 4 services are half hourly on Saturdays, hourly on Sundays; Stagecoach 66 is hourly both days (as at November 2023). There are Bluestar line 5 buses from Eastleigh once every couple of hours on Saturdays only. Alternatively Romsey’s main bus station is a 10-15 minute walk away. Walking routes from the stops are shown on the map in our publicity leaflet – see below.
More information
This publicity leaflet gives more information about the site, including what you can see. It also shows directions to the box from various car parks, bus and train stations around Romsey. Click the image to open it as an Acrobat (pdf) document.
Planned Open Days
NOTE: If you search for our open days on Google it is entirely possible that you will see incorrect opening times. Google’s system assumes that opening times repeat each week and cannot cope with our irregular opening days. The information on this page should be accurate.
| Month | Normal Opening 11am – 4pm | School Holiday Extras 11am – 4pm | Full timetable demonstrations 11am – 4pm More dates will be confirmed during the 2024 operating season. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Saturday 20th | ||
| February | Sunday 4th; Saturday 17th | ||
| March | Saturday 16th | Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd (i/c/w Romsey model railway exhibition) | |
| April | Sunday 7th; Saturday 20th | ||
| May | Sunday 5th; Saturday 18th | ||
| June | Sunday 2nd; Saturday 15th | ||
| July | Sunday 7th; Saturday 20th | Thursday 25th | |
| August | Sunday 4th; Saturday 17th | Thursdays 1st, 15th & 29th | UPDATE: Thursdays 8th & 22nd |
| September | Sunday 1st; Saturday 21st | Saturday 14th (Heritage Open Days weekend – free admission) | |
| October | Sunday 6th; Saturday 19th | The previously advertised open day on Thursday 24th has had to be cancelled | |
| November | Sunday 3rd; Saturday 16th | ||
| December 2024 | Sunday 1st |
