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The Signal Box is open to the public on the first Sunday of every month (excluding January) and the third Saturday of every month (excluding December). For 2025 we have again added extra dates on Thursdays during the school summer holidays. 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 £4.00 per adult or £5.00 if Gift Aided (accompanied children under 16 are free) – cash or card payments are available. Members of the Friends of Romsey Signal Box gain free admission. Note that the site can also be opened on special days for private groups, please get in touch for more information.
Opportunities may also be offered for enthusiasts to attend full operating sessions on a pre-booked basis, or to enjoy two-day courses in the basics of railway signalling. Any such opportunities will be advertised here on the website.
Facilities
At the site, Romsey signal box itself has regular demonstrations of the work of a signalman, and on our normal opening days we invite children and adults to take part.
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).
The Audrey Gebbie Discovery Centre, which opened in 2024, contains interactive exhibits explaining railway signalling and a range of railway artifacts (see our September 2024 Newsletter no. 74 for details – <click here to open>).
There is also a small garden railway which features James the Red Engine pulling Annie and Clarabel and some trucks round a simple circuit.
We have a small café serving hot and cold drinks and cakes/biscuits/light snacks, and a disabled-accessible toilet. There is also a range of merchandise and railway books (both new and secondhand) for sale.
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, although it is rare for there to be a problem accommodating all visitors’ vehicles. 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. Services on both routes are half hourly on Saturdays, hourly on Sundays. There are Bluestar line 5 buses from Eastleigh once every two hours on Saturdays, but no services on Sundays. 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 is kept up-to-date.
| Month | Normal Opening 11am – 4pm | School Holiday Extras 11am – 4pm | Special events 11am – 4pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Saturday 18th | ||
| February | Sunday 2nd; Saturday 15th | ||
| March | Saturday 15th | Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd (i/c/w Romsey model railway exhibition) | |
| April | Sunday 6th; Saturday 19th | ||
| May | Sunday 4th; Saturday 17th | ||
| June | Sunday 1st; Saturday 21st | ||
| July | Sunday 6th; Saturday 19th | Thursdays 24th & 31st | |
| August | Sunday 3rd; Saturday 16th | Thursdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th | |
| September | Sunday 7th | Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd (Heritage Open Days weekend – free admission) | |
| October | Sunday 5th; Saturday 18th | ||
| November | Sunday 2nd; Saturday 15th | ||
| December 2024 | Sunday 7th |
