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Waldbröl now has an entry signal again

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The Boxberg in Waldbröl has an entry signal again. Photo: Uwe WintersohlMotorists will be surprised at the Boxberg in Waldbröl about what is sticking up there from the cutting: Since 26th. November 2011 there is an entry signal standing again in its original location. It still requires some renovation before it shines again in its old splendour, but once again it reminds of the railway line running "down there" in the cutting.
For the time being the signal will be fixed in the "Stop" position. An additional plate carrying the script letter " M" will be the indication for the locomotive driver that he is allowed to pass upon verbal instruction from the dispatcher/conductor ("M" is the abbreviation of the German word "Mündlich (= verbal)").

A Look Back In Time

Let us take a look into the past with the help of some photographs:

Until the ending of public transport in September 1965 it was not just Waldbröl that was equipped with home signal. Photos of these signals are rare. Here we have the home signal at Hermesdorf (coming from Denklingen) - hiding itself in the lower right corner of this beautiful photo from 1957 with Hermesdorf in the background. Photo: Cekade, Collection Ulrich CleesUntil the ending of public transport in September 1965 it was not just Waldbröl that was equipped with home signal. Photos of these signals are rare. Here we have the home signal at Hermesdorf (coming from Denklingen) - hiding itself in the lower right corner of this beautiful photo from 1957 with Hermesdorf in the background. Photo: Cekade, Collection Ulrich Clees

A close-up of the signal. Photo: Cekade, Collection Ulrich CleesA close-up of the signal. Photo: Cekade, Collection Ulrich Clees

Waldbröl's home signal "A" (there were no starter signals) originally was operated from the signalbox "Wot". From here the signal wire went alongside the drainage ditch to below the signal’s position, from there up the cutting to the signal, down to the ditch again and on the distant signal. Right below the signal there once was a small corrugated shed with a ‘phone for contacting the signalman. The photo shows signal tower "Wot" in the foreground, right behind it is the youth hostel with cattle sheds for the Waldbröl Cattle Market in the ground floor. The two freight wagons on the left are standing at the still extant and recently reconstructed ramp of the former cattle truck decontamination facility. After signal tower "Wot" was destroyed in WW II, there was a corrugated iron shed that served as a ground frame for the home signal. Also the keys for the points were locked in there, as the points at the dead end of the station had not been reconnected to the signalbox, but converted to manual operation. They were lifted at the end of 1999 to clear the space for a Raiffeisenmarkt (cooperative market).Waldbröl's home signal "A" (there were no starter signals) originally was operated from the signalbox "Wot". From here the signal wire went alongside the drainage ditch to below the signal’s position, from there up the cutting to the signal, down to the ditch again and on the distant signal. Right below the signal there once was a small corrugated shed with a ‘phone for contacting the signalman. The photo shows signal tower "Wot" in the foreground, right behind it is the youth hostel with cattle sheds for the Waldbröl Cattle Market in the ground floor. The two freight wagons on the left are standing at the still extant and recently reconstructed ramp of the former cattle truck decontamination facility. After signal tower "Wot" was destroyed in WW II, there was a corrugated iron shed that served as a ground frame for the home signal. Also the keys for the points were locked in there, as the points at the dead end of the station had not been reconnected to the signalbox, but converted to manual operation. They were lifted at the end of 1999 to clear the space for a Raiffeisenmarkt (cooperative market).

Here we are in the signalbox for the traffic controller, that was attached to the station building in 1936. Following the shutdown of public transport in 1965 the signalling equipment was removed. In the nineties the rooms were converted to a flat and were used as such until we re-arranged them as a railway office again. Raimund Wehner, who throughout nearly all his career worked at Waldbröl Station from his apprenticeship in the thirties until his retirement in the seventies, explains the photo: Signalman Erich Meyer actually worked in the manned signalbox up in the station and later became driver of a railcar. The signalling equipment was made by Scheidt & Bachmann: In front of the windows are the point levers, up front are the two paper reels of the telegraph - on the left side the one for the district telegraph for messages to all and on the right side the train telegraph for announcing trains from and to Hermesdorf. The big box on the left is the station block signalling system. But even the attached instructions do not help: since the destruction of signal tower "Wot" in WW II the station block signalling system was non-functional. The communication with the signalman at the replacement signal shed, who was responsible for the entry signal, was entirely telephone-based. You are now asking yourself how the trains on the local railway from Bielstein to Waldbröl could enter the station? It didn't have an home signal, but an adjustable stop sign (Sh2/Ve1). The local railway announced their trains by telegraph when they left Nümbrecht. Photo: Diehl, Wiehltalbahn collectionHere we are in the signalbox for the traffic controller, that was attached to the station building in 1936. Following the shutdown of public transport in 1965 the signalling equipment was removed. In the nineties the rooms were converted to a flat and were used as such until we re-arranged them as a railway office again. Raimund Wehner, who throughout nearly all his career worked at Waldbröl Station from his apprenticeship in the thirties until his retirement in the seventies, explains the photo: Signalman Erich Meyer actually worked in the manned signalbox up in the station and later became driver of a railcar. The signalling equipment was made by Scheidt & Bachmann: In front of the windows are the point levers, up front are the two paper reels of the telegraph - on the left side the one for the district telegraph for messages to all and on the right side the train telegraph for announcing trains from and to Hermesdorf. The big box on the left is the station block signalling system. But even the attached instructions do not help: since the destruction of signal tower "Wot" in WW II the station block signalling system was non-functional. The communication with the signalman at the replacement signal shed, who was responsible for the entry signal, was entirely telephone-based. You are now asking yourself how the trains on the local railway from Bielstein to Waldbröl could enter the station? It didn't have an home signal, but an adjustable stop sign (Sh2/Ve1). The local railway announced their trains by telegraph when they left Nümbrecht. Photo: Diehl, Wiehltalbahn collection

And today? On operating days Waldbröl siganlbox is manned again with a signalman. Here we see our local operations manager, Wolf-Peter Rosenthal, at work on 18th April, 2010. Photo: Ulrich CleesAnd today? On operating days Waldbröl siganlbox is manned again with a signalman. Here we see our local operations manager, Wolf-Peter Rosenthal, at work on 18th April, 2010. Photo: Ulrich Clees

And the signalling equipment? It has been updated. Train announcements are no longer stored on paper reels, but on an electronic storage medium via a special mobile telephone number. The points are still manually operated, but the train conductor key is locked again in a block signalling system - like in former times. Photo (October 2010): Ulrich CleesAnd the signalling equipment? It has been updated. Train announcements are no longer stored on paper reels, but on an electronic storage medium via a special mobile telephone number. The points are still manually operated, but the train conductor key is locked again in a block signalling system - like in former times. Photo (October 2010): Ulrich Clees