Historic Severn Bridge Junction clock back on track
A 19th century railway clock has been reinstalled after a restoration job lasting four weeks.
The historic Great Western Railway clock which keeps time at the Severn Bridge Junction signal box in Shrewsbury stopped working two years ago.
But over the last month, work has been taking place to get the clock, which dates back to 1852, back in working order.
Network Rail engineers reinstalled the clock yesterday morning after the restoration work was completed by Shrewsbury clock specialist Adrian Donnelly.
Mark Langman, Network Rail's Wales route managing director, said: "The clock was originally built by the Great Western Railway at its famous Swindon works and first used in the Oxford area – though we can't be sure at which signal box. It had been keeping time at Severn Bridge Junction signal box for many years until it stopped ticking two years ago and was put into safe storage.
"We sourced a local expert in Adrian Donnelly, a Shrewsbury-based clock and barometer specialist, who has done a wonderful job restoring the clock to its best.
"Adrian enthused on the quality of the mechanism and has accurately dated its manufacture back to 1852.
"By completing this important restoration, another piece of railway heritage has been preserved for future generations."
The signal box, which opened in 1904, and its internal fitments are Grade II listed and it operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It houses 180 levers controlling track signals and points – of which 90 are still in use.
The clock would have been produced for a large signal box with a minimum of two signallers, one at each end of the frame – the method of operation in use today at Severn Bridge Junction.
The total cost of the clock restoration project was £575.
The historic Severn Bridge Junction signal box is the largest mechanical signal box in the world and sits to the south of the railway station.
Under current plans, the signal box is expected to remain in use until at least 2030.
