When will I ever learn? Again I have been conned by the S and T department to assist them. They have recently installed a 50-pair cable, as part of the new Alresford signalling scheme, running towards Ropley. “Could you terminate it for us?” I now know why. Who in their right mind stands in the back of beyond in winter and connects cables when you could stay at home and sit in front of the fire or, there again, find someone else to do it? The cable ends in a cabinet at the site of the new Alresford Down Distant: this is so far from Alresford that it must be nearly at Ropley, I cannot confirm this as the last of the terminating took place at this location one foggy December afternoon with only a few hundred yards visibility, so one cannot be certain as to one’s exact position, but I feel certain it was very close to the end of Ropley platform.
The Alresford end is terminated in a cabinet, which has yet to be thatched, behind the signal box. Two other intermediate location cabinets also needed connecting for two new signals, an Outer Home and an Up Advanced starting signal, I think they called them. Why do they give them such strange names? A total of 600 wires needed to be terminated to complete the task.

Poulton on the plate

It seems that at times one should not be too sociable. Whilst at Ropley I did perchance to speak and pass the time of day with a member of the S and T department and hence get another job. This person that day had his loco crew hat on and is often seen performing what must he an essential footplate task; considering the amount of times he can be seen performing this duty, he must be an expert, that is leaning looking over the side of the cab whenever the engine enters the station. He articulated, “I say, my good fellow, we have need of two signal post telephones at Alton connected to the signal box which is located therewith”. “That is no problem,” I told him. “Also,” he continued, “when the Alton box is closed, the calls are to be extended to Medstead box which is 4 miles removed, to be achieved with the minimal endeavour for the user.” “That is more of a problem as we do not have sufficient cable pairs to achieve your criteria; however, I have no doubt that we will be able to accommodate your requirements.”
A system has been built based on the Butts junction treadle equipment as this has proved to be reliable in service. A small relay set per signal dials a pre-determined number when activated; it is arranged that when the Alton box is closed the relay set will dial a different number to call the Medstead box. A similar set is used should there be a need to call from the boxes back to the signal posts. The circuitry employs our wonderful electronic senders; again thank you, John, for revealing the existence of these items, how about coming and doing some bank cleaning? To prove the operation of the equipment, a temporary phone has been installed at Alton, which pretends it is a signal post phone. During the testing it is arranged only to call Medstead box, where a suitable old-fashioned phone has been installed, provided courtesy of Acme Antique Phones.

Medstead exchange

Medstead exchange has now been in service for over six months and is performing well. It has been found from bitter experience that no matter how much testing is undertaken before an item is placed in service, it is only when it is in regular use for some time that the problems start to appear. This has been the case here. Several have been of a minor nature. Another was very intermittent and caused more problems; this gave a caller busy tone when the called line was, in fact, free. When located, this fault was found to be due to a wire on a selector that had been badly soldered (a dry joint) when the item of equipment was manufactured. Sometimes it made contact, other times it did not. As it was made circa 1976 I feel certain by now the guarantee has expired.
For Members’ Day last November the exchange was opened for guided tours and we had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. It is unfortunate that none of the directors or those other people who only appear on special occasions were able to visit the exchange and see what had been achieved over the past nine months.
Another disappointment is the response to our exciting competition in the last issue; not one reply. It can only be assumed that this is due to the savage editorial pen omitting the questions. Next whether you want it or not, how busy has the system been in 1995? During the year nearly 31,000 telephone calls were made between stations. Again, how boring, the busiest section was between Alresford and Ropley stations. However, one item I discovered that I thought was ol interest was that Alton station made the most calls to other stations, nearly 10,000 during the year, although around 3,000 were due to the Butts junction treadle.

Now for some good news, somebody out there actually reads what is written in these parables. I have just received a letter from a Mr Bonaparte who has written from Berkshire. He writes, “What a wonderful article you wrote in the last magazine. Without fail it is always the first item I turn to and, as is to be expected, was up to its usual high standard plus the added bonus this issue of a photo. Who wants pictures of steam engines when we can have pictures of telephone exchanges? I had always assumed when reading your previous articles that you were shorter. At the moment I cannot visit the Railway as I am busy planning the winter retreat from Moscow but nurse has said if I am good she will let me colour my copy of Mid-Hants News.”

Issue 88 Spring 1996 Much Ado About Not Very Much At All

They say in life only two things are inevitable, but before I go any further, have you ever wondered who these mysterious “they” are? I know I have. To continue, I would like to add a third. About every three months, one receives a small slip of paper worded on the lines “the joint editors” or, as I like to think of them, the three butchers, “look forward to receiving your next contribution to the MHN and can we have it within the next couple of weeks and, if you do not, it may cause the downfall of Western civilisation as we know it, birds to fall from the sky and crops to fail or even worse.”

Panic

It is at this point a sense of panic sets in bordering on hysteria, what can I write about? Well, the stories of Bill’s feats of tea drinking and exploits of oryctolagus cuniculas feature in most issues, so we had better have a change this time. Thinks, what to put? Well, I suppose there was the recent fault on the platform bell at Ropley caused by a broken wire that needed re-terminating, a job that lasted all of five minutes, hardly the most engaging of articles. The reader, may think that, due to the rambling direction of these writings, the author has nothing to say and is filling up space they would be correct. 242 words so far; let’s see if I can drag it out to 300.
So what has been happening on the telecom front since issue 87? Well, one of the more interesting jobs concerned a recent fault on the platform bell at Ropley. I jest.

Serious matter

On to a more serious matter. As well as cutting bits out of articles, Messrs Dewhurst sometimes add little items. In the last MHN, mention was made of a dual hatted member of the railway. Unfortunately, by adding four words, it was inferred, wrongly, that the person concerned was none other than Mr Poulton. This addition, which had nothing to do with the writer, has caused great distress to mild mannered James and no doubt a few tears and sleepless nights. It was dreadful to infer that he postures to the public each times he arrives at a station; it is well known he is far too occupied at this crucial time to take his attention away from the footplate and, as a true professional, will be busy studying his road map trying to see if he has arrived at the correct destination. (Name the real guilty person - the public has a right to know. Ed.)

Dr Lipra Olof

Several projects are under way at present but
if I write anything about them now, there will be nothing for issue 89. However, our old friend, Dr. Lipra Olof, has recently been in touch and he is most keen to demonstrate the new revolutionary satellite communications system he is working on. He said he is having one or two teething problems but as soon as he can find a pole long enough all will be revealed. Watch this space.

Issue 89 Summer 1996 Go West Young Man

This has been the suggestion, or words along those lines, that I have been offered by the boss of the West Country Buffet when, by chance, I walked past her emporium on several occasions. I know not why this advice had been given but one day curiosity got the better of me and so I decided to see what the attraction of that end of Alresford station held and also why there had been several requests for phones in that part of the world. For anyone who has not been to Alresford recently, a great improvement has been made to the west end of the station. The siting of the catering sets has been recorded elsewhere and a phone was required for use in the Countryman when berthed in its siding. Jim Lawrence needed a couple of phones in his workshops and another at the far end of the sidings, as the existing distribution to these parts had seen better days and one crucial joint had disappeared never to be seen again, believed buried, during construction work on the footbridge. A new cable has been provided from the exchange to the west end of the line, plus two new distribution points; also included are the signal post telephones. When completed, eight phones in total were provided, can you name them all?

For Technical Minds

Now something for the more technically minded. Telephone batteries have their positive terminal connected to earth (please do not write saying some telephone exchange batteries have the negative connected to earth, I do know but am trying to keep this simple). Therefore, in the new Alresford signalling arrangements, there needed to be two power units and two sets of batteries for the signal box, one for the signal equipment and the other for the signal post phones. At some stage, for unknown reason, I decided this was wasteful
as we had a far superior power unit in the telephone exchange with spare capacity capable of running the signal box phones. Accordingly, a power cable was run between exchange and signal box and now code and signal post phones are powered by the exchange power unit. This has made one power unit and battery in the signal box redundant, for further use elsewhere, if required. Similar arrangements have since been made at Medstead and Ropley signal boxes.

Come and See Us

By the time this is read, the exchange at Medstead will have been in service for a year and there is a once in a lifetime chance to examine its inner workings during the Open Day on 8th September. From previous experience, here are the answers to the two most common questions asked. Firstly, the racks are that big because that was their size when we obtained them and, secondly, the exchange only serves railway users at Medstead and not the local village. Should you miss the never to be repeated offer, there will be a second chance during Members! Shareholders Day in November.
A couple of thank yous, first to John Kay, for services to easier cable terminating. We have been borrowing his large crimper to terminate lugs on power cables; each time it is used is “definitely the last time we will need it, honest.” This has now been going on for several years and we are still finding jobs for it. Last but by no means least, thanks to the gentlemen of the PW (Sunday) gang for being conned by me to give a hand for “only 10 minutes to pull a cable through a duct”. One and a half hours later, with four clapped out volunteers, the task was finally completed,   I always thought PW staff were supposed to be rough types (only joking).

Issue 90 Autumn 1996 It’s An SPT, Jim, But Not As You Know It

One day I received a phone call from Jim Poulton. “Oh calamity,” I mused, “this means trouble,” as under normal circumstances one gets a phone call from the Railway only when something has gone wrong, like the day the floor of the West Country Buffet leapt into the air three feet and broke the phone. The gist of the conversation was could I move the signal post telephone (SPT) apparatus from its present location in a cabinet behind the signal box at Alresford as the space it occupied was required for additional track circuit equipment. There were only two conditions to bear in mind, to be completed at nil cost and there would be no space to relocate it in one of the other cabinets or the signal box; it was also perceived during the conversation that I was being given charge of all signal box telephone services — “Thank you, Jim.”
As the SPTs are used each time an engine runs round at Alresford it was decided that, to keep disruption of service to a minimum, the best method would be to build a replacement system in a new location and then swap the phones from old to new as opposed to moving the existing equipment. There was also a requirement to retain the wooden concentrator cabinet (which the signalman uses to make and receive calls) in the signal box which would further complicate matters. The job was therefore planned in two stages, first, get the new system working with an expedient concentrator unit, and stage two, modify the wooden cabinet and replace the temporary one. Fortunately, space existed in the telephone exchange to house the relays associated with the new SPTs. Starting from scratch it was decided to incorporate several changes to the existing set up. The new system is designed in modules of four extensions with two modules installed at Alresford; other items include two ringers, one acting as a standby. Several of the phones on the new system would be located some distance from the signal box and out of sight. Therefore, an audible indication would be given to users whether the system was in service. To use an SPT, the user lifts the handset and presses the call button; this method was used so someone leaving a handset off would not cause a permanent calling signal to the signal box. If the box is manned and the equipment switched on, the caller will hear a ring tone and an intermittent audible and visual indication is given in the signal box until the signalman answers. If the box is unmanned and the equipment is switched off, the caller will hear a continuous tone.
As part of the scheme, an electronic ring tone generator was designed and built. It is intended this design will be used as part of an electronic replacement for the mechanical exchange ringers in the long term. The system is powered from the exchange 50 volt supply and all the supervisory lamps on the concentrator are 6 volt. In the old days it would need a dropping resistor per lamp. As this requires a fair number of resistors and the chances of finding them in our store are next to zero, a high tech solution has been used which to date is working well. A while ago I acquired a number of redundant DC/DC converters. These have a 50 volt input and a 5 volt output, with the added advantage of taking up very little physical space. At the time I could see no use for them but as they otherwise were going to be thrown out, they were put in a box and dumped under a work bench where they remained gathering dust awaiting a possible use. One of these converters now happily runs all the 6 volt lamps on the Alresford concentrator at 5 volts; also, by running the lamps at a lower voltage they should have a longer life.
Additional supervisory lamps warn the signal man if there is a system fault, an SPT handset left off, if the system is switched on and simple line faults. An audible and visual alarm is given to the signal man should any keys be left operated when not using the system or the signal box telephone handset left off. Operation of more than one telephone key causes an alarm and disconnects the signal box phone. This is a safety requirement to prevent the signal man attempting to speak to two SPTs at the same time.

On time, on budget

As previously mentioned, two of the phones, the advanced starter and outer home, are located some distance from the signal box and a detector circuit has been fitted to each of these two phones to monitor the cable pairs they are connected to. The new system was built, installed and tested in time and on budget for the commissioning of the new signalling, seven phones being connected with the eighth line used at present for test purposes. In the interim a temporary concentrator was used; the wooden one was passed to the building department for refurbishment as it was in a somewhat distressed state (technical term used by the antique trade).
On its return, resplendent now in its oak finish, it was connected shortly after the Thomas event; one did not want to tempt fate doing so before. New cables had to be run between the signal box concentrator and the associated relays in the telephone exchange.
These required a new cable duct under the track between platforms 1 and 2; thanks to Frank Twine for undertaking this part of the scheme. All external cables were renewed to the SPTs at the same time. To date, the only known problems have been one phone with a seized bell clapper and a fuse blown in a detector circuit that happened at the same time as a very local thunder storm.

Onwards to Medstead

After the S & T Department’s triumphal re-signalling at Alresford they have now planned to re-build the box at Medstead and wanted the SPTs there all to be operational before work commenced. As the existing set up was something of a mystery, with no diagrams or details where cables went or were connected to, a completely new system was planned based on the Alresford equipment, again allowing for eight lines.
The problem at Medstead was where to put the relay sets; the locking room was out of the question. Fortunately we had a metal road-side cabinet that was once intended to be utilised as a battery box but events had moved on; it was now surplus and being used as a store for cable joints outside the S & T building. It was securely fixed to a concrete plinth and after some measurements it was realized that it would be suitable in size and location for our purposes. Thought had been given to moving the cabinet to outside the signal box but for aesthetic purposes one did not think it would look quite right placed in the middle of a flower bed.
Ample cable pairs existed between the signal box and telephone exchange so pairs were diverted to the new SPT equipment cabinet to link it to the concentrator in the signal box Also, a new 50 volt supply was run to the exchange power unit; as well as powering the relays it runs a small heater that has been fitted hopefully to stop damp and condensation. Time will tell how the equipment will cope in its cabinet during the winter months. A full size UAX 13 rack was cut down and re-welded to fit in the cabinet and then re-painted; the correct Light Straw colour paint was obtained, courtesy of Frodsham Paints. The rack was assembled, wired and tested in the S & T workshops which proved a great asset as it meant not having to build it at home.
New external cabling was also installed to all SPTs in time for the Thomas event, with four SPTs connected plus the direct link to Alton signal box becoming an SPT (this allowed one phone to be removed from Medstead box). As the final plan for the box is not yet known, the concentrator being used is again only temporary. Two problems were experienced in the early days: one, a loose fuse due to a defective screw that stopped the electronic ring tone generator working and the second an un-soldered wire that put one phone out of order. Plans are now in hand for a third system to be installed at Ropley, again to the same design; work has started wiring the relay sets.

And Finally...
Writing these regular items for the magazine one gets lots and lots of questions from the membership, well, to be truthful, to date only one question, “less about rabbits, what has happened to the interosittor?”, asks Steve of Chandlers Ford. Simply, without getting into too much technical detail, since the back wheel fell off not a great deal; hope that answers your query.

Issue 91 Winter 1996/7 Clearing Up — and Out

By the time this is read our wholly owned subsidiary Acme Supplies (Southern) will have moved home to make way for the new museum. They were previously located on the Down platform at Alresford and are now established at number 1 Railway Cottages, Medstead; business as usual and again able to offer their exclusive service, namely, telephony on a restricted budget.
Thanks to those who assisted in the move. They had the privilege of moving over 20 years of dedicated hoarding and the chance to wonder “Why have they kept this?” A lot of objects were kept over the years on the premise “Let’s keep this item; it may come in handy one day (if we can ever find it again)”. Joking aside and putting on our serious hat, one should remember that this selection of doubtful material has kept the various phone systems on this Railway (and others) working for many a year for next to no cost. Should any readers in Cheshire of a sensitive disposition and interested in telecom issues be reading this article, please skip the next ten words: during the move an abundance of unwanted items were dumped. Full of good intentions, it is intended to record where objects are located in the new store and so, in the future, required items will be easy to find; this radical idea was first used in the old store until the list recording details vanished amongst the stored objects.

That cable at Ropley

In issue 90 appeared a story regarding the meeting of a very large digger and a very small cable that had been living happily buried in a bank for over 12 years at Ropley. From the article it appears Muggins was on site waiting for the incident to happen but life is not as straightforward as that. If it was not for a cup of tea the fault might not have been fixed that day. The morning had bean spent repairing a rabbit-chewed cable between Alresford and Ropley; two damaged pairs had put the signal box code phone circuit and several trackside emergency phones out of order. Job completed and after walking back to Alresford it was around mid-day and the plan was as follows: check with the signal man that the code phone was now O.K. and then away, as there were other plans for the afternoon (non railway). The signal man was busy doing what busy signal men do. “(can you check the code phone is working? I will call back after the train has departed.” After ten minutes and a cup of tea in the ever-delightful buffet, return to the signal box. “Yes,” said the signal man, “the code phone’ is now working but it now appears no one can phone Medstead or Alton on the auto system.
It was now that a story emerged about a water pipe being dug up at Ropley earlier that day. Oh, dear, with a sinking heart depart for Ropley, expecting to find the worst and not to be disappointed, should have skipped tea and gone straight home. After a little investigation the two ends of the telecom cable were located approximately six feet apart. Although those on site knew that some cables had been dug up, they chose not to inform anyone; several hours were spent repairing the damage and that was the end of that afternoon’s planned activities. It was fortunate that all the jointing gear was to hand in the car and that the signal cable was in a different location and not damaged. The code phone is routed via this cable and was the only phone communications from Ropley to the east until repairs were completed. Also during the excavations a distribution point feeding two phones and associated cables have disappeared. If anyone knows of their whereabouts we would be delighted to know as, no doubt, would the individual who has lost his phone service.

Medstead Workshop

In the last magazine. I wrote in praise of the workshop in the S and T building at Medstead; this was, a little premature. Unfortunately we no longer have the use of this facility. Accordingly, the signal post phone system that was being built for Ropley has had to he abandoned for the time being. The only ones to suffer will be the operating staff on the Railway who will have to continue using the inferior temporary system installed some time ago. Also put on hold is preparatory work on a larger system, with over a dozen phones wanted eventually at Alton for a planned colour light signal installation.

Statistics

During the past year there were over 26,000 telephone calls between stations. Again Alton made most calls to other stations (over 11,000); the high number of calls can be mainly attributed to the fact that the phones are used during train operations to and from Medstead to check if line is clear, train arrived, etc. On the rest of the Railway block bells and token machines are used for this purpose and nearly 3,000 calls were made by the Butts Junction treadle to Medstead signal box. The busiest exchange on the system is Ropley but that is also switching calls up and down the line between the other three exchanges. Using some fairly complicated mathematics, if one divides the number of calls by the hours in a year there are three phone calls made every hour throughout the year. However, this raises the question who uses the phone at 3 am and who are they ringing?

Issue 92 Spring 1997 Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit.

Customer care, one of the current buzz phrases. It was while I was undertaking some of it earlier this year in the West Country buffet, checking on the well-being of the amazing bouncing phone, that one of those jolly fine editor chaps passed me a piece of paper requesting a contribution for this issue of the magazine, including recollections of 1977. “Oh dear, that may be a problem as not much has happened recently on the telephone front to write about, I said.
“Huh!”, said a voice, “that’s never stopped you writing at length before about very little.” I must remember to find another shop in future to go into to browse through the railway magazines. Right, let the waffle begin.
Oh, joy, now that most of the stores have been sorted and a stores catalogue produced, a grand title for a binder containing half a dozen sheets of paper, one is able to locate items with little difficulty. In fact, things are so wonderful that during several recent jobs it has been possible to go to the stores, find what is wanted and be on your way in a matter of minutes. With the old stores it was doubtful if one could even open, let alone get through the door. Then, never knowing what was about to fall on you and, after a considerable time going through battered cardboard boxes and plastic carrier bags of assorted things, it was easy to forget what was wanted in the first place.
The recent jobs previously mentioned include the connection of the volunteer information line (no doubt a full description of this will be given elsewhere in this issue), moving the talking timetable made homeless after the revamp of the Alresford Information Office, provision of permanent plug-in points at Alresford and Ropley, including making numerous phone extension loads, for use at special events, fitting phones in a mobile booking office, additional code phone fitted in Alton station Inspectors’ Office, and a phone for the Wednesday gang workshop are some jobs that come to mind.

A Reminiscence

When we first started running trains to Ropley all those years ago, the telephone exchange was located upstairs in the main station building at Alresford in what is now the Accounts Office. A complete UAX 12 exchange of eight racks, from Hursley, had been purchased for the grand sum of no. Two racks were used to give a maximum of 25 lines; as the racks were the size of a large cupboard nearly 7 feet high and between them weighed over 800 lbs, it shows they knew how to build floors in these days. I am uncertain how many people it took to get the equipment up the stairs. Incidentally, I discovered recently that some parts of this exchange still exist at a railway in North Wales, moving from Devon where it went when we finished with it. The new owner has plans to re-use it.
It had been originally the intention to have two rented private circuits to link Alresford and Ropley but, due to the external cables running via Winchester (17 miles) to link these two points, it was necessary to install our own circuits. We used the poles that remained to connect what were then the two ends of the line.
Since those days all communications between stations have been the Railway’s responsibility. Interesting fact Number 1 — there were 60 telephone poles between Alresford and Ropley. In the mists of time I have forgotten what circuits we had working en Day One to Ropley but it could have been one phone connected to the auto exchange and a signal box cede phone; maybe someone can remember. Several years later a considerable amount of effort needed to be spent attempting to maintain these overhead wires. Each circuit comprised of two plastic- covered steel conductors; if the-insulation was damaged by a tree or when it was put up, the wire would eventually rust and the circuit would become disconnected. These faults were very difficult to spot from ground level so a let of ladder-carrying and pole-climbing was involved. Some days, no sooner had one fault been repaired than another developed elsewhere.
At some stage a small switchboard based on a key and lamp unit was fitted at Ropley allowing for four extensions connected via one line to Alresford; this I know as it re-surfaced earlier this year during the great stores move. At a later date, a second exchange opened at Ropley, further parts of the old Hursley equipment being used.

Finally, a competition.

The line is 10 miles long and there are 20 trackside joint/phone points. Only one of these boxes is half a mile from the nearest road access. What are the chances of the only tree to get blown over in the strong winds one particular day in February knocking that box over and at the same time delaying the U class en the way to Alton for its main line test run? The answer need only be worked out to four decimal places and can be submitted written on any current bank note featuring Charles Darwin. The prize will be a carefully selected item discovered during the recent stores upheaval for which even I cannot think of any suitable re-use.

Issue 93 Summer 1997 Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.. now that I’ve found you!

One of Life’s Great Enigmas, along with what does one expect to see from a Torquay hotel bedroom window, what was going wrong with the Railway’s code phones? Six phones link signalling installations at the four stations. After giving a reliable service since installation over throe years ago, reports were received of intermittent difficulties with the speech quality Ropley signal box. Accounts were unfortunately usually third-hand, contradictory and weeks old; subsequent testing failed to find any fault. Inspired guesses were made, various bits were changed but to no avail and problems continued to be mentioned.
Progress was slow, a further guess was made what item to change next, then wait for news filter to through to see if matters had improved.
Desperation, a special answer machine was set up to enable signalmen to report up to date details concerning the fault. Because the tape machine recorded the time and date of the message the information received from this source was current and revealed that as well as Ropley signal box being affected, the problem also existed at Alresford and Medstead. As the phones are connected to the same pair of wires, all ten miles of it, it was uncertain where the fault was located.
To try to simplify matters, the code phone circuit was split into two separate circuits, making a Ropley-Alresford circuit and a Ropley-Alton one. Very soon the welcoming news was received: both sections had the speech problem. This ruled out the likelihood that a cable fault was responsible and the only items common were the Ropley power unit, which was happily running the dial phones with no problems, and the design of the code phone equipment.
Next came several reports from signal men— if you flicked the phone switch hooks and operated the ring key several times or combinations thereof; speech improved for a while.
It was very late one evening while musing over what seemed at the time strange remarks that the solution to the problem became very apparent. When originally installed, there was pressing need to get the equipment into service very quickly and the design of the equipment was made as simple as possible. One transformer, three relays and a few resistors. However, two sets of relay contacts in the speech path of each relay set have no electrical current flowing through them. After a time in these circumstances the contacts can become high resistance; operating the relay several times cleared the fault for a while, hence the intermittent nature of the fault. Cleaning the contacts would solve the problem in the short term but adding three resistors per relay set allows a small current to flow through the affected contacts. The components to solve the problem at all four stations cost less than 30p.

The other main activity of late when not looking at code phones has concerned alarms. In the past if a telephone exchange developed a fault the information was passed to the offices at Alresford and displayed on a panel. Now that the spiritual home of the department has moved to Medstead it was decided to redirect all alarms there.
Involving work at all four stations, the main requirement was to route alarm calls to Medstead instead of Alresford.
The first stage involved Alton and Ropley, these changes being the simplest, only taking a couple of hours, mainly to send the calls in a different direction. The relay sets at Alresford that used to receive the alarm calls were modified and moved to Medstead. Two alarm display panels were fitted in the S&T building, one in the exchange, the other in general view in the entrance area. Next, new alarm equipment that had been built three years ago for Ropley was finally installed; this was an improved version of the existing relay set using one of our wonderful electronic digit senders. Lastly, the relay sets from Medstead that used to originate alarm calls were fitted at Alresford after modifications including another electronic sender. In total the entire job took around six weeks to complete.
The system works as follows: if a fault occurs it will be in one of the four following categories: exchange equipment, power, miscellaneous (includes signal post telephone equipment, intruder alarms) and cables/clocks. In the first instant, the relay set, after a suitable delay to prevent spurious alarms like a mains flick, dials the equipment at Medstead and then passes the identity of the exchange and the category of the fault. The distant end then sends a signal back, indicating the correct destination has been reached and the alarm received. The call is then released, a buzzer sounds and a visual indication is given on the alarm panels. The buzzer can be cancelled and the indicator flashes to indicate the alarm had been acknowledged. When the fault is cleared a similar arrangement takes place to reset the Medstead equipment. If for any reason the call is unable to connect, an audible and visual alarm is given at a convenient point at the station concerned. Power alarms, due to their urgency, as well as being sent to Medstead are also indicated at the station involved; in addition to exchanges and signal boxes running on batteries, freezers could be thawing. Other facilities built into the system allow one to remotely test its operation. One can be at Medstead and originate an alarm at one of the other exchanges to check for the correct functioning of the circuitry. Also, by dialling different numbers from any phone on the network it allows one to check if an alarm exists at a particular exchange, very useful if dealing with a cable fault and also prevents unnecessary site visits.
Now that it appears most outstanding work has been dealt with time can be spent on routine maintenance of the exchange equipment as this has been somewhat neglected of late, although I do not expect it will be long before someone will find something else that needs doing. Which reminds me: Arthur mentioned the ticket booth at Ropley picnic area has been shifted and can the phone be moved. Hey ho, it’s off to work we go.

Issue 94 Autumn 1997 Publish and Be Damned

That famous statement still applies today. No sooner had the article for the previous Mid Hants News been written and passed into the editors’ hands praising the skill in eventually fixing the speech difficulties on the code phones, it soon became very apparent that by solving one problem another was successfully introduced affecting the code ringing. Despite the really obvious nature of the defect it still took the signalmen nearly a week to realise something was amiss. A very elegant solution to the new difficulty incorporating the previous modification was quickly devised but never got further than a scribbling on a scrap of paper stage. It was decided it was far easier to get rid of the contacts that caused the problem in the first place which has been duly done. Problem solved? Watch this space.
The reason for this error was that the original changes were made when no one else was about and a comprehensive test was not possible to another signal box. For a long time it had been felt it would be useful to have the means of testing code phones when one is alone; several times this progressed as far as a doodle on a piece of paper. Following the previously mentioned debacle the code phone test circuit idea was resurrected and has been finally built and installed at Alresford. This allows simple checks to be made by simulating another user on the system. The nature of the work often means working out of hours when nobody else is using the system; once the railway starts to wake up and calls begin being made, work usually has to be curtailed. The only reason this has been mentioned is for the benefit of certain members of staff who wonder why work sometimes stops at 10 a.m. They know who I refer to, don’t you, Mr. J.W. and Mrs. C.M.?

Now for something comical, well I thought it amusing. Early one evening while at home avidly awaiting that day’s developments at Grange Farm the phone rang; it was the Chief Executive — ‘Why has the Talking Timetable tape machine been playing Home on the Range to me for the last couple of hours?’ I reply ‘Hmm, could be that something is amiss, switch it off for now and I will check tomorrow.’ The next day the machine was collected and taken home for closer inspection. In the interim the tape machine that had been installed for the Volunteer Information Line (VIL) was pressed into service and used to keep the Talking Timetable service working. Although installed several months before, the VIL had been given little publicity, calls to it appeared to be non existent and, ns it and also been found switched off, it was felt nobody would notice the service was not available in the interim; not a very good assumption to make. The very next day my issue of MHN 93 arrived and on the first few pages there were at least 3 items informing members to ring the VIL. By now the faulty tape machine was in a large pile of bits at home. The fault had been found to be a broken drive belt, a technical name for an elastic band; arrangements had been made for a replacement to be supplied which was awaited. Frantic activity then took place to make sure that the VIL was back in service before the bulk of the magazines dropped through members’ letter boxes.

Not a great deal of other activities of any interest have taken place. The recent Thomas event saw even more temporary phones being provided, a first this year was installing a phone in an ice cream van. Other jobs include a link installed between office computers; two locations on the line have had intruder alarms fitted and a balloon rescued from a tree on behalf of a member of the shop staff In fact things have been so quiet that the Sunday P.W. gang offered me the chance to assist them one day. However, the thoughts of spending the day with that august body of men sitting in the sun on a railway bank writing poetry and arranging flowers would prove to be too exciting for this mere mortal so the offer was sadly declined.