This photo is kindly supplied by Alan Brown.
Seamer West signal box looking towards Malton on 13th July 1968. The Forge Valley line had been lifted some 15 years before this photo was taken, including the down slow line which ran past the front of the signal box. The lines diverging to the left in the foreground are those to Filey and Hull.
In the distance, two York and North Midland Railway crossing keepers cottages can be seen with their distinctive chimney stacks. The Forge Valley line diverged from the mainline between them.
Seamer Junction
Seamer Junction on the York to Scarborough mainline controlled access to Pickering via the Forge Valley Railway to the west and the line to Bridlington and eventually Hull to the south. The mainline headed south west to Malton and York.
While the Bridlington line diverged directly opposite the signal box, the Forge Valley left the mainline a short distance south west.
Seamer Inner Junction marked the point where the double track merged to be single. This was at Pasture Lane gate house, the inner junction eight lever signal box being on the west side of the lane, while the gate house was on the east. The Inner Junction was singled in 1906 with the signal box most likely taken out of use at the same time. From 1911, a "down slow" line was introduced between Seamer Junction and Seamer Station, which could be accessed directly from the Forge Valley Line.
Seamer West signal box dated from 1906. It remained in use long after the Forge Valley line closed, serving the Bridlington line until 9th April 2000. It was demolished shortly afterwards and Seamer East signal box located at Seamer Station controlled the junction. The semaphore signals were replaced with colour lights and some of the signal lattice posts made their way to Darley Dale Station on Peak Rail in Derbyshire. After 5th November 2000, Seamer East signal box was renamed to be Seamer.
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