The Midland Railway Study Centre Assemblage Trails

THE MIDLAND RAILWAY ASSEMBLAGE TRAILS
"The Enthusiast's Trail"
Stop Ten: Tyer's Tablets

Turning left and left again, into Metal we have a look on one of the window sills with the Civic Hall below...

A display case containing ten discs of about five inches diameter made of either brass or silver alloy. Each has various notches cut out of them and are inscribed with the name of the signal boxes they relate to; Swadlincote Junction, Swadlincote West, Woodville Passenger Station, Woodville Goods Junction or Swains Park.

Stop 10

Where: A9 window

What: Swadlincote Loop single line tablets

Material: Brass and steel

Why: These tablets were issued from electrically interlocked machines located in signal boxes at either end of a single line section to ensure only one train could ever be in the section at the same time. A period example of a pair of the “Tyer's” machines these tablets came out of — this is Ripley Junction — appears below. This collection represents each signal box section on the Swadlincote loop in south Derbyshire, as well as a trio of “master” pattern tablets used in the Derby signal works.

Ref: RFB32306

A photograph of the rather sparten interior of a signal box. The lever frame is to the right and a stove at the back of the box is to the left. We are looking at the end windows with a pair of large Tyers' tablet instruments on plinths dominate the view. The one on left bears a brass plaque that says Heanor while the other reads Marehay Junction.