Leighton (1)

Signal Cabins in WA

LEIGHTON (1)
WAGR - Eastern Railway (E. R.)
1938 WAGR MAP Mileage = 10
Location Map
Next Down Station:	Next Up Station:
MOSMAN PARK	NORTH FREMANTLE

Quick Facts
Opened	Closed
04/12/1922	30/06/1962
Mechanical	Electrical
9 Levers	?
Fate: Unknown

The old saying: "When one door closes, another opens", would seem to apply to the first Leighton signal cabin, as on the 9th September 1922, the Buckland Hill Signal Box (technically a Block Box) was destroyed by fire and was never re-built.

Weekly Notice No 47 of 1922 announced that on the 4th of December, the Leighton Signal Box was now open and the instructions appearing on Pages 325 and 326 of the General Appendix to the Working Time Table headed 'Buckland Hill' were to be deleted and the new instructions for the Leighton Signal Box inserted in lieu. The instructions read as follows:

LEIGHTON.

The Signal Box is switched in between certain· hours (see current time table) and on special occasions, of which due notice will be given.
There is no siding accommodation at this station and crossover roads are not provided.
When the Signal Box is switched in the signals must, when an officer is on duty, be placed at danger in the rear of all trains stopping at the station, and must not be again lowered until the train has gone well forward.
Goods trains must not stop at this station during the night for roadside purposes after the Assistant Station-master has ceased duty.

On the 4th October 1948, A Down Advance Starting Signal was brought into use, it was situated 413 yards ahead of the Down Starting signal and was fitted with a co-acting signal arm for sighting purposes at a height of 14 feet above ground level. Nine years later, on 10th July 1957, the Up Starting signal was removed and moved ahead 82 yards, being mounted on the same post as the North Fremantle Up Distant, which it then controlled by 'Slotting'.

According to an entry in the July 1961 edition of the Railway Institute Magazine, the name "Leighton" which was bestowed on this station and indeed the locality was due to the name of the level crossing on the Perth side of North Fremantle station. The Crossing Keeper, along with many others of the era, was a woman named Mrs. Leighton (the wife of John Leighton who was a Railway Ganger at Smith's Mill, Perth and Fremantle). Mrs. Leighton worked at the crossing for 14 years. The Crossing therefore became known as "Leighton's Crossing" and the adjoining beach and railway station also acquired the same name. This name, has also found during the research, to have been spelt "Leyton" over the years, which has sparked further delvings.

Along with many other small signal boxes on the line, the cabin at Leighton was to come to an end with the introduction of Colour Light signalling, scheduled to be implemented on the 1st July 1962. An entry in Weekly Notice 25 of 1962 however, announced that the implementation would take place on Sunday, 8th July 1962. Leighton had already closed as a Booking Station on the 30/06/1962 and from that date the platform was to be regarded as a 'Stopping Place only'.

The Leighton Signal Cabin therefore had an "In-service" life of 39 years, 8 months and 4 days. Now, nothing of the signal Cabin can to be seen at the site.

NOTE: This page is under development - please check back later, however, if you have any additional information on this signal cabin, it would be most welcome - please use the e-mail form provided.

Any additional information on this signal cabin would be most welcome - please use the e-mail form provided on this page.

Information researched and interpreted by Chris. J. E. French of SignallingWA

Photographs of original W.A.G.R. drawings by Justin Smith courtesy of RHWA Archives

Additional reference: "Station Masters of WA" by J. Austin 2011

This page is copyright, and permission must be sought from SignallingWA before this page is used for any purpose other than personal education.

LEIGHTON (1) Employees
This list may not be complete and does not yet include employees who worked here without being appointed. Where an appointment date is unknown, the Weekly Notice (WN) date advising of the appointment or other official documentation, i.e. Certificate of Competency (CC) will be used.
Name	Appointed	Position
Abbott, H. G	04/12/1922	Station Master
Rutherford, W. N.	April 1951	Station Master
Hollamby, J. G.	March 1955	Station Master
de Mamiel, E. G.	December 1956	Station Master
Underdown, G. B. - ex-Signalman Class 3, Cottesloe	04/03/1961 - WN 09 / 1961	Head Shunter
Is a name missing? Please submit any corrections / additions with suitable evidence using the e-mail form above.