Railwayana - www.railwayana.org




	Home

	Guides Index

	Station/Trackside Signs

	BR Totems

	SR Targets

	LMS Hawkseyes

	Cast Iron

	Enamel Signs

	Wooden Signs

CAST IRON RAILWAY SIGNS

The Railways from the earliest days produced vast quantities of heavy Cast iron Signs that were mounted near the Railway giving instructions from a simple "Beware of Trains" to examples such as the interesting sign above that gives details of how the Badminton Hunt should cross the tracks.

Most signs had the Companies name at the top followed by details of what was required, the statute involved and the fine for not obeying the instructions as shown on the SECR and SR signs pictured below.

Vast numbers of these signs were rescued at the time they were being removed and it is not very difficult to start a collection. You would expect to pay about £30 - £50 for a common sign such as Beware of Trains that has no Company title. With the Companies name prices are around £40 - £90. Earlier signs pre the 1924 Big 4 Grouping will fetch more such as the couple of examples shown below which would sell for around £300 - £400.

It is unusual for a sign to mention a specific place and so the GWR sign re the Badminton Hunt shown at the top of this page is very desirable and was sold in 2011 for over £1500.

Small signs were also produced which would appear on a station such as the GNR "Drinking Water" sign and the GWR Gentleman's Toilet Sign pictured below.

Also on the station buildings the LNER and GWR in particular used Cast iron Doorplates and some examples of these are shown below.

GWR Doorplates	LNER Doorplates

The LNER used Cast iron for the production of Seatbacks that were mounted on the top rail of the Platform Seats and could be fairly easily seen by arriving passengers unsure as to the station they were at.

Cast iron was the most readily available medium for creating railway signs in the early days of the railways and as a consequence there are a plethora of different signs to choose from at price ranges to suit all pockets. Many people start their collection with the GWR Signalbox Door sign shown below that turns up at most Specialist railwayana Auctions and sells for around £100.