 Hello, thank you for joining me. Happy New Year. It's New Year's Day 2023. I've come out for a drive in my larder I've come to the Chinor and Printers Ridge borough a here I am hatching a station the train is just there we're gonna have a look at in a minute The reason I'm here today is because I've been Invited to go and see the signal box at Princess Ridge, but which you know, I'm really quite excited about so I understand We're gonna go there and they're gonna take me inside the signal box show us around maybe get some trackside access So we'll see a bit more of the usual before we go and get on the train I'm just gonna show you something here in this little wooded area. We have another railway very short railway It's a little miniature railway just here and it runs to just up there This is their statement of intent the plan is to build a miniature railway around the car park So when that's up and running then I shall come and make an episode of miniature railway Britain here So that's a video for the future We're now going to go over to the station. That's where Nothing that car realizes it, but this isn't actually a roadway and yeah, that's not a roadway. Anyway We're gonna go and have a look at the station and yeah over there before I got distracted by that car look reversing now. They're amusing and The cement was used to be over there. That's why that's what I was and I remember that being there There should be a big chimney which they blew up and then here is the station to the station. So there's the Station and here is the Tanya tank. Now is this locos last day here? 6412 she's going back to the South Devon Railway. So they're gonna find another locomotive So I have to wait to see what that is, but no doubt. I'll have to come back and have a ride behind it Especially if it's a winning loco. So we walk in here in front of the steam engine And then we'll go get on the train. So if there's a hole there, we'll come back with the steam. So there is 6412 Exactly now we're gonna go up onto the platform and see what we can see. Here's an old Cambrian coach body That used to be the cafe, but it's currently not the cafe. There's a new cafe down at the other end There's our loco just there. You see the steam heatings on in the carriages So let's go inside and we're gonna ride down to Prince's Ridgeborough. It's gonna be a very exciting journey So we've arrived at Prince's Ridgeborough. You can see the steam engine behind us I know it's not the best view, but we'll have a better look later now You may have noticed I am walking off the end of the platform. I've been given permission to do this We've one of the volunteers has very kindly given us permission to come down here and have a look at the Signal box. So what we're gonna do, we're gonna walk down there With a few friends so friends are ahead of us. One of the volunteers is showing us the way So this is really quite exciting. I've seen this signal box so many times, but I've never been inside So I'm really excited about that. So this is the end of the children's always station at Prince's Ridgeborough You can see There's the modern signal gantry as more traditional signal a little cross means it's not in use yet So they're working on commissioning all this signaling down here, but what I'm gonna do once we get down further into the box I'll find out a bit more and be able to tell you a bit more So now a bit further down. There's a diesel Multiple units the middle carriage. I remember when that was in service It used to be the the train which you know cleared all the leaves off the line Now here's Prince's Ridgeborough box, which we're about to go up. Up there there's a camera It's rail camera. If any of you are members of rail come I am you can watch the train go out Which was very useful a few weeks ago when it was snowing because I could sit in the pub at Bledlow I want you to train left. I went into the field and got my shot. Anyway, let's go up here. This is really exciting So some really excited about this Get this opportunity to you know go beyond where the public go so we get to here and We get a really nice view now over the station. Oh look. There's a children's always train pulling in I'm gonna go inside and see what they have to show us Oh Let's get even better now. I've been given a high vis. I've been given permission to go track side So we'll have a look in the box Afterwards, but we get the shot of the train going past from a view we wouldn't normally get so this is a really exciting start to 2023 the track a little bit. You can see why I'm I'm at mile post Quarter so my post zero is by the signal box. So that is looking towards China I'm actually standing on what would be the China independent line that track there is a network rail line But a weekend's China has possession of it They have permission to run their train on it the plan is to eventually because that rail does occasionally use it There was a while ago But HS2 construction train failed and it got dumped in here The plan is this where I'm standing this will become the tune Prince Elizabeth railways Independent track and that become network rail. So they'll run in parallel to each other a bit like they do at the spa Bloody Railway, but and into Erich so they're gonna come up with a similar arrangement now The signal there that signal is an ass a network rail signal me 174 So when we came in I noticed it was red like that The driver didn't pass a red signal because that just decided that you can't really see in out There were two little white lights. So that was to give the driver permission To turn off so he wouldn't go down the shield main line to work out of him He would turn off into the bay platform that Prince Elizabeth has a bridge there You can see the other people with me who've got the special line side axis just having a look there in there Here's the Urkel factory. So that's where furniture is made Prince of Rishborough and High Wickham were quite well known for being furniture Manufacturing towns and Urkel moved their furniture production here. So Prince of Rishborough So I'm gonna walk back up the track and we're gonna go and have a look at the signal box Almost back now. There's the box. I'll point you down a quarter of a mile away mile post a quarter There is my post zero and to get quite a nice view of the Prince of Rishborough railway station And now we're gonna go and have a look in Prince of Rishborough north signal box Back in the signal box. There goes a children railways class 168 departing So it's really nice getting this view up here in the box. I stand the old day watch trains Perhaps it should have been a single and there's a 1.5 in the station. Now what we're gonna do I'm gonna show you down this end of the signal box. You can see Here Here's some of the levers now. I don't know too much about the levers, but here we have Paul So Paul's gonna tell us a little bit about the the levers here Hello there. Yeah, my name's Paul. I'm what we call the pick PR here on the chair and Princess Rishborough railway Person in charge Princess Rishborough. So I'm like the front controller if you like a princess Rishborough Not only my in charge, but I'm also the signal man for for the movements in China and if you come over here We've got a long run of levers 27 At the moment we only use these few here between 35 and 40 you'll see each levers numbered On this particular one Because we use token working here on the Chinna branch, which is out with the locomotive That's the authority for the local to be out on the branch When he arrives here, I collect the token You may have seen pictures of token exchanges between the driver and the signal man. There's a hoop And he puts it over my arm and I get the token that tokens like a big key Which then fits into this lever down here. There's a hole in there when I put the key in there and turn it That releases lever 40 which I pull over and then the other points and signals are available to me To control the trains, which here is normally the movement would be a run around So the steam engine would arrive on the front and we it would then run around to what was the back and Then go out back towards China If we have a look at the cross the crossover and the track arrangement here that China the train comes Sorry from Chinna to Princess Risper past the signal box into the platform there and then the loco comes off Heads down here towards the siding and then comes back up the loop line and then comes back across to the platform You'll see we use Bell working here We haven't actually got the tokens connected to the bells, but we use the bells to get the signal been used to the bell codes and Working with the bells for future developments Thank you, that was great was very interesting. I think soon the trains gonna be back, so I'm gonna go down But yeah, thank you very much for telling me all about you and there's a view looking out at the leaves So following Paul's excellent explanation of how the signal box works on back down at ground level again Chop main lines there see various parts of the signal box. We're gonna go and look at downstairs now So there we go. There's the line towards China. We're going in here So give me permission to come in here and show you what it's like in Below the downstairs for it on the inside now. You can see all these leaders hanging down their parts of signal Now as Paul said not all of it was in use if we go to this end you can see You see the levers and wires coming down There's the pulley wheels, and then they go along and outside to control the signals and points I'm gonna do we got this little ladder here, and we're gonna have a look at the intermediate floor where we can see Some of the interlocking. So this is quite exciting. So we're just getting up Yeah, I've never didn't even realize it wasn't this meeting floor We have a look here See all the interlocking's work. So I don't quite know exactly how but basically These slide this way they slide that way So there's this myth a lot people think the signal will come pull two levers and make two trains crash You can't if you set a route to go for a train You can't then set another route for a train to crash into it. It would be interlocked So that's what interlocking is. So here we are on the intermediate floor of the signal box Just see out there. Yeah, we can't receive it over there It's Yerkel factory. So what I'm going to do now I'm bringing ahead back to the station and soon our train shall arrive So following our exciting visit to signal box. They've now said they're gonna take me down the south siding So I'm keeping my high vision. There's a few interesting items of rolling stock We're gonna have a look at down there. So we're now almost back in amongst the buddlies back to The end of the Chiltern Railway station. So we've got to go right through the station and down the other end This is the south siding. So that's the Chiltern mainline. That's looking down towards London Railway, the Lexus T-Malcar here I remember seeing that arrive. If you want to see the video of that arriving here, have a look at the link on the screen now We have a guard around here and we have no free shelter. Not yet have this local for a moment I'm not gonna get it today, but maybe next year I'll leave a gala and run some public services I have to come out of a ride behind that because I've had most of their local's which they've got now for haulers Now there's something quite interesting from old heritage stock. We have something here That's not old, not heritage. It's something modern It's a wagon. There's actually two of them. These are the new wagons for London Transport They're here to be tested. So they're just here for a little bit of time They're doing various tests on days when the railways are not going to the public. So if you have a look They get quite a nice shoe there off the O'Ferry Shanta, the HST. So I think the HST power car is pulling in here It seems really ironic an HST pulling these wagons, but if you have a look, I've noticed, yeah So look, it says Made in China in 2019 There's a plate there. So that is these wagons. I don't do wagon numbers I don't redo carriage numbers, but that is this wagons identity So that was another exciting thing to see. What I'm gonna do down there I'm gonna head back to the station because I think soon my train to take me back to China will arrive. So I'm gonna walk up the side of the track and catch that train Get at China Station. So I'm gonna go back to my larder and drive off home. I've really enjoyed it here I really appreciate them giving me the access to the signal box at Fridges River. That was great I do really like China Station. One day what I'll do is I'll come here and I'll make a video on More detail on to Fridges River Railway. Have to look at the station here Maybe even have a look at the line beyond because the line once upon a time Used to continue that way to Watlington might one they get to Aston Roe and whether it'll get beyond now I don't know because you've got the M40 in the way But that is Chinni Yard down there and then there is our locomotive that we've been behind today So I hope you enjoyed this video once again. Thank you very much to the Chinni Fridges River Railway For allowing me to have a look in the signal box at Fridges River. Happy New Year to all of my viewers We're gonna make a lot more interesting videos during the course of 2023 and beyond So thank you very much for watching. Please do feel free to like, subscribe and comment. Goodbye