Epping Signal Box is located on the Southern (Sydney) end of platform 1. It (in the 1960's) controlled from near Cheltenham to Eastwood (under the 'Track Block and Automatic' system). The lever frame was of the miniature type (small miniatures of the normal sized levers found in most signal boxes), it also boasted a small sub panel mounted above the frame containing a number of Kellog keys controlling the points and signals at Eastwood. The station layout at Epping at the time mentioned was as follows:
Between Eastwood and Epping on both the Up and Down sides were relief roads, to allow passing movements of trains. At the Epping end on the Down line, just after the relief line merged was a Refuge siding accessible from the Down Main in a reverse movement, also at this point was the entry to the Middle Platform road which was a dead-end road with platforms both sides (at once stage you could alight or join from either platform, a dangerous procedure, which was later rectified by the erection of a fence. trains entering this dead-end road could only depart under signal conditions to the Up Main or the Up Relief road. At the Hornsby end of the platform 3 was a Tonnage signal, which could only be passed if in full clear by trains over a certain tonnage. The track indicator board in the signal box was of the light out on approaching train, this board extended as far as Meadowbank on the Approach side and to the Up Starting on the departure side, there was only track occupancy light between Meadowbank and the Up Accept signal between Denistone and Eastwood.
This was due to West Ryde having control over the section Concord West to just
before Denistone (although this Signal box was normally switched out, except
when Shunting was taking place at West Ryde. The normal state of affairs was
that Concord West despatched trains in the Down Direction which ran under
Automatic conditions as far as Epping's Accept signal, in the Down direction,
Epping despatched trains and these were on Automatic conditions as far as
Concord West's Down Accept signal.
So you can realise that once a train left Concord West traveling to Epping and
beyond it could disappear into the section at Meadowbank to Eastwood (the one
light indicator), a further three trains could depart Concord West and be in
the one light section of the board.
This could cause the Signalman at Epping some concern if Concord West was slow
in signaling train departure or in the case of trains out of course.
Epping Signal Box was manned 24 hours per day 7 days per week.