Rockdale.
Rockdale Signal Box was located to the Sydney side of Rockdale Station on
the Railway St side of Rockdale. It was almost directly opposite Geeves Ave.
The track at Rockdale consisted of 4 Main line tracks, a dead-end siding in the
Platform (on the Railway St side), as well as a siding on the Princes Highway
side leading to the Meat Processors. there were crossings from the Main
Illawarra to Illawarra local on the Sydney side of the station and from the
Illawarra local to the Illawarra Main at the Hurstville end. The operating
system was Track Block and Automatic both sides of Rockdale, between Tempe and
Hurstville. The Signal box was manned 7 days a week 24 hours a day and could be
switched in or out as required.
Each morning there arrived a Steam hauled suburban set, which was stabled in the dead-end platform road until the
evening, the loco, of course departing for Eveleigh and returning later.
The lever system in this signal box was of the Pistol grip type with alternate
levers (pistol grips) being inverted. As was the case on all the main lines,
approach locking was applied to all points and signals and woe betide the
signalman who only returned the lever to the first stop and had another train
approach. delay! delay! It was from this signal box that I resigned from the
railways, however I have never lost the feel for the system.