in the ground, although four holes were cast into the base, so they could have been bolted down if required. One curiosity is that the holes in the flanges are not central, so the sign is not parallel with the flutes of the column, but slightly skewed. From experience, years of rust on the bolts and flange can result in the whole post coming loose in the ground, before rust etc allows the notice to come off the post! The complete post and sign is very heavy indeed, but will just fit inside a 1961 Standard Vanguard, though leaving very little room for a family of five!

BEWARE OF THE TRAINS (look both up and down the line). An attractive sign, these are extremely common and fixed to fences, walls or posts where anyone, staff or passengers, needed to cross the line on the level, particularly by footpath. 28½in by 15¼in, again, they are thick and very heavy.

PERSONS TRESPASSING ...Of similar style, this time just to warn against trespassers, this measures 29in by 12in and is very rarely seen.

CAUTION. Yet another variety of sign to warn the public against trespassing on the railway, these are much thinner castings than most of those previously described and were often fixed to steel posts. Measuring 26in by 19¼in, they all bear the date December 1883, which is assumed to be the date of an Act of Parliament allowing such a fine and, presumably, fixing the penalty at forty shillings. This is the only type of LNWR

cast iron sign for which there was felt to be a need for a Welsh translation – RHYBUDD, and in the principality both English and Welsh versions were usually mounted one above the other on a single post. The Welsh version measured 25½in by 16¾in. Both types are common, though the Welsh is obviously less so. For some reason, many of these signs seen by me have been warped, usually being slightly concave.

Bridge restriction diamond. An RCH standard sign, all railways used this design and the only difference was the name of the company at the bottom. Separate cast iron plates were bolted into slots for the tonnages. Probably due to their large size and thin castings, these are quite difficult to find now. Over the points they measure 31in by 49in. Some railways also used a smaller version, measuring circa 24in by 38in, but does anyone know whether the LNWR also used this size?

Bridge restriction (sufficient for ordinary traffic). Again this seems to have been an RCH standard sign because other railways used very similar ones. They seem to have been used on farm tracks and private land where horse-drawn machinery was being replaced by traction engines, towable ‘stationery’ steam engines and the like, which obviously weighed several times more than a couple of horses. Measuring 27in by 19½in, these signs are now even more difficult to find than the diamond pattern.