With its brutalist architecture and illuminated sign, this Grade II Listed iconic landmark closed at the end of services on Christmas Eve 2022 when control passed to the West Midlands Signalling Centre. An early power box design, it had supervised movements in and around New Street station since 3 July 1966 but, over 56 years later, its life expired equipment and associated cabling was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

On Fri 31 Mar 2023, enterprising and enthusiastic NR staff hosted a day of 12-person visits to this closed panel box. There were five free public visits with the 60 participants drawn from over 7,000 members of the public who applied (a ballot in which your correspondent was unsuccessful), plus a welcome additional 12-person charity visit for our Society members before the public tours.

Greeted by our hosts for the Society visit on a very wet Birmingham day, the way the box operated was explained and we first passed the classroom. Several new uses for the box had been suggested, including fitness centre and Airbnb but the hosts were very proud to show the classroom in use for a signalling school, training tomorrow's signallers. Continuing up the narrow stairs, the machine room with its rows of heritage/Museum equipment was next. The 'Westpac' units were explained, labelled to show which area they controlled. The modular system enabled units and other components to be exchanged when faulty ones had been identified which wasn't always simple. The Operating Floor above, with its bird's eye view of train movements at the west end of the station and the surrounding roads, is surprisingly small. The compact panel was worked by a shift supervisor and just a handful of signallers. Like any box of this age, lines added to and removed from the panel over the years were evident. Various local operational constraints were marked on the panel. Our hosts tirelessly described their time operating the panel and explained the finer 'points' of the operation, for example how to avoid conflicting moves. We could try setting routes on the redundant panel and noted the nowadays 'rare' connection from the lower numbered platforms (P5 is the lowest) to/from Holliday Street Tunnel on the Bristol line. It was once used regularly by the Glasgow/Edinburgh - Bristol sleeper trains.

Each member of our party was presented with a New Street biscuit on departure. Grateful thanks to our visit negotiator and the NR staff. Our short notice visit, advertised by email to those who had signed up to them and opened at a notified time, resulted in a donation of £360 to Railway Children.