John Saxby

Who was John Saxby?

John Saxby was a British engineer from Brighton, noted for his work in railway signalling and the invention of the interlocking system of points and signals.

Born in Brighton, he was apprenticed as a carpenter to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. Saxby became interested in railway safety and lodged his first patents for a system of interlocking of points and signals in 1856. This innovation was designed to act at once upon all the points and signals at a railway junction. Not only were the points and signals activated, but all the other signals in the system were locked against improper use.

The first system was installed at the Bricklayers Arms junction, near the Old Kent Road in South London. It consisted of eight semaphore signals and six pairs of points controlling the routes in and out of London bridge Station and neighbouring goods yards, with linkages to a signal box.

In 1856 Saxby started his own business at Haywards Heath to manufacture signalling apparatus, and was joined in partnership by John Stinson Farmer in 1862. As Saxby and Farmer, they were leading railway signal manufacturers and established works at Kilburn.