Background information:
This relay house in Den Bosch was built around 1958, when the station was the first in the Netherlands to be equipped with the NX security system. An essential component was the so-called B relay. Developed in the 1930s and used in the Dutch railway system since 1947, they have proven to be very reliable and are therefore suitable for operating switches and signals. There are several examples of relays that have been in use for more than 50 years, are refurbished and then continue to serve for many years. The B relays are also being newly produced and used, for example at Utrecht Central Station in 2016. The last NX security system in Hengelo was replaced in 2002. The shunting terrains are now controlled from Zwolle. But the countless relay houses along the route will continue to serve for several generations.
Architectural details:
This building with an overhanging flat roof covers approximately 65 m2 of surface area in one floor. It has one door, but no windows. The half-brick masonry walls, constructed from sandy yellow Waal format bricks in half-brick bond, do not even have high and narrow facade openings, as other relay houses do. Technically no problem because light was rarely needed indoors, after all, relays work fine in the dark. But perhaps the environment also played a role from an architectural point of view. Because although the relay house now borders the famous Paleiskwartier, an area with many offices and homes, the same area was called the Wolfsdonken business park in the 1950s to 2000s. Who would have thought at the time that the modest relay house would easily survive the then new business park.
