YouTuber Geoff Marshall’s A.J Wells Factory Tour

We were delighted to welcome passionate rail enthusiast and prominent YouTuber, Geoff Marshall, to A.J Wells HQ to explore the UK’s largest vitreous enamel factory and see where much of the UK’s railway signage is manufactured.

The London Underground is his first love, so much so that he has twice held the Guinness World Record for travelling to all the Tube stations in the fastest time. In 2017, he visited all 2,563 stations in Great Britain, followed in 2019 by going to all 198 stations in Ireland. With such an overwhelming love for all things rail related, we had to invite Geoff to visit us here on the Isle of Wight and experience the home of London Underground railway signage.

Read on to take a tour with Geoff around our factory!

Geoff was given a full tour of the factory, meeting various members of our team including Ced Wells, Creative Director, who explained the history of the company. The founders started our vitreous enamel journey by enamelling our market-leading Charnwood stoves, evolving to utilise this expertise to create vitreous enamel signage for Transport for London (TfL).

Tube Signs Made in Britain

They are produced in vitreous enamel a traditional process that involves fusing glass particles to sheet metal by firing it at temperatures in excess of 800°C. The finish has a unique depth and vibrance and has been specified by rail operators for many years. The result is heat and fire resistant which is vital for improving safety in the underground environment. It is also colourfast and weather-proof with exceptional durability, meaning colours, text and images never fade. Enamel signs are ideal for above or below ground, indoors or outdoors and require very little maintenance.

It is all in the details – Heritage Roundel

Mark Ovendon, a transport author and Geoff’s tour companion for the day, spotted a perfect reproduction of a heritage roundel utilising the Edward Johnston font. His keen eye noticed that the spacing between the diamond detailing above and below the text matches the width of each individual letter. This enhances the visibility of the text which helps travelers navigate their way through busy stations and is typical of the attention to detail that goes into TfL design.

Design

Paul Symonds, our lead artworker, gave Geoff an overview of our design process and demonstrated our sustainable printing that uses silver coated substrate to make exceptionally high-quality prints without chemicals.

Geoff’s successful screen-printing attempt

Geoff was then invited to try his hand at screen-printing a live sign to be used in Bank Station. He was given the task of screen printing with Piccadilly Blue to create a DLR mini roundel. As Geoff pointed out, his blue layer is just one of many layers that are built up sequentially to create a London Underground sign. It is a labour-intensive process; however, the end result is well worth it with its outstanding durability meaning it can last for decades.

Paris Metro

As Geoff and Mark discovered, it is not just the London Underground that we produce signage for, but also the Paris metro. We manufacture both modern and heritage metro signage with the famous and beautiful Hector Guimard font still in use.

The A.J Wells Museum Tunnel

The last stop of the tour was the A.J Wells Museum Tunnel, which displays a wide range of the London Underground signage we have created for TfL over the past 30 to 40 years. Displaying a range of heritage signage to signs from our most recent and notable projects including Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line. David Gatrell, our commercial manager, explains how we have manufactured signage and cladding across the Elizabeth Line, including the majority of the wayfinding signage, roundels, and totems.

_______________

We would like to thank Geoff and Mark for visiting and we highly recommend checking out Geoff’s YouTube channel where you can also find other links to his fantastic content.