A museum has displayed a sight test board from 1877, developed by George Armstrong.
The STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway shared the new addition to their collection on social media.
The board is accompanied by a letter from Mr Armstrong himself, detailing how the board should be used.
Mr Armstrong's instructions include testing each eye of the candidate for recognition of colours.
He also explained the black dots on the board are clearly visible to a person with perfectly acute vision.
The board must be exposed in full daylight at a distance of 15 feet from the candidate and examined as to numbers.
The board was used to test the sight and colour perception of staff such as engine drivers or signalmen, where perfect vision was critical for safety reasons.
At the time that he developed the colour board, George Armstrong was employed as the Locomotive Superintendent at the GWR’s Stafford Road Works in Wolverhampton.
The sight test board at some point made its way into the possession of George’s great nephew, Ralph.
Ralph Armstrong, like many others in his family, worked for the GWR and seemingly collected railway relics.
The board was subsequently passed onto the family of the donor who kindly gifted it to the STEAM collection.
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