At the age of fourteen, Spagnoletti started work at the National Debt Office. He soon started studying with
Alexander Bain, inventor and engineer, and worked with him on a printing telegraph. On the GWR, Spagnoletti's block telegraph instrument was particularly useful on single-track lines where it allowed more trains to be run. It became the foundation of all block signalling used on almost all British railways, and on the railways of many other countries. He continued to develop various devices and inventions applicable to signalling and railways, and also in other areas such as fire safety. Throughout his career Spagnoletti acted in various advisory roles. He was consulting engineer for a number of railway companies (
Metropolitan and District,
City and South London, and
Central London), and also the London Electric Omnibus Company. In the Spagnoletti Induced Needle, This type of instrument survived in use beyond the end of the GWR in 1948, and into the 21st century. The final operational Network Rail example, located in Banbury South signal box was finally decommissioned at 02:00 on 30 July 2016 shortly before the box's demolition. He also developed a repeater for
semaphore signals (where the status of signals not directly visible from the signal box could be displayed) and a semaphore signal lamp checker (warning if the light of a signal was extinguished).
Society of Telegraph Engineers Charles Spagnoletti was an early member of the
Society of Telegraph Engineers (formed in 1871), joining in 1872. Spagnoletti was also a member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, the
Physical Society of London, the
Royal Society of Arts, and the
Imperial Institute. ==Family life==