BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL
Deepcar on a misty morning in March 1981. It was a secondhand MS&L Type 3 box which replaced the East & West boxes here in 1906 and contained a Railway Signal Co. 5½in. tappet frame of 42 levers controlling Up & Down Goods lines to/from Wharncliffe Woods and a Down Goods loop to Wortley. There were also connections to sidings that served the BSC Stocksbridge works. It survived closure of the Woodhead route, but closed on 11 August 1985 when the line was singled; the structure was retained for a while longer as a Shunters’ cabin. Photo taken: - 31 March 1981.
The signal box at Milner Royd Junction near Sowerby Bridge is a rare and historic structure, being the only survivor of a box built by the company of Yardley, Smith & Co. who carried out signalling work in the period 1867-1882. The great majority of the Manchester based iron founders’ work was for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, as here. The firm’s business was greatly affected by the L&Y’s sole contract agreement with the RSCo. in 1881 and the firm carried out no signalling work after 1882. Opened in 1878, the original frame was, ironically, replaced by a 20 lever RSCo. frame in 1903.
Photo taken: - 15 April 1981.
Left: The attractive MS&L Type 2 design of 1880-87 such as at Friargate Crossing, Grimsby, had gabled roofs with a unique bargeboard design with pierced roundels with spikelets, capped by a finial. They had vertical battened boarding which was set diagonally above the operating floor windows in the gabled ends and all were of timber construction. The operating floor windows were 3ft. 6in. deep with one horizontal glazing bar. An opening window/vent, 2x2 panes was a feature in the gabled ends and locking room windows were placed in the ends of the box which were 12ft. wide. Friargate Crossing, which opened c.1884, had a 14 lever tappet frame and closed in June 1990. Photo taken: - 25 August 1980.
Right: The delightful and distinctive MS&L Type 2 signal box at Littlefield Crossing, Grimsby, dated from 1884. There are additional windows at the level crossing end to aid the Signalman’s sighting of road traffic when closing the gates, using a gate wheel mechanism in the box made by Lea of Stafford. These were replaced by barriers in March 1990 and the box was finally abolished on 25 September 1993. Photo taken: - 25 August 1980.
Situated between Leeds, Holbrook Junction and Bradford (Mill Lane Junction), the large box at East Junction (Laisterdyke) had opened in 1892. The GN box had a Saxby & Farmer 1888 patent 4in. frame of 75 levers and closed with West Junction, on 12 July 1970. However, the structure was retained and used as a shunters’ cabin for the remaining sidings serving a scrap yard and steel terminal for many more years and is seen in this view from 1980 still remarkably bearing its nameboard, although most of the windows have been boarded over in an attempt to protect them from vandalism.
Photo taken: - 21 June 1980.
Seen on a fine August day in 1979, Allington Junction was a Great Northern brick box with wavy bargeboards with finials. It was situated on the Nottingham to Grantham line, the double track diverging to the left went to Barkston East Junction on the line to Skegness. The box opened on 12 May 1875 and had a Saxby & Farmer 1884 Patent ‘Rocker’ 5 inch frame of 22 levers. This was replaced by an NX panel in October 2005.
Photo taken: - 18 August 1979.
The attractive all-brick box at High Marnham, situated on the former LD&ECR between Tuxford and Pyewipe Junction. Opened by the Eastern Region of British Railways in 1960, it had the frame positioned in the back of the box and was opened principally to control the connections to the sidings for the adjacent High Marnham Power Station, whose cooling towers can be seen in the background. It was abolished on 25 March 1984 and the power station is itself now history, having shut in 2003. Photo taken: - 14 June 1979.
On the GN & GE Joint railway between Lincoln and Doncaster (Black Carr Junc.), Beckingham was a Great Northern Type 1b brick box which opened on 6 July 1876. Originally a Saxby & Farmer ‘Rocker’ frame of 32 levers was fitted, which was replaced in 1940. With resignalling of the area in 1977 in the lead up to the opening of Doncaster PSB, all remaining mechanical boxes on the line between Beckingham and Doncaster were closed; the level crossing gates replaced by lifting barriers; and the frame in the box replaced by an NX Panel, which is still in use at the present time (2024). Note the bricked-up locking room windows. Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.
From an early age, Michael’s passion for steam trains led him to meticulously document the signal boxes of England’s east and north-eastern counties. This collection, featuring images from the 1970s and early 1980s, showcases the architectural diversity of these vital railway structures.
Discover the charm and significance of these once-ubiquitous structures and delve into the fascinating history of railway signalling in the British Isles.
ISBN 978-1-913893-54-5
