Br Eastern Signal Boxes - Full

BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES

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

£17.50

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL

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.

BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL

BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL

© Design: Transport Treasury. 2024 Images: Michael Eppinger. Text: Michael Marshall.

ISBN 978-1-913893-54-5 First published in 2024 by Transport Treasury Publishing Limited, 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe, HP13 7PJ. Totem Publishing, an imprint of Transport Treasury Publishing.

The copyright holders hereby give notice that all rights to this work are reserved.

Aside from brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this work may be reproduced, copied by electronic or other means, or otherwise stored in any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the Publisher. This includes the illustrations herein which shall remain the copyright of the copyright holder. www.ttpublishing.co.uk Printed in Tarxien, Malta by Gutenberg Press Ltd. ‘Signal Boxes’ is one of many books on specialist transport subjects published in strictly limited numbers and produced under the Totem Publishing imprint using material only available at The Transport Treasury.

Front Cover: The attractive Great Northern Type 1 brick box with decorative filigree bargeboards at Sleaford Junction (Boston), opened on 7 January 1897. It replaced an earlier box of unknown type and contained a McKenzie & Holland 4in. frame of 70 levers. As its name implies it controlled the junction of the line to Sleaford as well as to Boston Dock. The tall structure was a wedge shape in plan, narrowing at the rear at the south end. Following the wholesale closure of many lines in east Lincolnshire, including the route between Boston and Spalding on 5 October 1970, the frame was reduced to just 20 working levers in November 1972. Final closure came on 19 May 1974, although the box remained in-situ long enough to be photographed in August 1978. Photo taken: - 26 August 1978 Frontispiece: There were once six boxes at the Great Central’s main station at Sheffield Victoria, numbered 1 to 6, north to south. This is Sheffield (Victoria) No 1 seen in derelict condition after closure on 25 March 1979, the station having closed in January 1970. This box had opened in March 1908 and had a GC 4½in. tappet frame of 36 levers. The GC Type 4 structure later had a brick base added. At the time of writing this brick base still remains and is visible from the street.

Rear Cover: The Gloucester Wagon & Carriage Company (GWCo.) box on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s Knottingley to Shaftholme Junction (Doncaster) line at Askern. Opened in 1880, it displays all the usual features of their design with a gabled roof (although most others on this line had hipped roofs), brick-to-floor construction, decorative bargeboards with a distinctive design and a pivoting window in the gable ends. Askern also has segmental arched locking room windows topped by a decorative band of different coloured bricks. The GWCo. diversified and started doing signalling work in 1876 and gained a 5 year contract with the L&Y in October 1878 whereby they carried out the majority of new work for the L&Y between 1879-81. The Askern branch closed to passengers in September 1948, but the line remained open for goods, mostly coal traffic from Askern Main Colliery and Coalite works. Askern and the remaining adjacent boxes closed on 26 October 1980, the area coming under the control of Doncaster panel. The level crossing was then supervised by CCTV from a new gate box opened at nearby Norton.

Photo taken: - 23 August 1980

Introduction

M

ichael Eppinger was born 9 December 1950. He became a railway enthusiast at an early age, when he would stand on Metheringham village railway bridge. He loved to watch the steam trains going under. He saved his pocket money to purchase his first camera. That’s when his passion for taking photos began. He and his friend Charles would travel all over the country visiting stations to take photographs, not only of the station but of the signal boxes also. His ambition was to visit every signal box in the country which he largely managed to achieve.

He was a member of Lincoln Railway Society and at the club made good friends with Ray, Ron , and Pete. He won numerous competitions with his photographs, especially of steam trains. Unfortunately due to ill health Michael has been unable to continue his passion, but his friends keep him informed of all that is happening in the train world.

structures by providing unsympathetic modern window replacements have completely disfigured and spoilt the look and original characteristics of them.

Thankfully, there are many good surviving examples on heritage railways which have, in some instances, rescued and moved structures for preservation and some have even erected new signal boxes in the architectural style used by the original pre-grouping railway company.

My thanks also go to Neil Mackay and to John Hinson for their assistance. John also has an excellent website – The Signal Box, which gives detailed information and images on signalling topics in the British Isles and is well worth checking out.

This book takes a brief photographic look at some of the different signal boxes, mostly of the pre-grouping railway companies, that once existed in the east and north-eastern counties of England. The images were taken in the 1970s and early 1980s by Michael, and as such, constitute a tribute to his work.

For those interested in learning more about this fascinating subject, I can do no better than recommend joining The Signalling Record Society (SRS) that is based in the UK, and was founded in 1969 to maintain and share knowledge of railway signalling and operation in the British Isles and overseas. The society has progressively built up considerable resources of documentation, photographic records and collective knowledge in signalling matters which it makes available to its members.

The signal boxes in this book are described according to the classification developed by The Signalling Study Group in ‘The Signal Box – A Pictorial History & Guide to Designs’, OPC 1986.

The website can be accessed at: www.s-r-s.org.uk

Much information about opening and closure dates has been taken from the ‘Signal Box Registers’, most notably Volume 3: LNER (Southern Area) published by the Signalling Record Society (SRS) in 2012 and Volume 7: North Eastern Railway & Hull & Barnsley Railway published by the SRS in 2023; and due acknowledgement must be given to the contributors/authors of these excellent works of reference.

Michael Marshall, June 2024.

The study of railway signalling is a fascinating and immersive subject of which I have taken a particular interest in with particular regard to the different architectural styles of signal boxes used by the pre-grouping railway companies and those provided by the signalling contractors.

The signal box at a station, sidings, junctions, and at level crossings was for many years since the 1860s, one of the most common features of the railway system in the British Isles. At the turn of the 19th century, there were some 13,000 mechanical signal boxes in use, but over the years their numbers have been dramatically reduced with line closures and re-signalling schemes, etc., so that only 14 of the boxes featured in this book were still in use at the time of writing (April 2024).

Those older remaining boxes provide some of the best survivals from the Victorian era, but in recent years modernisation of some of these box

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The non-standard brick box with flat concrete roof at Dodworth, situated between Barnsley Station Junction and Penistone, was opened by B.R. Eastern Region in 1955, replacing a Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) Type 1 box of c.1880. It contained a secondhand Saxby & Farmer 1888 pattern 4 inch frame of 22 levers and was abolished on 10 April 1998, by which time the line had been singled.

Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

Kendall Green Crossing was a ground level signal box on the former Great Central (MS&L) route between Wombwell and Penistone, known as the Worsborough branch. It was one of a small number supplied to the MS&L by signalling contractors Stevens & Sons in the years 1882-6 to a ‘special’ design which had gabled roofs with vertical battened boarding, plain bargeboards with a small roundel near the foot and 3-panes deep operating floor windows. It had a Stevens tappet frame of 9 levers and closed at the same time as the rest of the Woodhead route, on 20 July 1981.

Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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Also situated on the Worsborough branch, Worsborough Bridge Crossing was a Great Central Type 5b box, which contained a 14 lever tappet frame at 6 inch centres, which once controlled sidings situated on the Down side. It too closed on 20 July 1981, along with the whole Worsborough branch/Woodhead route.

Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

There were no fewer than six level crossings situated within a short distance of a few miles on the Worsborough branch and Lewden Crossing was another one of them. It was a ground level MS&L Type 2 wooden box, 14ft. x 12ft., which would appear to have been secondhand and had a 15 lever MS&L 5in. tappet frame and also closed on 20 July 1981.

Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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Another of those many crossings on the Worsborough branch was Glasshouse Crossing, seen here two months before its demise. It was a GC Type 5 box, but at 15ft. 6in. x 7ft. 6in., it was much narrower than usual to fit the confined site. The MS&L tappet frame of 15 levers was replaced by a 9 lever ground frame to the design of the LNER in the post-war period. Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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The somewhat remote Valehouse box on the Woodhead route was situated about a mile east of Hadfield station. The GC Type 5a box, 21ft. 4in. x 21ft., was opened in 1896 and until its demise controlled entry to a Down Goods loop westwards to Hadfield from its 21 lever MS&L 6in. tappet frame. There was once an Up Goods line eastward to Woodhead. There appears to be plenty of Calor Gas bottles with only a few weeks until closure.

Photo taken: - 31 March 1981.

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.

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The isolated box at Oughty Bridge, between Sheffield (Victoria) and Penistone, was opened by the GCR on 27 January 1905, replacing two earlier East and West boxes at this location. It had a Railway Signal Co. (RSCo) tappet frame of 30 levers at 4½in. centres. In busier times it once controlled extensive loops and sidings, but following closure of the Woodhead route and decline in traffic, the box was closed in January 1984. Photo taken: - 31 March 1981.

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Mitchells Main, and the adjacent Darfield Main and Wombwell Station, were among a handful of Saxby & Farmer Type 8 boxes on the MS&L and probably opened in 1875 when this section of line was quadrupled. Originally it probably had a Saxby & Farmer ‘Rocker & gridiron’ frame, but this was replaced in August 1948 by a McKenzie & Holland 4in. frame supplied from Leyton shops and made up of reconditioned parts of scrapped frames. Both Mitchells Main and Darfield Main boxes closed on 17 November 1985 when this section of line was wiped from the railway map.

Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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Daisyfield Station on the Blackburn to Hellifield line of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway was a Saxby & Farmer Type 6 brick box with hipped roof, which opened in 1873. Originally it would have had a Saxby & Farmer ‘Rocker’ frame, but this was replaced in 1943 with a 16 lever L&Y tappet frame which was based on the RSCo. design. Note the small eaves brackets and lack of a nameboard. Saxby & Farmer Type 6 boxes were once widespread on the Lancashire & Yorkshire.

Photo taken: - 15 May 1981.

In the 20th century, the Great Central’s signalling department under A.F. Bound became one of the most progressive in the country with the installation of pneumatic signalling on lines between Ardwick and Newton in the period 1903-6. Ashburys East Junction, Manchester was one such installation; a GC Type 5 box with a narrow brick base 10ft. wide which opened c.

May 1906. It was fitted with British Pneumatic Signal Company low pressure pneumatic frame with pull-out slides and handles. The pneumatic frame was replaced by an NX panel in May 1984. Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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A very tired looking Dunford East in its last few weeks of operation still wears the old Eastern Region yellow and green paint and obviously hasn’t been re-painted since the 1950s. A GC Type 5a box 20ft. x 12ft., it was originally known as Dunford No 5 until the electrification and associated resignalling of the Woodhead route in 1951. In better times it had controlled the eastern end of an Up Goods loop from Dunford West from its 24 lever GC 4½in. tappet frame, but this had been abolished before that fateful closure day in July 1981. Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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Thurlstone Crossing, on the Woodhead route west of Penistone, opened in late 1899, was a GCR Type 5a box of 16ft. 10in. x 12ft. and controlled the adjacent level crossing of a minor road and connection to a Down Goods loop to Bullhouse Colliery. It had an MS&L 6in. type tappet frame of the same date. It was abolished on 20 July 1981 with the closure of the route. In this view taken in 1981, the box’s poor condition reflects the state many of the boxes on this route had fallen into prior to closure. Photo taken: - 11 May 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.

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On the former Midland Railway route between Manchester and Sheffield, Chinley Station North Junction was a Midland Type 3b box, 12ft. wide. These boxes featured a new window pane arrangement with fewer glazing bars to give the Signalman a clearer view. They were also distinguishable by having operating floor window panes in the non-door ends wider than those in the front of the box. This box closed on 6 December 1981 and the line between here and Chinley North Junction (then re-named just Chinley which had opened in 1980) was reduced to double track using the Up Goods and Down Main lines as the Down Main and Up Main respectively. Photo taken: - 16 May 1981.

Situated on the Manningtree to Harwich line, Mistley was a GE Type 3 box built by McKenzie & Holland in 1882 which featured a unique seven-light window design and boarding in rusticated rectangles – a most unusual feature. These boxes also had decorative bargeboards and cockscombe ridge tiles and Mistley has a brick base. It had a 30 lever McK&H frame and had opened when the line to Wrabness was doubled. It closed on 29 September 1985 in association with resignalling of lines in the area. There was once a tramway leading to Mistley Quay and note the prominent chimney of the Edme Malt Extract Works. Photo taken: - 25 April 1981.

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The GC Type 5 box at Crosby Mines on the North Lindsey Light Railway in North Lincolnshire, (which was promoted by the Great Central Railway) was narrower than usual, with the brick base being added later. It opened in August 1913, replacing an earlier box of unknown type, and had a RSCo. 5½in. tappet frame of 30 levers. Following closure of the steelworks at Normanby Park traffic declined dramatically, but amazingly the box managed to linger on in an increasing vandalised state until closure on 13 November 1991. Photo taken: - 17 April 1981.

Fambridge on the Wickford to Southminster branch was an example of a GE Type 8 brick box; as were all the boxes on this line. These boxes had steeply pitched roofs with decorative ridge tiles and terracotta finials and had McK&H decoration on the bargeboards and fascia.

McKenzie & Holland were given the signalling contract for the Southminster branch in December 1888 and Fambridge had a 5 inch 30 lever fame of their manufacture. This was reduced to just 10 levers in 1966; the middle section of the frame renumbered 1-10; the outer sections 1-10 & 21-30 removed. Fambridge remained to work a passing loop at the station until its abolition on 19 January 1986.

Photo taken: - 19 April 1981.

Northumberland Park was a GE Type 7 wooden box raised on a metal platform/gantry. It was inspected on 1 April 1914 and had an McK&H 4in. frame, initially of 44 levers, but extended over the years to accommodate layout alterations, until finally reaching 54 levers in 1954.

A switch panel was fitted in July 1975 which replaced the frame and the gates to Manually Controlled Barriers.

It was retained as a gate box until 24 April 1988, the crossing then controlled by CCTV from Brimsdown, control being transferred to Liverpool Street IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) in August 2002 on closure of that box.

Photo taken: - 19 April 1981.

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Situated on the Lea Valley line, Brimsdown was a GE brick-to-floor box which opened in 1884, but suffered serious damage due to enemy action in 1944, resulting in considerable alterations to its structure. It contained an McK&H frame which was extended over the years and controlled the adjacent level crossing; sidings to CEGB at Northmet and later an Up goods line to Enfield Lock. The route was electrified in 1965; the crossing gates replaced by manually controlled lifting barriers in 1969; and the Up Goods line abolished in 1987. The box finally closed on 27 August 2002 with the area controlled from Liverpool Street IECC and the crossing monitored by CCTV. Photo taken: - 18 April 1981.

The rather grubby wooden GE Type 2 box at Wormley, further up the Lea Valley, opened in 1872 and may originally have had a Stevens frame. In 1921 a McKenzie & Holland 6in. frame of 16 levers was fitted, which was extended to 26 levers by 1934 when the adjacent signal box at Turnford was abolished. Wormley box itself closed on 21 April 1985 and the area controlled by Broxbourne Station box. Photo taken: - 18 April 1981.

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The lonely box in a cutting at Parsons Heath was situated between Colchester and Manningtree and opened in 1903. It was a timber GE Type 7 box with an McK&H 4in. frame of 20 levers. Its function was greatly reduced when in December 1976 the Up and Down sidings and associated connections, together with the Mains crossover, were all taken out of use. The box was abolished on 24 April 1983, the area then coming under the control of Colchester box. Photo taken: - 19 April 1981.

The ornate and unusual signal box at Georges Road Junction, Stockport of the former Cheshire Lines Committee. Opened in May 1884, the box contained a 50 lever frame, later extended to 53 levers. It shows all the characteristics of this style of Cheshire Lines box; with a hipped roof; ornamental eaves brackets; 3 panes deep main windows with fixed uppers; and a porch with a sloping roof to match the main pitch. This photo dates from June 1981, by which time the box was out of use, being last used on 16 December 1980. However, it wasn’t officially abolished until 18 March 1984. The unusual location of the nameboards will be noted. Photo taken: - 3 June 1981.

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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.

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Still wearing the blue enamel nameboards it was fitted with when it first opened, Pyewipe Road was situated on the line from Marsh Junction, Grimsby to Immingham East Junction. Opened by BR Eastern Region c.1958, it is what has been classified as a Type BR (E) 16a with flat concrete roof and brick central pillar. The 20 lever frame was situated at the back and this box has additional windows at the crossing end to aid the Signalman’s sighting of road traffic when closing the gates. Photo taken: - 25 August 1980.

Roxton Sidings (between Wrawby Junction & Cleethorpes) was a nice example of an MS&L Type 2 box and opened in 1883. It contained an MS&L 6 inch tappet frame of 18 levers stated to date from 1906; but that date seems rather late and it could in fact be original; and a gate wheel mechanism made

by Lea of Stafford for working the crossing gates. The signal box was abolished on 24 December 2015 in the recent resignalling of the area with control now passing to York Rail Operating Centre. Apparently the crossing is now monitored using obstacle detection technology.

Photo taken: - 25 August 1980.

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Left: MS&L Type 2 box 13ft. x 13ft., at Greasborough Road, Rotherham, is believed to date from 1880. It was an elevated box, being taller than normal to give the Signalman a good view of his area of control over the adjacent overbridge; the wooden framework being exposed below the locking room. A nice touch is the ornamental valancing to the bottom of the boarding, a feature unique to the MS&L. The MS&L tappet frame was replaced by 1928 with an LNER standard type frame of 26 levers.

Greasborough Road closed on 18 October 1981 under the Sheffield/ Doncaster re-signalling. Photo taken: - 6 September 1980.

Right: The signal box at Meadow Hall, on the outskirts of Sheffield, still wears an Eastern Region yellow and green paint scheme from the 1950s.

This MS&L Type 1 box 14ft. x 13ft. is believed to have opened in 1876. It seems to have lost its ball and spike finial and doesn’t have the doubleheight operating floor windows associated with many of these early boxes. The box originally contained a 16 lever frame, replaced in July 1917 with a 26 lever GC 4½in. tappet frame. Meadow Hall lingered on to serve the truncated line between Tinsley West Junction and Wombwell to the Smithywood Coking Plant (the line to Barnsley closed to passengers in 1953) and to BSC Meadowhall, beyond which the line once continued down the Blackburn Valley to join up with the Midland Railway at Blackburn Junction. Meadow Hall was abolished on 10 April 1983.

Photo taken: - 6 September 1980.

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The GC Type 5b box, 30ft. x 12ft., at Tinsley East Junction, opened c.1926 replacing an earlier box of unknown type. It housed a Great Central 4½in. tappet frame of 50 levers. As can be seen a brick blast wall was added c.1940 to afford some protection to the wooden structure during air raids. The box closed on 6 December 1992. Photo taken: - 6 September 1980.

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Between March and Peterborough, the delightfully named Three Horse Shoes was once the junction of the goods only branch to Benwick. It is a GE Type 7 brick to eaves box which opened in 1901 in connection with the opening of the Benwick branch; and replaced an earlier box of unknown type.

The Benwick branch closed on 13 July 1964; the Mains crossover taken out use in 1984; but Three Horse Shoes remains open, although its appearance has been altered somewhat following it being re-windowed in a ‘Railtrack Refurbishment’ in 2002. Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

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A trio of boxes built in the March area in 1899 represents the last flurry of signalling work by the firm of Dutton & Co. Ltd. Kings Dyke, between March and Peterborough, was one of these and has the features of a Dutton box provided to the GE Type 7/Dn design, such as the window arrangement; slight upward sweep at the bargeboard ends; and roofed landing, but is unusual in that the corner pillar has been substituted by a curved timber bracket.

Fitted with a Dutton ‘1893 Patent’ frame of 19 levers, it has the distinction of being the last Dutton frame to still be in use on Network Rail.

Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

Likewise, Horsemoor box on the outskirts of March was also supplied to the GER by signalling engineers - Dutton & Co. of Worcester in 1899 and contained a 25 lever frame of their manufacture. Although to the GE Type 7 design, the structure had distinguishing features peculiar to the makers, such as single upper horizontal glazing bars and a roofed landing as per contemporary Dutton Type 3 boxes. The crossing was converted to barriers in 1976, controlled from the box which finally succumbed on 13 November 1988. I believe the structure ended up in a reclamation yard in Wisbech.

Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

Out on the fens of Cambridgeshire, Padnal definitely appears to be sinking backwards. Situated between Ely and Thetford, the all timber GE Type 7 box, provided by McKenzie & Holland with a 5in. frame, opened in 1887 when a siding was provided here for agricultural traffic.

The goods yard closed in May 1965 and Padnal box was destroyed by fire on 20 December 1989. As the original Act required the place to be staffed, an attendant with hut had to be provided after the fire until a further Act of Parliament was passed rendering the attendant no longer necessary in May 1993.

Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

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Magdalen Road box was an example of a pre-grouping box of a former railway company completely different to the line on which it was situated.

Between Ely and King’s Lynn it was a secondhand GC Type 5 wooden box of unknown origin, which replaced a GE Type 2 box here in 1928. With a Saxby & Farmer duplex frame of 40 levers and a gate wheel for the adjacent crossing it controlled the junction of the line to March via Wisbech. This closed on 9 September 1968 and the level crossing converted to Manually Controlled Barriers in 1978. The line to King’s Lynn was singled from here in February 1985, using the former Up Main and an IFS panel installed in the box in July 1992. Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

The Great Eastern Type 4 timber box at Hilgay, situated between Ely and King’s Lynn, would appear to have been modified over its lifetime. The contract for the signalling here in association with the doubling of the line was given to Stevens & Sons in late 1882. It later had a modified secondhand Great Central frame of 16 levers fitted c.1934 in the rear of the box, which replaced the original Stevens frame. It was reduced to a gate box in April 1979 and was finally abolished on 17 June 1984 when the crossing was automated, initially without barriers. Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

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The GE Type 2 design with gabled roof and plain bargeboards (some were notched) and 5ft. deep operating floor windows first appeared in 1877/8. This example at Littleport opened in 1882 in connection with doubling of the line from Ely North Junction and contained a Saxby & Farmer 5in. ‘Rocker’ frame of 25 levers. It was formally known as Littleport Station as there was also a box known as Littleport Yard, but this was abolished in 1946 and this box then became just Littleport. Photo taken: - 20 September 1980.

Opened on 28 January 1906, this Midland Type 3a box was originally called Mansfield Colliery Sidings. Its original frame was replaced in April 1911 and again on 7 April 1929 with a 35 lever REC (Railway Executive Committee) frame fitted at the back of the box. These frames were a development of the Midland tappet frame. Mansfield Colliery Junction was abolished on 15 October 1983. Photo taken: - 5 October 1980.

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The GN1 Type 1 brick box at Rectory Junction, near Nottingham, controlled the eastern access to the Great Northern’s once mighty yard at Colwick, which at its peak could handle up to 6,000 wagons a day. It opened on 26 November 1888 and contained an RSCo. 4in. tappet frame of 84 levers and once worked to Colwick East to the west and Cotgrave Colliery South Junction to the south. As its functions diminished with closure of the yard, levers 1-22 were removed, leaving the disused 23-42 section in a partitioned-off area, with the line to Cotgrave also now closed.

Photo taken: - 20 October 1980.

Audley End was a tall timber GE Type 2 box with notched bargeboards situated between Bishop’s Stortford and Cambridge, which opened in June 1881.

It controlled the junction of the branch to Saffron Walden from a Saxby & Farmer 4in. frame which was replaced in 1931 with a secondhand S&F Duplex 60 lever frame when new Up & Down Goods loops were commissioned here. The branch was taken out of use on 7 February 1965; the Up loop abolished in November 1969; and finally the Down loop on 13 November 1983, with the box following two weeks later on 27 November.

Photo taken: - 18 October 1980.

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The NE Type S1a all brick box of the Southern Division of the North Eastern Railway at Wressle situated on the line from Selby (Barlby Junction) to Hull.

It was a particularly handsome design featuring corbelled-out corner piers and stepped brickwork gables. Opened by June 1874 it originally had a Saxby & Farmer frame of 10 levers. The box was extended at the nearest end in 1905 in connection with the fitting of a McKenzie & Holland No 16 pattern frame of 22 levers, but this was reduced to just 10 working levers in 1978; the box finally succumbing on 13 July 1986. Photo taken: - 23 August 1980.

The delightful ground level 14ft. x 12ft., MS&L Type 2 box at Brigg Siding situated between Wrawby Junction and Gainsborough Trent Junction was secondhand from an unknown location. It opened on 4 February 1929 to control access to sidings for the British Sugar Works situated nearby from an MS&L 6in. tappet frame of 15 levers. It was abolished on 13 May 1984. Photo taken: - 25 August 1980.

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Greatham station and box was situated between Stockton and Hartlepool (Cemetery North Junction). It was an NE Northern Division Type N1 box which dated from 1874. A Stevens 22 lever frame was fitted in 1889 and a gate wheel provided for working the level crossing gates. A new McKenzie & Holland 5in. frame of 21 levers and a gate wheel was fitted in 1941. Greatham lasted in operation for 147 years, finally closing on 6 February 2021.

Photo taken: - 9 July 1980.

The diminutive brick box 11ft. 9in. x 9ft. 11in., at Hall Dene (Crossing) opened in December 1889, was to a ‘special’ design of the Londonderry Railway which was acquired by the NER in 1900. A McKenzie & Holland No 17 pattern 4in. frame of 21 levers and a gate wheel to operate the crossing gates was fitted in 1924. Surprisingly the box was extended to 24ft. in 2005 so facilities for the Signalmen could be provided. This expenditure would appear to have been unnecessary in the long-term, for the box was closed five years later on 6 November 2010. Photo taken: - 9 July 1980.

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The all-brick North Eastern Northern Division Type N3 box at Blackhall Rocks on the coastal route between Hartlepool and Sunderland, opened on 1 April 1905. The large segmental brick arched locking room window has been bricked up and there are the battered remains of a roof ventilator. The original type of frame is unknown, but in 1913 a 30 lever Stevens frame was installed when new connections to the colliery were put in. A new McKenzie & Holland No 17 pattern frame of 30 levers was installed in 1958 and the box closed on 7 April 1981 and the area controlled from Horden box. Photo taken: - 9 July 1980.

Bog Hall Junction on the Esk Valley line at Whitby was the junction for the steeply graded line to Prospect Hill Junction, where trains could continue to Saltburn via Whitby West Cliff station, or take the line to Scarborough to the south. An NE Southern Division Type S3 box which opened in 1910 replacing the original box of 1877, it contained a McKenzie & Holland 5in. frame of 33 levers and a gate wheel for the crossing gates. It closed on 30 September 1984, when the line was singled from Sleights and worked by ‘No Signalman Key Token’ from Glaisdale and the level crossing closed to vehicular traffic, but pedestrian access was retained. Photo taken: - 8 July 1980.

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The all brick NE Northern Division Type N1 box on the Newcastle to Carlisle line at Broadwath had opened c.1873. It originally housed an Easterbrook frame of 15 levers, but a Stevens 4in. tappet frame of 25 levers and a gate wheel to work the level crossing gates replaced it in 1907, which remained in use until closure. The box was later reduced to a gate box and closed on 11 December 1984 and the crossing converted to an Automatic Open Crossing Remotely Monitored (AOCR). Photo taken: - 10 July 1980.

Also on the Newcastle to Carlisle line, Blenkinsop was an NE Northern Division Type N1 brick box with a hipped roof capped by a decorative finial. It had opened by 1873 and originally had a 10 lever frame made by Tweedy of Carlisle and a gate wheel for the crossing gates. It was demoted to a gate box in 1928, but was reinstated as a block post in 1951 when a panel replaced the lever frame. The panel was renewed in 1966 and Blenkinsop box was abolished on 22 February 1987. Note the boom gates or barriers which were once a common feature on the NE Region of BR. When the box closed, the crossing was converted to pedestrian use only with miniature red/green lights. Photo taken: - 10 July 1980.

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The well preserved box at Griseburn Ballast Sidings on the revered Settle to Carlisle route. Built by the Midland Railway, the box was situated between Kirkby Stephen (West) and Appleby (North) and contained a 12 lever Midland tumbler frame. It closed on 28 January 1981, although it was still standing un-vandalised in good condition but minus its nameboard over a year and a half later. Photo taken: - 11 July 1980.

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The box situated at the famous summit; at an elevation of 1,167ft; at Ais Gill on the Settle & Carlisle route famously known by railwaymen as ‘the Long Drag’. It was opened by the Midland Railway in 1900 (Type 2b) and fitted with a Midland tumbler frame of 16 levers. It was also abolished on 28 January 1981, but remained in situ minus its steps for some while before it was moved to Derbyshire to the Midland Railway Trust, where it was recommissioned as Butterley GF. Photo taken: - 11 July 1980.

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On the Leamside line, Usworth was a Northern Division Type N2c which featured triple rectangular locking room windows and a cantilevered or over-sailing front. It opened on 8 March 1899 and originally had a Stevens frame of 22 levers and a gate wheel, which was replaced in 1947 by a McKenzie & Holland No 17 pattern frame of 21 levers and a gate wheel to work the gates. As the new frame was fitted at the back, this necessitated the provision of a stove and flue pipe at the front. An IFS panel replaced the frame in 1982 and the box was abolished on 18 May 1991.

Photo taken: - 10 July 1980.

North Seaton was built for the Blyth & Tyne Railway in 1872 in connection with the extension of the line to Newbiggin. The contract for the signalling was awarded to Stevens & Sons and this box has many similarities to those built by them at other locations around the country, such as a gabled roof with vertical weatherboarding which forms a valance above the windows with a v-notch at the base. North Seaton also has decorative ridge tiles, although many of these are missing by the time of the photo, and decorative slates. It opened on 1 March 1872 and had since 1950, a McKenzie & Holland No 17 pattern frame of 21 levers and a gate wheel for the crossing gates, which were replaced by barriers being reduced to a gate box only, in 1971. It finally closed as recently as 9 March 2024. Photo taken: - 10 July 1980.

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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.

The large North Eastern Southern Division Type S1a box at Oxmardyke (Crossing) has the corbelled-out brick corner piers, stepped brickwork gables and semi-circular arched locking room windows associated with this type of box. Originally it had a 40 lever McKenzie & Holland frame and two gate wheels for working the 10 level crossing gates. It became a gate box in November 1924 and a new shorter McKenzie & Holland No 16 frame of 17 levers was fitted in 1956. When the gates were replaced by mechanical barriers in 1961, the frame was reduced to 16 levers, which looked lost in a structure 28ft. long. Oxmardyke was finally abolished on 26 November 2018. Photo taken: - 7 July 1980.

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Looking in dire need of a painting in this 1980 view, Beverley North was one of five signal boxes that once existed in this East Riding town. It was a brick box of a type that has been classified as S0h, a hybrid incorporating design features of more than one type. It has gable ends with bargeboards capped by a decorative finial, semi-circular arched locking room windows also in the gable end and 4-panes deep sash operating windows. It opened on 14 March 1865 and was provided for the opening of the Market Weighton line, being already complete when the new line was inspected on 22 April 1865. Over the course of its life it had several changes in name: - Beverley Road Junction, Beverley Junction and finally Beverley North. The structure was extended and a new McKenzie & Holland 5in. 37 lever frame and gate wheel fitted in 1910, which was shortened to 15 levers in the 1970s. The box closed on 2 April 1985 and the crossing supervised by CCTV from Beverley Station. Photo taken: - 7 July 1980.

Cottingham North, a brick-to-floor gable-end NE Southern Division Type S4a box at Cottingham, the first station on the Hull to Scarborough line. It opened in 1906 and replaced an earlier box from 1877 and had a McKenzie & Holland No 16 pattern 5in. frame of 22 levers and a gate wheel for the crossing gates. It closed on 15 November 1987 but was subsequently moved along with part of its frame to Hull Street Life Museum.

Cottingham South, formerly Junction, had closed in August 1972. Photo taken: - 7 July 1980.

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Also on the Hull to Scarborough line, Lowthorpe was an NE Southern Division S1a brick box which when opened c.1874 was a ground level structure, but was raised by one storey in 1895. It had a McKenzie & Holland 6in. frame of 17 levers and a gate wheel, which was replaced by a new McKenzie & Holland No 16 pattern frame of 16 levers and a gate wheel in May 1939. This was shortened to just 11 levers in the 1970s, with the box closing on 20 October 1985 and the crossing then converted to an AOCR supervised by Burton Agnes. Photo taken: - 8 July 1980.

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Weaverthorpe and Heslerton on the York to Scarborough line were both NE Southern Division Type S1a brick boxes opened in 1873, but were unusual in that the gable faced the track. The theory is that they were built on top of former weigh houses. The brickwork above the operating floor has been rendered, probably to improve weather-proofing, but has started to fall off. Weaverthorpe was 11ft. 6in. x 15ft. 6in. and from 1933 was fitted with a McKenzie & Holland No 16 pattern frame of 16 levers and a gate wheel for working the crossing gates. It is still open at the time of writing (April 2024).

Photo taken: - 8 July 1980.

Pyewipe Junction was where the erstwhile Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway joined the main GN & GE Joint Railway and the junction of the Lincoln avoiding line to Greetwell Junction. This box opened in 1896 and replaced an earlier box of 1882; the new line can be seen curving off to the left, opened to goods on 16 November 1896. The box contained an Evans O’Donnell 4in. frame of 70 levers. The GN Type 1b box was set back from the Down line, but new Up & Down loops to/from Boultham Junction came into use in October 1944. Blast brickwork has been added as a wartime measure and a further 7 levers at the west-hand end of the frame were brought into use with the opening of a Down Goods line to Pyewipe West in 1957. Pyewipe Junction closed on 29 January 1984. 17 May 1980.

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Situated on the Nottingham to Newark line, Fiskerton was a Midland Railway Type 3a timber box 15ft. x 10ft. which opened in July 1902. Resignalling work here replacing the original box had been authorised on 2 May 1902 at a cost of £250. It was fitted with a 16 lever Tumbler frame and had been reduced to a gate box only in December 1934. Unusually for such a low box, it has a railed walkway at the front. Fiskerton lasted until 24 October 2016.

Photo taken: - 18 August 1979.

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.

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Elsham, north Lincs., on the Wrawby-Doncaster line, was built by the Railway Signal Co. for the MS&L, opening in 1886. The all timber box 18½ft. x 12ft. was to the standard RSCo. design with decorative bargeboards, finials and also featured the ‘lower windows’. It controlled the level crossing of the once busy A15 road (now down-graded to a B-road) and originally had an RSCo. 5½in. tappet frame of 22 levers. This was replaced in March 2003 with an IFS (Individual Function Switch) panel and the gates replaced by barriers. Although a Grade 2 listed building since 1986, the box was abolished in December 2015. Photo taken: - 25 August 1979.

Monks Abbey was the first box on the former GC Lincoln to Wrawby Junction line, situated on the outskirts of Lincoln. This neat little structure was an MS&L Type 3 box; 14ft., 1in. x 12ft. with an RSCo. 17 lever tappet frame, later increased to 18, and is believed to have been opened in 1889. It controlled connections to the sidings of an adjacent GKN works and closed on 23 September 1984. Photo taken: - 25 August 1979.

The Great Northern Type 1b box at Honington Junction, between Barkston East Junction and Sleaford. The structure appears to have been extended at the end nearest the camera, maybe in 1882 when the line from Lincoln was opened through and a new McKenzie & Holland frame was installed. In later years the 45 lever frame had no less than 33 spare levers and was considerably reduced in length to just 15 levers, with the box closing on 29 July 1984, the crossing then being converted to Automatic Half Barriers supervised by Ancaster box. Photo taken: - 18 August 1979.

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The faded nameboard states – Appleby Lincs, to distinguish it from Appleby in Westmorland. On the Wrawby-Doncaster line, it was built by the Railway Signal Co. for the MS&L, opening in 1886. The all timber box 19ft. x 12ft. was to the standard RSCo. design (which was a close copy of those boxes provided by GWCo.) with decorative bargeboards, finials and also featured the ‘lower windows’ although these appear to have been boarded over. It housed an RSCo. 5½in. tappet frame of 23 levers and a gate wheel for working the crossing gates. The frame was replaced by an IFS panel in February 2003. Photo taken: - 6 October 1979.

Situated on the GN & GE Joint Railway between Spalding and Sleaford, Blotoft Siding was another box provided in the contract given to Stevens & Sons in 1882 for signalling the new section of joint line; opening on 24 February. It still has (in 2024) its original Stevens tappet frame; originally of 12 levers extended to 16 in 1921; and underwent some structural alterations c.2003 in a bid to strengthen the timber building. Photo taken: - 29 March 1980.

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The GE Type 2 box on the former GN & GE Joint line at Mill Green on the outskirts of Spalding opened in March 1882 and originally contained a Stevens & Sons tappet frame of 12 levers. There was a gate wheel for the adjacent crossing and a secondhand Saxby & Farmer duplex frame of 21 levers was installed in 1931 when an Up Goods loop and Down Goods line from Spalding No 2 were brought into use. The Down Goods line was taken out of use in July 1973 and the Up Goods loop was abolished in October 1982 and colour light signals replaced all semaphore signals between Mill Green and Spalding No 2, when the latter box was closed in July 1984. Photo taken: - 29 March 1980.

Gosberton was another wooden GE Type 2 box on the new section of the GN & GE Joint line between Spalding and Lincoln, with signalling provided by Stevens & Sons.

It opened on 6 March 1882 and contained a Stevens tappet frame of 30 levers. It lasted into the 21 century, closing on 19 March 2012, when a new panel box opened in a portacabin at the nearby level crossing.

Photo taken: - 29 March 1980.

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Although to a design unique to this railway company, the boxes on the former Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway were similar in outline, but with detail differences. The Saxby & Farmer built boxes, such as Tuxford Central, had 3 panes deep operating floor windows, decorative bargeboards with finials and gable window/vents two panes across. The brick built boxes had the standard S&F/RSCo. arched locking room windows. The Great Central absorbed the LD&ECR in 1907 and several GC Type 5 boxes were subsequently opened on the former system. Tuxford Central was the last LD&ECR box, being abolished on 25 March 1984. Photo taken: - 4 April 1980.

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Sincil Bank, Lincoln, was the junction of the double track branch to Bracebridge and Honington Junction. It opened in July 1882 and originally had a Saxby & Farmer 1874 pattern frame of 45 levers. This was replaced in 1921 by a secondhand RSCo. frame of 42 levers from Spalding No 3. The line to Honington closed on 1 November 1965, but the box remained to work the level crossing until it was abolished on 29 January 1984 and the crossing was then controlled from Pelham Street box which can be seen in this photo. Photo taken: - 20 July 1979.

The tall all-timber box at Ruskington on the GN & GE Joint line between Sleaford North Junction and Lincoln (Greetwell Junction). The contract for signalling the new joint line south of Ruskington to Spalding was given to Stevens & Sons. To the GE Type 2 design, it had a Stevens & Sons tappet frame of 30 levers added and opened on 6 March 1882. It lasted just over one hundred years, closing on 23 May 1982, although in its latter years it had simply acted as break-section box with the closure of the station (September 1961) and goods yard. Photo taken: - 21 July 1979.

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On the Nottingham to Lincoln line, the distinctive hipped roof with finials Midland Railway Type 3a box at Doddington Ballast Siding near Lincoln, had opened on 15 August 1898 and contained a frame of 12 levers. It was abolished on 23 March 1980 with the adjacent level crossing being converted to AHBs. The block section then being Thorpe-on-the-Hill to Boultham Crossing. Photo taken: - 21 July 1979.

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The timber Midland box at Langwith Colliery Sidings, situated between Shirebrook Junction and Elmton & Cresswell Junction, still wears the Eastern Region green and yellow colour scheme from the 1950s in this view from 1979. It opened on 31 January 1897 and was originally known as Langwith Colliery Sidings North and, as its name implies, it controlled the siding connection to Langwith Colliery from its 15 lever Midland tumbler frame which had been extended from the original 12 levers at an unknown date. Langwith Colliery closed in 1978 and with its raison d’être having gone, the box saw little use and closed on 16 May 1981. Photo taken: - 14 June 1979.

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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.

Snelland was another nice example of an MS&L Type 3 timber box 21ft. x 12ft. on the Wrawby Junction to Lincoln line. It is believed to have opened in 1890 when interlocked signal boxes were provided on this route, making it one of the MS&L’s last lines to be dealt with. It had the standard RSCo. 5½in. frame of 23 levers. Snelland station had closed in November 1965, but the box lasted to 5 November 1989 and the crossing converted to Automatic Half-Barriers (AHBs). Photo taken: - 14 June 1979.

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Brigg is a Railway Signal Co. box supplied to the MS&L in 1885 and is an example with the lower windows which have now been painted over. It originally had an RSCo. frame of 28 levers and was formally known as Brigg East until closure of Brigg West box in 1923. It is still open in 2024.

Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

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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.

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Moortown box, situated on the Wrawby Junction to Lincoln line, was an MS&L Type 3 structure 21ft. x 11ft. which featured plain bargeboards. It opened in July 1890 and had a Railway Signal Co. tappet frame of 24 levers at 5½ in. centres. The station at Moortown had closed in November 1965, but the box remained to work the level crossing until it was abolished on 16 April 1989, the crossing being converted to Automatic Half-Barriers.

Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway, which actually only ran from Chesterfield to Lincoln, was provided with some 30 boxes on its opening during the period 1896-8. Those on the section between Chesterfield to Tuxford were built by Saxby & Farmer, and beyond Tuxford to Lincoln, by the Railway Signal Co. Warsop Junction was provided by Saxby & Farmer and had a duplex frame of 65 levers. With the run down of coal traffic in the area, the box closed on 30 January 1983, the area then coming under the control of Shirebrook Junction. Photo taken: - 18 September 1978.

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Opened in 1954 in connection with the electrification and resignalling of the Woodhead route, Dunford West was a BR London Midland Region nonstandard brick box. It replaced Dunford No 1, a GC Type 5a box of 1905, and had a 50 lever frame at the rear of the structure and along with a similar box at Woodhead at the west side of the famous tunnel, closed on 20 July 1981. Photo taken: - 11 May 1981.

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On the former GN line between Boston and Skegness, Old Leake was a fine example of an all timber GN East Lincs. type box 17ft. x 12ft. It opened on 3 December 1903 replacing an earlier box of unknown type and was fitted with a GN 4½in. tappet frame of 25 levers. It was closed on 18 May 1980 and was replaced by a 6-lever ground frame gate box, which controlled the signals and crossing. This was closed on 26 February 1989 and the LC converted to AHBs supervised by Sibsey. Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

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The GN wooden box at Kesteven Siding situated between Pyewipe Junction and Saxilby, seen in August 1978, had opened in July 1891 and would appear to have been a Saxby & Farmer contract judging by the missing ‘makers plate’ above the locking room window. It housed a 20 lever Saxby & Farmer 1888 pattern frame, the siding after which it was named served Mr. Footitts manure works. Originally known as Skellingthorpe until 1897, Kesteven Siding closed on 18 November 1984, the crossing being converted to Automatic Half Barriers monitored by Saxilby box.

Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

The boxes built by Railway Signal Co. on the former LD&ECR, such as this example at Skellingthorpe just beyond Pyewipe Junction, had 4 panes deep operating floor windows, plain bargeboards with finials and gable/window vents four panes in width. It opened in January 1897 and had an RSCo. frame of 25 levers and gate wheel to operate the level crossing gates. The line was subsequently singled to High Marnham, with the box closing in November 1980 following a derailment which led to total closure of the line between High Marnham and Pyewipe Junction. Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

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On the GE & GN Joint line between Lincoln and Gainsborough, Stow Park is a GN1b box that has been classified by the Signalling Study Group as ‘Stow Park brick’. It opened on 6 July 1876 and originally had a Saxby & Farmer 1874 patent 5in. ‘Rocker’ frame of 32 levers and a gate wheel for the level crossing gates. The frame has since been replaced by a panel. Photo taken: - 29 August 1978.

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BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES

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

£17.50

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL

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.

BR EASTERN SIGNAL BOXES

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL EPPINGER, COMPILED BY MICHAEL MARSHALL