Building record MHG53994 - Signal box, Spean Bridge Station

Signal box, erected in 1949 by Scottish Rail, following a design by London and North Eastern Railway. Part of the entry for a Grade C Listed Building (added to the statutory list in 2010), with Spean Bridge Station.

1949 to a 1945 design for post-war standardisation by London and North Eastern Railway. Square-plan, red
brick signal box with chamfered corner angles located to E of station.
Metal frame windows with glazing bars to lower and upper sections and projecting cill. Dog-leg stair with tubular metal railing rising to recessed timber panel door to W elevation. Flat leaded roof with overhanging canopy. 2 horizontal openings to rear elevation.

The signal box is the only example of its type surviving in Scotland. Following London and North Eastern Railway’s initial post-war design for signal box standardisation (LNER 15) it is notable for its clean lines and chamfered corner angles, referencing a pre-war Art-Deco influence. It was one of the first to be built following nationalisation of the railway in 1948 with the newly formulated Scottish Rail opting to re-use this successful design. The box occupies the site of the earlier signal box c.1894 by Saxby and Farmer which was destroyed by fire. The ‘pattern frame’ signalling by Stevens and Son of Glasgow has been removed. The proximity of the station and the signal box evidence their functional relationship, each adding to the interest of the other. <1>

Closed in 1988. Photographs available on a website dedicated to Signal Boxes (see links). <2>