Summary
Signal box, 1882 by Stevens & Sons for the South Eastern Railway.
Reasons for Designation
Grain Crossing Signal Box, an 1882 signal box built for the South Eastern Railway by contractors Stevens & Sons, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity of type: Grain Crossing Signal Box is the only surviving example in the country of a Stevens & Sons signal box;
* Architectural interest: unusually it is single storeyed above ground, the timber frame clad in Stevens & Sons trademark vertical boards with the joints covered by battens, but the locking room is below ground;
* Degree of intactness: externally intact except that the windows were replaced in the later C20 within their original openings;
* Survival of operating equipment: it retains an operational South Eastern Railway lever frame of 9 levers, and a cast iron token machine.
History
From the 1840s, huts or cabins were provided for men operating railway signals. These were often located on raised platforms containing levers to operate the signals and in the early 1860s, the fully glazed signal box, initially raised high on stilts to give a good view down the line, emerged. The interlocking of signals and points, perhaps the most important single advance in rail safety, patented by John Saxby in 1856, was the final step in the evolution of railway signalling into a form recognisable today. Signal boxes were built to a great variety of different designs and sizes to meet traffic needs by signalling contractors and the railway companies themselves.
Details
Built in 1882 for the South Eastern Railway. The contractors were Stevens & Sons. The windows were replaced in the later C20 and are not of special interest.
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