Summary
A very small form of signal box: effectively a large cupboard with a curved roof containing a lever frame. A very rare surviving example built by the North Eastern Railway in the early C20.
Reasons for Designation
Hammerton Station Signal Box Cabin is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Representative: as a rare surviving example of the simplest form of signal box, a simple cabin or shed designed to protect and secure the lever frame;
* Date: that such simple signalling provision, very similar in approach to that taken in the earliest days of signalling, was still being newly installed into the C20;
* Architecture: although merely a timber shed, the curving design of the roof is unusual, probably being derived from the design and manufacture of timber framed rolling stock, particularly goods wagons.
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
Railway signal box cabin, 1914, for and by the Southern Division of the North Eastern Railway.
Sources
Books and journals Websites http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/wetwang/index.shtml
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
End of official list entry
