Runcorn Signal Box

Railway signal box, 1940, by and for the London Midland Scottish Railway. Air Raid Precaution (ARP) specification design.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in English bond on a flush plinth of blue engineering bricks; steel framed windows set in concrete surrounds; reinforced concrete roof.

EXTERIOR: two-storey signal box with a blind ground-floor locking room and a first-floor operating room of five windows overlooking the tracks to the east. The windows are square with plain, slightly projecting concrete surrounds, being steel framed divided into eleven panes, the slightly larger central pane being an opening casement that is surrounded on all sides by fixed panes. The northern and southern ends of the signal box each has a further similar window continuous to those of the front elevation. Below the windows, at floor level, are two, flush-faced bands of blue engineering bricks set on end, the bands divided by three courses of red brickwork. The concrete roof is flat and projects to all sides. Entry to the signal box is via modern steel steps at the northern end with the doorway to the operating room being segmentally arched; the door is a modern replacement. Adjacent to this, at the top of the steps, there is a modern, plastic-clad toilet cubicle.

INTERIOR: the operating room has a reinforced concrete floor and retains its original lever frame of 46 levers. This frame is sited at the rear of the box facing away from the tracks.