Birkdale Signal Box

Birkdale Signal Box is a railway signal box built in 1905 for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. It is constructed from timber with horizontal weatherboarding and features a slate roof with a perforated terracotta ridge and curved finials.

The signal box has two storeys and a hipped roof. The upper operating floor juts out to the east, facing the railway line, and to the south, towards the level crossing, supported by iron brackets. It retains its original operating-room windows, which include a mix of fixed and horizontal sliding sashes, all with four panes. The glazing extends continuously along the front and sides, with a row of small fixed panes below the main windows. An external board walk, supported by simple metal brackets for window cleaning access, is still in place, along with late 1930s name boards from the London Midland Scottish Railway. The lower locking-room floor originally had four-pane windows on the sides and ends, but these have been boarded over. Access to the signal box is from the ground floor at the northern end. While some of the perforated ridge tiles are broken, most remain intact, as do the finials.

Inside, the signal box has not been modernised, with the operating floor open to the rafters. It retains its original 24 lever Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Tappet frame from 1905. Access to the operating floor seems to have been through an internal staircase, rather than the more common external one.