Signal Box At Louth North

The signal box at Louth North is a railway signal box built in 1886 for the Great Northern Railway. It features a timber framed construction set on a red brick base, topped with a Welsh slate roof. This structure is classified as the GNR1 type, specific to East Lincolnshire.

The locking room includes three windows with 2 over 2 pane sashes, each adorned with stone heads and cills. The operating room boasts continuous glazing facing the trackside, comprising four 3-light windows, where each light contains 4 x 2 panes, and the central light in each window is designed to slide. Timber mullions are present between the windows, with thinner ones separating the individual lights. The gable end features one 3-light window, which includes a part glazed door at one end, along with a timber staircase. The gable is finished with vertical boarding, a single light window, bargeboards that have three characteristic piercings, and a spike finial. The rear elevation, although not visible, is known to have at least two windows and a truncated brick stack.

Inside, the signal box retains a lever frame and a plain fireplace surround on the rear wall. Historically, the line connecting Grimsby and Boston was constructed by the East Lincolnshire Railway and opened in 1848. Although it was operated from the beginning by the Great Northern Railway, it remained an independent line until it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. The line was block signalled by the Great Northern Railway in the 1880s, leading to the construction of this signal box in 1886. It remained in operation until 1980.