East Holmes Signal Box

East Holmes Signal Box

A railway signal box built in 1873 for the Great Northern Railway, located at Brayford Wharf East in Lincoln. It is the second oldest Great Northern Railway box to survive, and the oldest still in use.

The building is constructed entirely of timber with a slate roof, following a design type established in 1871. It comprises two main sections: a locking room at the base, blind on the track-facing (south) side, with 6-over-6 pane sash windows on the east and west sides; and an operating room above, glazed on three sides with 9-paned sliding sash windows on the track side and 6-paned windows on the gable ends.

A distinctive feature of East Holmes is the lower tier of windows below the main operating room windows on the track and east sides, now boarded up, which extends down to the operating room floor. This arrangement is unusual for Great Northern Railway boxes, though more commonly found on Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway signal boxes, and was designed to improve the signalman's view along the line. Timber panelling runs between the windows and the eaves. A narrow walkway outside the windows is supported on cast iron brackets decorated with quatrefoils; the handrail is a modern replacement.

The gable ends feature fretted bargeboards and spike finials, characteristic ornamental details of early Great Northern Railway boxes. A part-glazed entrance door is located on the first floor. An external metal staircase, a modern replacement of the original timber one, provides access.

The interior houses a 35-lever frame manufactured by McKenzie & Holland, fitted in 1910 to replace the original lever frame.

Great Northern Railway signal boxes were less standardised than those of other major railway companies, being frequently contracted to local builders. While the design was broadly established in 1871—including gabled roofs with elaborate bargeboards and finials—variations in detail were common, with almost every box built in the 1870s differing slightly from its neighbours. East Holmes is notable for its all-timber construction, which differs from the brick bases found on most boxes.

The box opened in May 1873 and its main function was to control the junction and a deviation around it for through traffic, while also protecting the now-disused swing bridge across the canal.