Aylesford Signal Box

DATE: opened in 1921, it was one of the last signal boxes to be constructed by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway on the branch line between Maidstone West and Strood, which had been opened on 18 June 1856 by the South Eastern Railway. It was the first and only example of this revised design by the SE&CR which, after 1923, was adopted by the Southern Railway and designated their Type IIa.

MATERIALS: constructed of brown brick in English bond with some weatherboarding to the gables and a gabled slate roof.

PLAN: two storeys: three bays in length and two in width with steps, and later toilet at west end (which is not of special interest).

EXTERIOR: the box is accessed by an external flight of stairs from the platform. The west, north and east sides of the operating room are glazed with horizontally sliding sashes, each of four panes. Above the main lights are glazed top lights and shaped timber eaves brackets. The north side has an iron access balcony. The locking room has a central elliptical-arched fixed window of nine lights on the east side. A further metal-framed window with a concrete lintel has been fitted into the east wall to give the signal man a better view of the level crossing. This is not of special interest.

INTERIOR: the operating room has exposed weatherboarding to the roof and walls. A modern panel (not of special interest) has replaced the original lever frame but some block instruments, including two commutators and bells, remain. The locking room retains the iron frame of the lever frame.