Hammerton Station Signal Box Cabin

Railway signal box cabin, 1914, for and by the Southern Division of the North Eastern Railway.

MATERIALS: vertical timber boarding on a timber frame; timber boarded roof.

EXTERIOR: the cabin is in the form of a large timber boarded cupboard around 2m wide by 1m deep. It has no windows and the rear side (facing away from the tracks) can be fully opened as a pair of ledged and braced, timber-boarded doors with curved tops. There is a peep-hole through the west side wall of the cabin which provided the signalman a view of the level crossing. The side of cabin facing the tracks is lower than the doors and also has a curved top forming a shallow segment. Consequently the single pitched roof is curved side to side. The exterior is plainly detailed, although the door frame (including the curving lintel) has roll moulded edges.

INTERIOR: the cabin is filled by the 10 lever McKenzie & Holland frame, the signal operator having to stand outside the doors to control the levers. The roof is supported by a curved purlin in addition to the curved wall plates. The rest of the timber framing is conventional.