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Friday 1 Apr 2005

AWARD CEREMONY FOR TOP SIGNAL BOX

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Mike Hall MP is unveiling a plaque at Helsby signal box today in a ceremony to mark it winning the Westinghouse signalling award at the prestigious National Railway Heritage Awards last year. Network Rail carried out a substantial refurbishment of the signal box during 2002, with a £17,000 grant from the National Railway Heritage Trust. The entire project was carried out by Serco and took six months to complete at a cost of £146,000. The Railway Heritage Trust was established in 1985 by the British Railways Board to conserve and restore railway heritage buildings and structures. It also transferred historic buildings and structures, which were no longer in operational railway use, to new owners. Andrew Skidmore, General Manager (Liverpool) said: “Although the signal box and station are somewhat different in style - the station is Jacobean whereas the box dates from around the turn of the last century - we applied listed building principles when carrying out the refurbishment. “The end result is empathy between the two buildings and a prestigious award for our efforts.” Although the signal box is not listed all work was carried out in accordance with listed building consent because the station is Grade II listed and both structures fall in a Conservation area. The signal box was refurbished after it had fallen into disrepair. Work on the project involved removing the old brickwork and replacing it with new bricks, and the main front and rear walls were removed and re-built because of structural movement. The existing roof was also stripped and re-slated using Welsh slate. The building has been thermally insulated and breather membranes have been installed on both levels and the toilet block and timber staircase were renewed. New windows were manufactured in the style of the existing windows but with the addition of double-glazing. Due to the erosion of the main steel supports on both sections of the platform that housed the signal and rodding equipment, new concrete bison beams were designed and installed, together with the construction of two dwarf walls to carry the intermediate load. The inside of the signal box was also given attention, with the installation of a new kitchen and food preparation area. Each window has also been given a vertical blind.