Building Survey carried in 2014 out prior to removal. (1)

The Midland Railway’s signalling history is somewhat different to its competitors: it used the same box design from 1870 to 1923 and its own signalling apparatus, rather than buying locking frames from signalling contractors. An extensive resignalling programme from 1890 means that very few boxes from before this date survive; it had been concluded that the early Midland locking frames were not good enough. The ‘Midland Tumbler’ locking frame was considered to be the solution; it went through its last redesign c.1892 and as they were standard until 1910, they are present in many Midland boxes. Another distinctive feature of the Midland’s locking frames is the casing over the lower end of the levers (usually they just came up through slots in the floor), this supposedly made the levers easier to work and kept out the draft if nothing else. The Midland also had a ‘small box’ policy, opting to install the bare minimum of required levers in each location. Midland boxes were prefabricated in a purpose built factory at Derby.The prefabricated timber units, known as flakes, were 10ft or 15ft wide. They could consequently be assembled very quickly – in a 1920 test a box was put together (minus the slate roof) in 85 minutes! There were only minor changes in design throughout the 50 year period, namely in sizes of window, window pane pattern and the type of boarding used. These occurred in 1884, 1900 and 1906, which allows Midland boxes to be neatly divided into four types (and can be further subdivided by window type): Type 1 (1870-1884): The original Midland signal box was 10ft wide and rarely more than 20ft in length. The front and sides of the box were glazed; the windows were 3ft by 6inches. There was vertical 6inch boarding at operating floor level and weather boarding below. They always had a hipped roof and finials. The door was normally placed at the end of the box facing oncoming rail traffic on the nearest line, although not always. The staircase was normally parallel to the track, rising in a single flight to the door. The windows were ‘Design A’,consisting of 4 panes of glass distinctive chamfered upper panes. The floor of the operating room was covered with brown linoleum which was very modern in comparison to the plain floor boards of other signal boxes. Type 2 (1884-1901): The first change was the introduction of deeper windows at the front of the box with six panes. From 1893 the vertical boarding on the upper part of Midland boxes was changed to 3½ inches and in 1900 a new prefab panel was introduced, increasing the standard width of Midland boxes to 12ft. Type 3 (1900-1906): The windows were extended to the ends of thebox and ‘Design B’ windows were introduced at some boxes to give better visibility at busier junctions. Type 3 is subdivided according the window design used – Type 3a have ‘Design A’ windows and Type 3b have ‘Design B’ windows. Type 4 (1906-1930): The weather-boarding of the locking room was replaced with lapped boarding in 1906 and changes were made to the walkway brackets and railings in 1907. Concrete bases were introduced around this time as the older boxes had a tendency to rot because their timbers were set into the ground. In 1910 the Tumbler Frame was replaced by the smaller Tappet Frame, so the standard width returned to 10ft.

Lowdham signal box is a Type 2b design, dating from 1896; here the subdivision denotes the omission of the 3 inch post between the windows at the door end. The box is located on the Up side of the track at the Gunthorpe/Station Road level crossing which it currently operates. Five of its 16 levers are still in use.

Exterior:Two storey, rectangular timber signal box of one bay with a shallow hipped roof of welsh slate and timber spike finials. The lower storey compromises of weather boarding and openings for windows at both ends; the south west elevation also has a doorway to the locking room. The bottom half this wall has replacement lapped boarding. The front and rear of the box are blind at ground floor level. At first floor level, the box is continuously glazed at the front and ends with vertical timber boarding and 3 inch intermediate posts; there are also two windows side by side on the rear elevation at the end closest to the level crossing. The fenestration appears to be original, retaining the same pattern of glazing bars as built. The external single flight timber staircase has been replaced with a steel version, giving access to the operating room at the south west end. The box has LMS era name boards at both ends.

Interior:The operating room has a modern suspended ceiling and laminated floor, along with various other modern fittings. It does house its original Midland Tumbler 16 lever locking frame along the front wall of the box, with interlocking mechanisms in the room below. The block shelf is above the levers, but the block instruments are later upgrades. At the back of the box is the train register desk, and where the telegraph instruments and stove would have also been located.

<1> Alan Baxter, 2014, Lowdham Signal Box Historic Building Record (Unpublished document). SNT4783.