Restoration of Signal Boxes

[nr2001]

Hi all,

Apologies if this isn't the correct sub forum, im new to this website.

I was browsing on the market the other day and came across this lot containing an old signal box. Considering you get next to no land, £25,000 seems quite steep, but I decided to look if there were any other boxes near by. I came across some, and it got me wondering, is it financially viable to actually restore something like this. I've googled 'signal box restoration' and most I've come across seem to be much larger and/or have a huge extension added on.

Do any of you happen to know of any boxes of a similar size which have been restored in the UK. Rough estimate would suggest it's 5x5m big. Providing you don't pay loads for the actual land and building skeleton in the first place, I dont see why someone with a bit of £££ couldn't add a new roof and give it a bit of a clean up.

Also, what do you make of a practical use for a building like this? Holiday home, cottage, AirBNB rental, etc?

Thanks

 

[Sun Chariot]

To answer your last question first - yes, it is possible to hire out a former signalbox. Here's a successful example:

Signal Box Accommodation | Corrour Estate | Highlands Scotland

In 2016 we opened the Signal Box. It has three cosy en-suite double rooms and a spectacular sitting room in the old lookout tower.

www.corrour.co.uk

Some former 'boxes have been replaced with siignalbox-esque permanent residences. An example is Nutbourne, on the West Coastway route between Chichester and Havant.

Expect it to cost similar to a moderate sized apartment...
1) The cost of surveying, conveyancing and acquiring an old structure and its title deeds (assuming it isn't on Network Rail owned land),
2) The cost of installing sewerage, drainage, utilities and for connectivity to national supplies,
3) The cost of buildings insurance - highly likely to be more expensive than for a typical residential structure.
4) The cost of restoration to current Building Regs and Fire Safety Regs,
5) The cost of materials and labour.

 

[75A]

To answer your last question first - yes, it is possible to hire out a former signalbox. Here's a successful example:

Signal Box Accommodation | Corrour Estate | Highlands Scotland

In 2016 we opened the Signal Box. It has three cosy en-suite double rooms and a spectacular sitting room in the old lookout tower.

www.corrour.co.uk

Some former signalboxes have been restored as permanent residences. An example is Nutbourne, on the West Coastway route between Chichester and Havant.

Now wouldn't that be good?
Never going to move back to the 'other island' now, but..................................

 

[mind-the-gap]

Hi all,

Apologies if this isn't the correct sub forum, im new to this website.

I was browsing on the market the other day and came across this lot containing an old signal box. Considering you get next to no land, £25,000 seems quite steep, but I decided to look if there were any other boxes near by. I came across some, and it got me wondering, is it financially viable to actually restore something like this. I've googled 'signal box restoration' and most I've come across seem to be much larger and/or have a huge extension added on.

Do any of you happen to know of any boxes of a similar size which have been restored in the UK. Rough estimate would suggest it's 5x5m big. Providing you don't pay loads for the actual land and building skeleton in the first place, I dont see why someone with a bit of £££ couldn't add a new roof and give it a bit of a clean up.

Also, what do you make of a practical use for a building like this? Holiday home, cottage, AirBNB rental, etc?

Thanks

Do you have any links? Just interested to see exactly what you get for £25k?

 

[Gloster]

I saw it today, but without wanting to be dogmatic, I am pretty sure that Nutbourne is a new build in the style of a signal box, not a converted one. The same applies to the one at Southbourne. There have been a number of boxes converted into permanent or holiday residences, but not very many.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Now wouldn't that be good?
Never going to move back to the 'other island' now, but..................................

For me, it's not been the same since the end of loco hauled passenger services. Bring back the BRCWs and the EEs

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Mar 2025 ==

I saw it today, but without wanting to be dogmatic, I am pretty sure that Nutbourne is a new build in the style of a signal box, not a converted one. The same applies to the one at Southbourne. There have been a number of boxes converted into permanent or holiday residences, but not very many.

I have mulled Nutbourne's structure many times and I think you're right. Those Velux windows would likely have been a swine to fit into an original roof.
The one at Warblington is definitely a new structure.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Here is a link to some more photos of Lartington West signal box showing its poor condition.

Lartington West signal box

 

[Sun Chariot]

Do you have any links? Just interested to see exactly what you get for £25k?

It's embedded in the OPs post. Paragraph 2, the words this lot

 

[Ashley Hill]

And here is a link to a film on YouTube by Nodrog. Lartington box features about halfway through.

 

[mind-the-gap]

It's embedded in the OPs post. Paragraph 2, the words this lot

thankyou missed that was a link!

 

[Egg Centric]

It looks like an estate being broken up - there are 8 lots in total most of them far more substantial. I suspect they're being rather optimistic in asking for 25k for this bit of it (who is the target market? What would they do with it?) but we'll see!

 

[nr2001]

It looks like an estate being broken up - there are 8 lots in total most of them far more substantial. I suspect they're being rather optimistic in asking for 25k for this bit of it (who is the target market? What would they do with it?) but we'll see!

Yeah the estate seems to have been bought about 18 months ago for a seven-figure sum. With the box and the land it sits on being sandwiched between a cottage and a road, so the only reason you'd buy the land and box is A) to extend your garden (if you live in the adjacent cottage or B) Fix up the box.

With the estate buyer seemingly so wealthy, you'd hope that any person, or group of people wishing to buy it, could agree a nominal fee in order to give restoration a chance of being worthwhile, but I doubt that will be a case. Can't see someone paying 25k for it.

 

[John Webb]

Access is by a private road on the former trackbed. Nearby the map shows 'Cat Castle Cottages' which may be something to do with the former quarry at this site.
Disused Railway Signal Box at Cat Castle Cottages

© Copyright Sandy Gerrard and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The box is quite close to the end of the row of cottages as you can see above, so connections to water, drainage and electricity may not be insurmoutable?
Other problems I can see will be restoring the building and potential future access. Use is limited either to a small single-bedroom apartment or as a holiday let, I would have thought.

 

[Barclay]

£25k is probably a fair price if conversion to a holiday let is feasible and planning permission could be obtained. If I were the estate I'd have secured the planning permission first and sold it with that in place though, the small(ish) price of obtaining permission and architect's fees would probably generate a more substantial return on the sale.

 

[Bald Rick]

Access is by a private road on the former trackbed. Nearby the map shows 'Cat Castle Cottages' which may be something to do with the former quarry at this site.
Disused Railway Signal Box at Cat Castle Cottages

© Copyright Sandy Gerrard and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The box is quite close to the end of the row of cottages as you can see above, so connections to water, drainage and electricity may not be insurmoutable?
Other problems I can see will be restoring the building and potential future access. Use is limited either to a small single-bedroom apartment or as a holiday let, I would have thought.

The photos don‘t do it justice. The area is very wooded, dark and dank. The box itself is in awful condition - suprised it is still standing. I’d be surprised if the adjacent cottages (which are lovely) are on mains sewage. However the one immediately next door is a holiday let itself, so there is some sort of market for it!

 

[Egg Centric]

£25k is probably a fair price if conversion to a holiday let is feasible and planning permission could be obtained. If I were the estate I'd have secured the planning permission first and sold it with that in place though, the small(ish) price of obtaining permission and architect's fees would probably generate a more substantial return on the sale.

I think that "could be" is doing heavy lifting. One thing I noticed on my investigations is that another plot (a barn) actually does have prospective planning permission, so they may well have tried and failed.

It seems too small for anything useful and will probably be a total rebuild looking at the photos.

I can't see the point in it at all tbh. Except either a) for whoever owns next door or b) if it turns out there's a whole lever frame with interlocking inside!

I did raise once the idea of buying the Wortley curve here and history shows it actually wouldn't have been a bad investment as a backstop, given that Network Rail bought it for more. But this thing... nah

 

[Ashley Hill]

it turns out there's a whole lever frame with interlocking inside!

Nodrogs YouTube clip shows the interior of the box with no frame.

 

[WirralLine]

One that springs to mind for me is Coton Hill signal box on the approach to Shrewsbury from the Wrexham direction. Quite a bit larger than the signal box being discussed in this thread. The track facing side of the building has been largely unaltered, fitted with UPVC windows. It has a house built onto the back side of it (the non track side). It has a waste pipe running down the front of it so is presumably the box itself is being used as living accommodation rather than a restored signal box. It also has a small extension on the Shrewsbury facing side, and original door bricked up.

Whilst not what this thread is discussing - ie restoring or repurposing a small signal box, it's a good example of repurposing a signalbox sympathetically, still maintaining the aesthetic of the original signal box but also making it a decent size living accommodation.

I have no photos of my own, however a quick Google image search shows a few photos of it as is now, and as was when mothballed.

Link to Google image search of Coton Hill Signal box

 

[WesternLancer]

The brick work looks in surprisingly bad condition which suggests major works to the core structure is required.

 

[Teaboy1]

For starters, £25k is only the asking price, the final contract price could/should be somewhat less.
Secondly, its still a case of Location, Location, Location !! What is there in the imeadiate vicinity?
Third, what would you do with it ? Holiday let seems to be probably best option.
Fourth, what is it going to cost to renovate and how much would you do yourself? There appears to be a bit of land with it but try the vendor if they would sell a bit more land to make the deal. Its major bonus though is that it is brick built and not timber.

Once done, it would/could be quite a nice little investment. It is not on the same scale as say Louth Signal Box but you are pretty late to the game as most Boxes have long since been snapped-up.

Louth Lincolnshire 6th May 2010

Louth North signal box at the Keddington Road level crossing in Louth on the former East Lincolnshire Railway/ Great Northern / LNER route from Grimsby to Louth and now the southern limit of the preserved Lincolnshire Wolds Railway. At present there are no rails to this point the group...

flic.kr

Do your homework and cost it up before jumping in.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Check out this Property for sale on Rightmove

Property for sale in Station Road, Glanamman, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, SA18 for £50,000. Marketed by John Francis, Ammanford

www.rightmove.co.uk

Glanamman (Amman Valley)

 

[WesternLancer]

Check out this Property for sale on Rightmove

Property for sale in Station Road, Glanamman, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, SA18 for £50,000. Marketed by John Francis, Ammanford

www.rightmove.co.uk

Glanamman (Amman Valley)

Looks in rather better condition! So theoretically better value although I don’t know enough about location comparison to say that accuratly

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Looks in rather better condition! So theoretically better value although I don’t know enough about location comparison to say that accuratly

Not been down there for a while , but a pleasant enough area and semi-rural with the Black Mountain to the rear. The railway is effectively closed and I can see it being lifted and turned into a cycle route / greenway. (a line dating back to 1838 - the Llanelly Dock railway - later GWR - so considerable history)

 

[WesternLancer]

Not been down there for a while , but a pleasant enough area and semi-rural with the Black Mountain to the rear. The railway is effectively closed and I can see it being lifted and turned into a cycle route / greenway. (a line dating back to 1838 - the Llanelly Dock railway - later GWR - so considerable history)

Thanks. Interesting observations.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Looks like there is a token hoop on the far end of the rear wall.

 

[John Webb]

Check out this Property for sale on Rightmove

Property for sale in Station Road, Glanamman, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, SA18 for £50,000. Marketed by John Francis, Ammanford

www.rightmove.co.uk

Glanamman (Amman Valley)

View of the front of the box from the Geograph website (Click on the photo to go to the larger original):
Glanaman Signal Box

© Copyright John H Darch and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 

[JKF]

Not been down there for a while , but a pleasant enough area and semi-rural with the Black Mountain to the rear. The railway is effectively closed and I can see it being lifted and turned into a cycle route / greenway. (a line dating back to 1838 - the Llanelly Dock railway - later GWR - so considerable history)

Isn’t that where they’re building a test track at the end of the line, and would it be used to connect into that? Seems a bargain anyway, West Wales is lovely, though I think you pay double or triple council tax on holiday homes.

 

[Gloster]

Isn’t that where they’re building a test track at the end of the line, and would it be used to connect into that? Seems a bargain anyway, West Wales is lovely, though I think you pay double or triple council tax on holiday homes.

No, I think that the test track is up at Onllwyn, which is reached from Neath & Brecon Junction. Ammanford box is in the Amman Valley, the other is the Dulais.

 

[skyhigh]

I often ponder the disused signal box at Hebden Bridge when I pass - it seems in relatively good condition and could potentially make a decent holiday cottage. I suspect access would prove tricky however.

 

[Egg Centric]

I often ponder the disused signal box at Hebden Bridge when I pass - it seems in relatively good condition and could potentially make a decent holiday cottage. I suspect access would prove tricky however.

I'd love the one at Hexham as an AirBnB type thing (it's too small for a "real" house).

Unfortunately it's currently still in use, but it won't be forever.

Photograph of Hexham Signal Box showing almost unique "overhead" nature. Copyright Mike Quinn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Further photograph showing Flying Scotsman passing underneath it. Copyright The Carlisle Kid and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Imagine eating a smoked bacon sandwich while this happens!