A number of signal boxes in Scotland are on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Signal boxes house the signalman and equipment that control the railway points and signals. Originally railway signals were controlled from a hut on a platform at junctions, but by the 1860s this had developed into a raised building with a glazed upper storey, containing levers controlling points and signals. Railway companies either built boxes to their own designs, or used the design of the signalling manufacturers, such as Stevens & Sons, McKenzie & Holland and Dutton & Co.
Listed buildings are placed in one of three categories: Category A for buildings of national or international importance, Category B for particularly important buildings of regional or more than local importance and Category C for buildings that local importance, or lesser examples of any period, style, or building type.[1] At the end of the second world war there were more than 2,000 signal boxes in Scotland. Network Rail published plans in 2011 to control the railway lines in Great Britain from fourteen centres within thirty years, decommissioning the remaining mechanical signal boxes,[2] and a joint Historic Scotland and Network Rail project reviewed the signal boxes in Scotland in 2013/14.
| Name | Category | Image | Location | Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1877 | A Glasgow & South Western Railway Type 1 signal box. A 20-lever Stevens & Sons/Caledonian frame was installed in 1973.[3] | ||||
| Arbroath North | B | 1911 | A North British Railway Type 7 containing a Stevens & Son 72-lever frame.[4] | |||
| B | 1901 | Built by the Railway Signal Company for the extension of the West Highland Railway in 1901, it is similar in style to North British Railway's Type 6a boxes.[5] | ||||
| B | Argyll and Bute | A North British Railway's Type 6b signal box listed with the railway station.[6] | ||||
| C | A Caledonian Railway Type 1 box, converted into a sun room in about 1990.[7] | |||||
| B | 1892 | The largest McKenzie & Holland box built for the Highland Railway that still stands.[8] | ||||
| B | 1906 | Listed with the railway station, this is a Caledonian Railway Type S4 signal box.[9] | ||||
| Boat of Garten North | B | Built for the Highland Railway, both signal boxes are listed with the heritage station. This is a McKenzie & Holland Type 3 weatherboard design with its original lever frame.[10] | ||||
| Boat of Garten South | B | 1922 | Built for the Highland Railway, both signal boxes are listed with the heritage station, and this is a Highland Railway design. The lever frame was replaced by one from Carrbridge South in 1993, but the original is in storage. | |||
| B | 1894 | A North British Railway Type 6a design built for the West Highland Railway.[11] | ||||
| Clachnaharry | B | 1890 | Listed with its associated swing bridge, this signal box is a McKenzie & Holland Type 3 box built for the Highland Railway.[12] | |||
| C | 1894 | A North British Railway Type 6a design built for the West Highland Railway. The station was opened to serve a private estate and the design of the signal box was adapted to complement the waiting room.[13] | ||||
| C | 1896 | Listed with the railway station, the signal box is a Caledonian Railway (Northern Division) Type 2.[14] | ||||
| B | The British Rail Scottish Region Type 16 design box is listed with the mid 19th station.[15] | |||||
| B | 1919 | A Highland Railway box similar in style to those at Boat of Garten.[16] | ||||
| B | 1927 | London, Midland and Scottish Railway Type 12 box with a 32-lever frame.[17] | ||||
| Elgin Centre | C | 1888 | A Great North of Scotland Railway Type 2 box.[18] | |||
| B | 1877 | Caledonian Railway Type 1 signal box, containing a 20-lever locking frame from 1911.[19] | ||||
| B | 1894 | Listed with the railway station, this is a North British Railway Type 6a box adapted for used on the West Highland Railway[20] | ||||
| Garnqueen South (Bo'ness) | A | 1899 | A Caledonian Railway (Southern Division) Type S4 signal box, relocated from Garnqueen South to Bo'ness.[21] | |||
| B | 1893 | Listed with the railway station, this is a Glasgow & South Western Railway Type 3 box; two bays were added in the late 20th century.[22] | ||||
| B | 1901 | Listed with the railway station, this signal box was built by the Railway Signal Company for the extension of the West Highland Railway in 1901. It is similar in style to North British Railway's Type 6a boxes[23] | ||||
| B | 1894 | Listed with the railway station, this is a Samuel Dutton & Co. Type 1 signal box [24] | ||||
| B | 1894 | Listed with the railway station, this is a Type 3 box by McKenzie & Holland. The porch was extended in 2007.[25] | ||||
| C | 1893 | A non-standard North British Railway signal box.[26] [27] | ||||
| (Tamdhu Distillery) | C | 1899 | Great North of Scotland Railway signal box with a 7-lever frame.[28] | |||
| Montrose North | C | 1881 | North British Railway Type 1, containing a Stevens & Sons 51-lever frame.[29] | |||
| B | 1898 | A modified Mackenzie & Holland Type 3 box built for the Highland Railway; it was moved from Inverness to Murthly in 1919. Contains a Mckenzie & Holland 16-lever frame.[30] | ||||
| Nairn East | B | 1891 | Listed with the railway station and the West box, this is a Highland Railway single storey signal box, similar in style to the McKenzie & Holland type 3.[31] | |||
| Nairn West | B | 1891 | Listed with the railway station and the East box, this is a Highland Railway two storey signal box, similar in style to the McKenzie & Holland type 3. | |||
| A | 1911 | Listed with the railway station and footbridge, the Highland Railway signal box is based on a McKenzie & Holland design.[32] | ||||
| B | 1894 | The signal box is listed together with the railway station and portrait in stone of James Renton, a former railway director. The box is the North British Railway Type 6a design modified for the West Highland Railway, and was restored in 2005. It includes a 17-lever frame.[33] | ||||
| Rogart South | C | 1891 or 1894 | This is a Dutton & Co. Type 1 box similar in style to the McKenzie & Holland Type 3.[34] | |||
| B | North British Railway Type 7 signal box with Stevens & Sons lever frame.[35] | |||||
| C | 1949 | Listed with the railway station, the signal box is a 1945 design London and North Eastern Railway Type 15 built by British Rail Scottish Region. The Stevens & Sons 30-lever frame has been removed.[36] | ||||
| B | 1901 | Listed with its former railway station, this is a variant of the Caledonian Railway (Southern Division) Type S4 signal box.[37] | ||||
| Stirling Middle | A | Stirling (City) | 1900 | Listed with the railway station and the North box, this is a Caledonian Railway (Northern Division) Type 2 signal box containing 96-lever pattern frame.[38] | ||
| Stirling North | A | Stirling (City) | 1901 | Listed with the railway station and the Middle box, this is a Caledonian Railway (Northern Division) Type 2 signal box containing a 48-lever frame. | ||
| B | 1901 | Listed with its railway station, this is a Caledonian Railway (Northern Division) Type 2 signal box with a 40 lever Stevens and Sons frame.[39] | ||||
| B | 1894 | Listed with the railway station, the signal box is a North British Railway Type 6a design built for the West Highland Railway.[40] | ||||
| Waverley West | B | 1936 | Signal box based on the London and North Eastern Railway Type 13 and was installed with an early form of power signalling [41] | |||