Runcorn signalboxes bow out as part of £340m infrastructure plan

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TWO heritage signalboxes at Runcorn and Halton Junction on Merseyside have been decommissioned under Network Rail’s Weaver to Wavertree resignalling scheme, writes Richard Horner.

Runcorn ’box was built by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway to an Air Raid Precaution design (LMS Type 13), with a 36-lever Railway Executive Committee frame, and featured 14in-thick blast resistant brick walls, topped by a 12in-deep reinforced concrete roof.

Runcorn signalbox, seen here on May 1, dates from January 1940 and was built to an Air Raid Precaution design. It is Grade II-listed. RICHARD HORNER

Externally, the design featured red brickwork with blue brick bands and steel Crittall windows.

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It opened in January 1940, and its survival in near-original condition, and the fact it was one of the first ARP specification boxes to be built, ensured it was saved for posterity, having been Grade II-listed by English Heritage in 2013.

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