The St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust held a celebration party last week in the grounds of the signal box adjacent to St Albans City Station.
The party followed the presentation to the Trust last December of a National Railway Heritage award in recognition of the Trust and its members’ achievement in restoring the signal box and opening it and its garden to the public.
The award was marked by a plaque presented by Pete Waterman and sponsored by Invensys Rail Ltd.
At last Sunday’s party the plaque was unveiled in the garden by Lord Faulkner of Worcester who is Chairman of the Heritage Railway Association.
Also present were representatives from the Railway Heritage Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund both of whom have sponsored the Trust in the restoration of the signal box.
Trust Chairman Tony Furse paid tribute to the hard work and dedication of the members carrying out the work on the box and also singled out his predecessor and founding Chairman Keith Webster who helped drive the project forward.
Lord Faulkner emphasised the importance of the railway heritage movement throughout the UK both in economic terms and in its role in preserving part of the nation’s heritage for future generations
Also present was Steve Lake who is a member of the Trust. He was one of the last signalmen to work in St Albans South Box before it closed in 1979 and he was able to recall stories from his time in the box.
He is still a signalman working at Llandudno station in North Wales and in August will have served the railway for 40 years.
St Albans South Signal Box, the largest preserved Midland Railway box in the country, still in its original 1892 position by a fully functioning and busy main line offers unique opportunities for visitors to go into a signal box, watch modern trains pass outside the windows and relive the former days of semaphore signalling.
The signal box is open to the public on the 2nd and 4th Sundays throughout the summer and autumn from 2.00pm to 5.00pm and at other times to organised parties by arrangement.
