There is a groundswell of support for a Spalding signal box to be saved from demolition – but it still looks doomed.
Our orginal article on the Winsover Road structure being knocked down in the next few weeks brought a storm of protest on our Facebook page.
We asked if it should stay or go and the vast majority of the 100+ comments demanded it be preserved.
However, Network Rail has not shifted from its original position that the signal box – which does not meet English Heritage’s criteria for preservation – will be demolished after the barriers are upgraded to automatic operation. That work is due to start in earnest this month.
Rail enthusiasts Trevor and Susan Smith are keen to see the signal box saved and used as a railway art gallery or something similar to reflect the town’s railway heritage.
Roy Harrison, who worked in the box in the 1960s, said: “It should be preserved and made into a small museum of the railways in Spalding.
“Unlike Deeping St James box, this one stands well clear of any modern railway structures and could be fenced off from the network and made safe for the public to visit.
“I am sure this proposed project would get plenty of support but action must be taken now!”
Network Rail says no objections to its plan to demolish the box have been raised over the past 18 months and it was pressing on.
A statement read: “The GNGE project created a Key Stakeholder Group (KSG) which started meeting in March 2013, bringing together the 30 or so communities on the route along with business representatives and so on. Spalding Town Forum has been invited to all of those meetings.
“At one of the early KSG meetings, a member of the project team gave a presentation on the technology being deployed and that the signal boxes would be decommissioned.
“There have been three subsequent meetings in Spalding with the town forum as well as a total of four public exhibitions. The future of Winsover Road signal box was not raised as an issue.
“The box will be decommissioned as part of our next phase of works in the coming weeks.
“Demolition will follow after decommissioning as we need to have the gas supply safely switched off.”
Meanwhile, efforts are being made to trace descendants of a long-time worker in the signal box.
Network Rail said: “The signal box bears a plaque marking the long service of signalman Jack Leigh and we are trying to trace his family in order to decide what to do with this memorial.”
Anyone with information can call us on 01775 660555 and we will put the two parties in touch.
