Settle Carlisle Railway Conservation Area (SCRCA) This signal box was opened for operational use at Selside (on the Settle & Carlisle Railway in North Yorkshire) on 16th June 1907, where it operated an intermediate block post on the double-track main line.
It closed for operational use on 30th November 1975.
During 1976, the signal box and its lever frame were moved to Carnforth (in Lancashire), where they formed a museum exhibit at the 'Steam Town' heritage centre (which was located on the site of the former Carnforth Motive Power Depot).
On 15th February 1989, the signal box was listed (grade II) on the basis that it was "one of a unique group of railway buildings" at the Carnforth site. The List Entry Number is 1078214 and the List Entry Record can be viewed at:
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1078214
In 1997, the heritage centre was closed to the public "for safety reasons". (It had become a busy storage and maintenance depot for heritage locomotives and rolling stock that were increasingly being used for mainline charter operations.)
The closure of the heritage centre effectively rendered the signal box redundant as a museum exhibit and, as is often the case with redundant structures, its condition began to deteriorate (see photos below).
19th February 2013
17th July 2023
3rd March 2026
If this structure were located in London, a request could be made to have it added to Historic England's 'national Heritage at Risk Register'. However, Grade II listed structures located outside London can only be added to this register if they are places of worship (which does not apply in this case).
A comment describing the poor condition of this structure has been uploaded to the relevant webpage of Historic England's 'National Heritage List for England', along with two photographs taken on 17th July 2023.
On 2nd September 2026, Lancaster County Council approved a planning application from a private individual to allow the remains of the signal box to be moved from the Carnforth site to a farm near Clapham (North Yorkshire) where the signal box will be rebuilt and restored "if possible". Details of the relevant planning application (ref. 26/00210/LB) can be found online at:
https://planning.lancaster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TAWIZ1IZK9M00&activeTab=summary
The remains of the structure have since been removed from the Carnforth site.
Acknowledgements
This snippet was researched, written and illustrated by Mark R. Harvey. It was last reviewed on 25th September 2026.