Description

Highland Railway Company, 1919. 2-storey signal box; brick with weather-boarding and multi-pane glazing to cabin (operating room) accessed by extended timber forestair to half-gabled entrance porch outshot at upper level. 2 small windows to locking room. E elevation: all brick with small window to upper right and tall, wallhead stack to centre, set behind eaves. Forestair with trackside viewing platform extension.

Statement of Interest

Signal boxes are a distinctive and increasingly rare building type that make a significant contribution to Scotland's diverse industrial heritage. Of more than 2000 signal boxes built across Scotland by 1948, around 150 currently survive (2013) with all pre-1948 mechanical boxes still in operation on the public network due to become obsolete by 2021.

The 1919 signal box at Dunkeld is a rare example of a Highland Railway box design. It is intervisible with the 1856 Dunkeld and Birnam Station (see separate listing) adding group value and contextual railway interest. One other example of this type of Highland Railway Company signal box is at Boat of Garten Station (see separate listing) on the preserved Strathspey Railway. The Dunkeld box has been altered in recent years including the replacement of its slate roof with corrugated iron.

The 1856 Dunkeld and Birnam Station (see separate listing) is an outstanding example of Scottish railway architecture by the renowned architect, Andrew Heiton Junior. The villages of Birnam and Dunkeld are early Highland resorts in a setting of great natural beauty. The Perth & Dunkeld Railway obtained its Act of Parliament on 10 July 1854 for a line between Stanley Junction and Birnam. Dunkeld (originally Birnam) Station was opened on 7 April 1856 and was a terminus until the line was extended to Pitlochry seven years later. The station was first served by the Scottish Midland Railway and then the Scottish North Eastern Railway before becoming part of the Highland Railway.

Listed as part of the Scottish Signal Box Review (2012-13).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17846090

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
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  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
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  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)