Description

McKenzie and Holland, Type 3 (for Highland Railway), 1898. Large, 10-bay, rectangular-plan signal box of white painted timber weather-boarding and cover-strip construction. Gabled tin roof with carved timber finials. Half-gabled outshot to entrance at upper level approached by timber forestair. to S (track) elevation: 4 windows to base; continuous 10-bay fenestration to operating room, returning to E and W gables. Timber framed glazing with 9-pane glazing pattern.

Statement of Interest

Signal boxes are a distinctive and now 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), on and off the public network, with all pre-1948 mechanical boxes still in operation due to become obsolete by 2021. The signal box at Aviemore is the largest survivor of the archytypal Highland Type 3 boxes by renowned manufacturer's McKenzie and Holland. Installed not long after the station was rebuilt in 1892, its timber weatherboarded construction is in keeping with the timber buildings on the station platform, with which it is intervisible. Smaller examples of this once common type of Highland signal box by McKenzie and Holland are at Nairn, Clachnaharry and Boat of Garten (see separate listings).

Aviemore Station (see separate listing) is a rare and outstanding example of a late 19th century timber railway station in Scotland. The platform buildings are particularly well detailed to trackside elevations, retaining numerous original features and design elements. The curving timber and cast-iron awning with pierced timber valences are equally notable, having been sensitively restored at the end of the 20th century. Opening in 1863, the original station buildings by Inverness and Perth Junction Railway were rebuilt in 1892 by the Highland Railway Company.

The cast-iron footbridge by the Highland Railway Company, with trellis balustrade linking the down and centre island platforms, also adds further group value.

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

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17827751

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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  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
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  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)