The Future
Princes Risborough North Signal Box
The Future
As
recently
as
2012
the
signal
box
was
on
the
edge
of
being
declared
unsafe
and
a
threat
to
the
very
railway
it
had
been
built
to
protect.
Had
it
been
deemed
so,
then
all
traces
of
it
would
have
been
long
gone
by
now,
irrespective
of
it
being
Grade
II
listed.
Now
we
have
turned
the
corner
and
the
box
is
once
again
structurally
sound
and
its
condition
improving
with
every
passing
weekend,
we
need
not
only
to
have
regard
for the past but also to look to the future.
Our
aim
from
the
onset
was
to
restore
the
building
to
its
former
glory
and
get
the
signalling
equipment
working,
to
be
able
to
use
it
both
operationally
to
control
trains
on
the
Chinnor
&
Princes
Risborough
Railway
and
also
to
open
it
to
visitors
as
an
example
of
our
railway
heritage.
Our
plan
is
to
restore
the
signal
box to its post-1958 condition.
Why
1958?
It
was
that
year
when
British
Railways
carried
out
a
full
refit
of
the
box
which
included
installing
the
lever
frame
that
is
still
there
today
and
some
of
the
other
kit
from
that
time
survives.
Availability
of
authentic
British
Railways
signalling
equipment
pre
1958
is
virtually
non-existant
(or
certainly
not
at
prices
we
could
hope
to
afford).
Another
important
factor
was
that
by
1958
the
thunderbox
toilet
had
demised
and
the inside loo had been installed!
The
following
pages
set
out
our
aims
and
ambitions
in
the
two
areas
of
signalling
and
demonstrations.
We
have
no
rigid
timeframe
and
whether
some
of
the
longer
term
ideas
come
to
fruition
is
uncertain
as
external
factors
can
and
do
change,
resulting
in
many
plans
needing
to
be
revised.
The
rather
turbulent
year
of
2020
was a very good example of this.
Our
signal
box
serves
the
Chinnor
&
Princes
Risborough
Railway
and
its
heritage
train
operations.
From
its
humble
start
over
3
decades
ago,
the
railway
is
still
growing
and
its
plans
have
a
direct
bearing
on
not
only
what
equipment
we
install
in
the
box
but
also
on
the
resources
and
manpower
available.
The
latter
two
are
of
course
the
two
main
shortages
on
any
volunteer
run,
charitable
organisation
and
ours
is
no
exception
so
if
you
haven’t
already,
please
visit
our
appeal
page
(link
below)
if
you
can
help
this
wonderful
piece
of
railway history have a more secure future. Thank you.
