Old Photograph Signal Box Railway Station Dalwhinnie Scotland

Old photograph of a Signal Box outside the railway station in Dalwhinnie near Newtonmore, Scotland. The station opened in 1863. The station buildings were completed in 1864 by Joseph Mitchell & Company. Originally, all signalling was done by mechanical means. Points and signals were operated locally from individual levers or handles, requiring the signalman to walk between the various pieces of equipment to set them in the required position for each train that passed. Before long, it was realised that control should be concentrated into one building, which came to be known as a signal box. The signal box provided a dry, climate controlled space for the complex interlocking mechanics and also the signalman. The raised design of most signal boxes, which gave rise to the term " tower " in North America, also provided the signalman with a good view of the railway under his control. The first use of a signal box was by the London and Croydon Railway in 1843 to control the junction to Bricklayers' Arms in London, England.



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