Thanks to a grant from the Nottinghamshire County Council Local Community Fund, Hotchley Hill signal box is closer to being connected to mains power.

The signal box on the Great Central Railway is being restored in order to control heritage trains on the line.

The box was originally built in 1946 by the London and North Eastern Railway to handle extra trains running to the British Gypsum plant opposite.

While the plant still survives, when the Great Central Railway closed, the signal box was abandoned and deteriorated.

The box will be a crucial zone for passing trains when the Great Central Railway in Nottinghamshire is linked to the Leicestershire section in the future. This connection will be a part of the Reunification project.

The £8,500 grant provided by the Community Fund covered half the cost of running the power cables to the signal box.

Great Central Railway have launched an appeal for the same amount to complete the job.

Due to fundraising and many hours of volunteer effort, the roof was re-felted, and concrete repairs have been completed, making it watertight once more.

New flooring has also been installed with a lever frame and a signalling scheme. The derelict signals were also abandoned when the railway closed and will be reused in the new scheme.

Having the box connected to the mains will allow future work on nearby stations, providing lighting and power to shelters.

Donations to help them match the grant amount can be made via the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) supporting charity on their website.

 “We’re very grateful for the grant. It unlocks further restoration work on the box itself and the scheme to re-signal the area to control trains. Volunteers who have done so much to restore the building already are now preparing for the power connection, our contractors are standing by, but we need some donations please to finish the job. This is an unusual piece of railway history and it’s wonderful to see it coming back to life.”

Andy Fillingham of Great Central Railway (Nottingham)