A historic railway signalbox that is over 130 years old is to be rebuilt and restored as part of a thriving heritage railway.

Network Rail has gifted the signal box, previously located at Wye station in Kent, to the Helston Railway, having enabled its transfer to Prospidnick in June this year.

The signal box was due to be demolished, but through months of negotiations by one of the Helston Railway’s volunteers, Network Rail agreed to use their budget for demolishing the signal box towards its dismantling instead.

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Helston Railway also received a significant grant from the Railway Heritage Trust to support the dismantling, relocation and rebuilding of the structure. The grant was supplemented by the Helston Railway.

The contractor that dismantled the signal box, Brighters, has also provided Helston Railway with replacement windows and cladding, which exactly match the existing due to them being too rotten to salvage.

Work will begin on the rebuilding of the signal box in the coming months, with the ambition to complete it in 2025.