HOW TO… BUILD AN N GAUGE SIGNAL BOX

t one time, signal boxes were the mainstay of the railway. Numbering in at over ten thousand, they were an integral part of daily operations. Invented by the engineer John Saxby, the covered and glazed structures housed interlocking mechanics that operated points and signals, responsible for the safe operation of trains around the railway network. 'Boxes could be found at the majority of stations and junctions, usually operated by a small team of expert signalmen. A large number of model railway layouts would often be incomplete without one and Metcalfe’s kit provides great potential. The great thing about the kits is that they are simple to build, needing minimal tools and they are a perfect starting point for developing model architectural skills for building models from scratch. In this article, I’ll look