Rail

Blotoft Siding signal box was built in 1882 on the Lincolnshire line running between Spalding and Sleaford. It is situated at a manually gated level crossing at a remote location on Helpringham Fen.

The installation was of timber framed construction and was in a very dilapidated state. It had deteriorated due to attacks by woodworm and wet rot, and a temporary steel frame had been installed to support the operating floor. The condition of the original building had reached the point that it swayed laterally when subjected to the pressure wave of passing trains.

The constraints of limited clearance from the track and the requirement to maintain the signal box in full operation whilst the works were progressed meant that a remedial scheme to provide a new steel framed support structure within the existing fabric was necessary, and this would be used to carry the existing floor and roof.

The new steel framing is supported on a substructure of end driven steel tubular piles placed at either end of the building and the opportunity was taken to increase the length of the building to provide an improved working environment for the operative manning the box. The form and style of the original roof was extended and the refurbished walls were clad with steel composite insulated panels to provide an improved internal environment. The walls were then overclad with grp shiplap boarding to provide a building with the same character as the original signal box.