Caledonian Railway (CR) Signal box

The Caledonian Railway introduced a “standard” style of signal box immediately after the Board of trade mandated signalling. This standard soon became somewhat ignored as the Northern and Southern Divisions differed and boxes within the divisions were altered to suit the preferences of the builders as they were constructed.

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire “general type of signal cabin” is used as the foundation of this kit and closely represents a box at Lugton.

This bespoke 1 x A4 laser cut 3mm plywood sheet (1xA4 in 0.8m ply) model has been designed in 1/76 scale.

Thanks are given to the Caledonian Railway Association www.crassoc.org.uk for providing the drawings and photos on which this model was based.  The Signal Box requires glue. Choose a glue that allows at least a minute before setting to allow adjustments to be made during the build. Always test the build before using glue.

There are options included for styles for the Signal Box: omitting the toilet extension; omitting the shelf; omitting the shelf and/or roof supports; numbers of levers in the frame and; various options for fitting the windows

The base size of this model when assembled  is approx  130 x 75 mm (to help with layout designs).

The building requires glue. Choose a glue that allows at least a minute before setting to allow adjustments to be made during the build. Always test the build before using glue.

For finishing, we recommend first priming the surface, then painting with any acrylic or model paint of your choice. The material is etched, so any engraved detail such as brickwork or roof tiles will be visible after painting.

Important information about railway scaling: 

All kits are designed in OO Gauge on 3mm plywood, so there are a few considerations to be made when scaling the digital files to other Gauges. The instructions provided will be the OO version as the build order is the same at different scales.

O Gauge Orders: When scaling to O gauge, there are manual modifications that may need to be made when assembling the kit. This is due to the thickness of the plywood when scaling the kit from the OO gauge material of 3mm to the O gauge 5.25mm material that would be needed. As this thickness of ply does not exist, we undersize the material to the closest thickness we have of 4mm plywood and recommend dry fitting the build first so that any joints that need to be sanded for a flush finish can be noted.

N Gauge Orders: Scaling to N gauge works well and has no extra modifications needed due to material thickness. Some parts will be very fine, so take care when removing them from the frame. If some window pieces are particularly fine, they can be reinforced by soaking them in glue before assembly.

TT Gauge Orders: Scaling to TT requires slightly more modifications of the designs before cutting, so please contact us if you’re interested in a kit, and we can provide you a quote at info@popupdesigns.co.uk.

Any other questions, tips or enquiries please don’t hesitate to contact us via our email address or contact form. 

This kit is designed by Iain Ross and sold by PopUp Designs with his permission.