A new home for Giggleswick

When Giggleswick Signalbox closed in 1971, the Midland Tumbler lever frame was fortunately saved by Ross Clevell of the Manchester Divisional drawing office and after many years eventually re-elected at his home, working as a display frame.

Unfortunately Ross passed away in 2022 and following the wishes of his family his former colleagues became involved in trying to find a suitable permanent new home where the frame could be displayed as was whole .

And this is where the Minor Railways Section and our colleagues came in to the overall picture of the frames journey from Wales back to Yorkshire, following a chance conversation with colleagues in preservation who noted that the diagram and Signalbox nameboard were already on display at the 24H shed Hellifield station museum and cafe, run by Stuart Dean, the possibility of moving it back north came about.

My colleague Simon and others had already undertaken a correlation of the whole frame including the locking prior to its dismantling and removal from wales to its new home, so this video shows Simon,Stuart and Myself putting it back together over a two day period in February 2023.

All photographs and video by S Foster and D Beglin, our deepest gratitude to the staff at Hellifield for feeding and watering us and to Ross’ family for letting us preserve his memory as a permanent legacy for many to enjoy.