Rebuilding this historic icon of Deeping.
Telling the story of signalling & railways in the fens.
St James Deeping station was built and opened in 1849 as part of the Lincolnshire loop line by the GNR (Great Northern Railway). In July 1876
St James Deeping Signalbox was opened on the other side of the crossing.
The station remained open until 11th September 1961. A goods service remained active until 15th June 1964 when the station and goods yard where closed completely.
Our little signalbox continued working on, seeing the station and goods yard sidings removed along with the relevant signals. The box was then just left with the job of controlling trains between Peterborough and Littleworth (Deeping St Nicholas) as well as protecting the crossings at Folly Bank, Welland Bank, St James Deeping and Stowgate.
As St James Deeping signalled its last train on 22nd October 2014, the passing train slowed and gave a farewell on the horn. The committee had already been working hard to protect the signalbox and had come to an agreement with Network Rail to have it taken down brick by brick, so that it could be rebuilt on land with public access and reopened as a heritage and information centre.
I am happy to announce the project is moving forwards very well with a very committed team driving it. We have now purchased land a few hundred yards from its original location and have got planning permission on the site.
There is a lot of paperwork going into this project, and this is taking up all of our time to make sure we get things right the first time round. Progress looks slow but trust us its been none stop!
Thank you for taking the time to look at our project, we hope you come to see the finished building!
