Cliburn signal box
Cliburn signal box
A year after trains first climbed over Stainmore, the Eden Valley Railway opened a connection from the West Coast Main Line near Penrith through to Kirkby Stephen East.
Cliburn signal box – one of nine on the route – looked after the adjacent level crossing and controlled access into a goods yard which boasted cattle pens and coal handling facilities. There was only a single running line, serving a platform on the Down side. This accommodated the main building, next to which was the station master’s house.
Closure came to Cliburn in September 1956 although through trains continued, requiring the signal box to remain open. But the route succumbed on the same day as Stainmore: 22nd January 1962.
The signal box immediately entered a period of decline; its windows smashed and innards gutted. Some repair work was undertaken in the 1970s but 2012 saw its complete refurbishment, opening as a self-catering holiday let with an extension to the rear.
