Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway

Opened: 1884

Closed: 1990

Location code: E46/18

Friargate Crossing was just west of Grimsby, in an area of frequent level crossings that resulted in the provision of a number of small signalboxes spaced only a few hundred yards apart. This photograph was taken from Wellowgate Crossing, looking towards Friargate Crossing, and just discernible in the background is yet another box, Littlefield Crossing.

A splendid LNER co-acting home signal protects the crossing in the Down direction, with distants for Littlefield below. The co-acting arms are probably provided to improve the view to drivers past the footbridge on which the photographer is standing.

In the opposite direction, the home signal is located on the right-hand side of both running lines. Although general policy was to place signals on the left (driver's) side, exceptions were made where the view would be improved - in this case the signal would come into sight far earlier on the curve.

Friargate is a nice example of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway's second design of box, introduced in 1880. It features the same battened boarding of the earlier boxes (see Blackmoor Crossing) but a gabled roof (filled with diagonal boarding) is provided. Decorative bargeboards with six cut rings set the trend which was perpetuated into later designs, as did the four-pane ventilator.

Another box of this type is illustrated at Denaby Crossing, and the replacement type introduced in 1887 can be seen at North Kelsey.

The box was destroyed by fire and abolished in June 1990.