Furness Railway

Opened: 1891

Closed: 1981

Location code: LM109/01

Opened on 30th September 1891, Green Road box is virtually identical to Askam in design, except that the central section has been boarded over. Originally, this would have been boarded on the inside only, exposing the diagonal timber framing.

Green Road was a small station with level crossing located between Foxfield and Millom along the Furness Railway's coastal route from Carnforth to Whitehaven via Barrow-in-Furness.

Inside the box could be found the last surviving frame manufactured by Easterbrook. A number of these frames were manufactured for the Furness (and a few other railways) between 1872 and 1886, which would suggest that this 16-lever example was second-hand when the box was constructed in 1891.

Distinctive features of this type of frame were the quadrants composed of two plain plates bolted together at front and rear. Quite a long stroke on the lever exists, although this evidently doesn't spread the workload sufficiently as a sturdy footstool is provided by the Up Distant signal!

Green Road box was a fairly early casualty, ceasing to oprate as a block post on 13th March 1966. However, the box was retained as a crossing keeper's cabin for many years, and this interesting lever frame survived in use until complete closure occurred on 31st July 1981.