Forres was once an important
junction on the Highland Railway network. Here, the original main line from
Perth to the Inverness formed a triangular junction with the Aberdeen line. It
lost main line status when a direct route was opened between Aviemore and
Inverness in 1897, and after closure of this "branch" in 1965, Forres became
just an intermediate station on the Inverness - Aberdeen route.
The junction had been controlled by three signal boxes. This box was the second Forres East and opened on 20th October 1896. It is a fairly typical McKenzie & Holland Highland box - similar to Dingwall South. Unusually, though, the two-panes-high glazing arrangement (usually found only in smaller boxes like Achnasheen West) has been adopted.
Inside the box, a 24-lever McKenzie & Holland frame controls
the remaining layout. In its heyday, the box had 42 levers, but this was rather
more than needed for current requirements! Fixed at the left end of the frame
is a "ships wheel" to work the adjacent level crossing gates. At the opposite
end, a modern grey box on a pedestal controls lifting barriers at another
nearby crossing. The gate wheel has doubtless also been modernised since this
1977 view.