Former Doncaster railway signal box given new lease of life 50 miles away

The old Sprotbrough station signal box was used as a shed on an allotment in Cudworth near Barnsley for many years after the station’s closure – but has now been rebuilt at the Yorkshire Wolds Railway near Driffield in East Yorkshire.

Complete with its sign with the alternative spelling of “Sprotborough” – the timber building was dismantled piece by piece and has now been lovingly put back together by railway enthusiasts at the attraction in Fimber.

The box sat alongside the former Sprotbrough railway station, which first opened in 1894.

Part of the old Hull and Barnsley Railway, the station closed to passengers in 1903 and totally in 1964.

It was later shipped off to the allotment, before being dismantled in 2022 and transported over to the railway following a GoFundMe appeal.

Work on the box is continuing, with the ultimate aim for it to become fully operational once again, working trains at the heritage railway.

The box has been given new windows fitted and a fresh door and a spokesman for the project said: “All this wouldn’t have been achieved if not for an amazing team who have put their hearts and souls into the project.

“Still some way to go but for me it’s another milestone on this restoration journey.”

You can support the campaign for the restoration of the box HERE