Survey Data
Reg No
13401106
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Signal box
Date
1920 - 1930
Coordinates
238292, 282133
Date Recorded
15/08/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Detached two-bay two-storey signal box, built c. 1925. Pitched slate roof with rendered chimneystack, cast-iron rainwater goods and decorative finials to gable ends (north and south). Roof overhangs to form canopy to front and rear (east and west), supported by carved timber brackets. Rusticated cement block walls to ground floor with moulded cement string course over. Timber clapperboard walls to first floor with timber pilasters. Square-headed window openings to ground floor with fixed timber windows and cement sills. Square-headed window openings, sweeping around corners to first floor, with timber windows. Square-headed door opening to east and north elevations with timber panelled doors. Located to the south of the former Ballywillin Railway Station (13401105), and to the northeast of Abbeylara.
Appraisal
This small-scale railway structure is an integral element of the transport and civil engineering heritage of County Longford. Despite some alterations and change of use, this signal box retains its early form and character. The variety of materials used in its construction makes for a visually pleasing composition, while the decorative brackets add an aesthetic quality to the principal elevations. This signal box was original built by the Midland and Great Western Railway Company to serve the Inny Junction to Cavan line, which opened in 1856. It is of a standard design introduced by the Great Western Railway Company from about 1920. It possibly replaced an earlier signal box at Ballywillin that was damaged during the Civil War (1922 - 23), a fate that was suffered by many signal boxes in Ireland. It forms an important part of the former Ballywillin Railway Station complex, adding historic appeal to its pleasant rural location.