Crewe Station 'A', Crewe Station 'B' and Crewe No. 3 were fascinating signal boxes because they were within the station itself, controlling the crossovers in the middle of the long, main platforms. Two trains could use a single platform, arriving and departing independently by using the crossovers which connected with the adjacent 'Through' line. Back in the '50s when I first visited Crewe, many trains split or combined at Crewe and restaurant cars were frequently added or removed, so there was always plenty of activity.
Crewe Station 'A' was halfway along platform 1. Thankfully, when it was abolished, it was carefully taken down and re-erected, with the lever frame and block shelf, in Crewe Heritage Centre. It was of 'composite' construction with a brick base (using bricks matching those used in the station buildings) and wooden-framed windows of standard L&NWR pattern on the operating floor. Unusually, it was flat-roofed, as it was situated beneath the station overall roof.
Crewe Station 'B' was halfway along platform 2 and had a similar design to Crewe Station 'A' Box.
Crewe No. 3 was elevated on a 'bridge', set above the Up Through and at right angles to the running lines. It was outside the overall roof, so had the usual gabled roof.
The boxes formed part of the Crewe remodelling which took place between 1896 and 1907 and all used the 'Crewe' All-Electric System, with miniature lever frames of the type shown in the picture above. The L.M.S. replaced the original electric semaphore signals with colour lights and British Rail introduced B.R. Standard Block Instruments but the boxes remained recognisably L&NWR until they were abolished.
More pictures of Crewe Station 'A' Box.
References:
For more detailed layouts of Crewe Station in the 1950s, refer to the Signalling Record Society publication 'British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950's Volume 1: ex-LNWR main line, Euston to Crewe' (ISBN: 1 873228 00 7).
