Spooner Row Message Board

There is a sign in the road that says that the level crossing will be closed overnight later this month. The sign doesn't say what it is for.

Is there any way we can keep the signal box? Can it be listed and kept at Spooner Row rather than move to Wymondham where a new brick base is waiting for it?  Attleborough has kept theirs. The Spooner Row signal box is a fundamental part of the village's heritage and should be kept where it is. It also has historical value as a Great Eastern Railway Type 2 dated 1881. It looks scruffy in the way it has been boarded up and many want it to be maintained and stay.

Hello all

At a meeting with Network Rail and contractors yesterday it was confirmed that the Spooner Row Box will finally be moving to Becketswell in Wymondham, to be restored for use by Mid Norfolk Railway,

Spooner Row is one of four sites locally that are being removed/demolished under this contract. The futures of Attleborough, Eccles Road and Thetford are yet to be decided.

Expect the box to be gone in November. 

Don't worry Network Rail have been moving it for the last 3 years so I think it will be with us for a good while yet !!

Upon talking to Charlie Robinson at Mid Norfolk Railway it is not going to happen this year but likely in February 2018. 

Still waiting for Network Rail to call me back but if they come up with anything different I will let you know.

How very sad to see part of Spooner Row's heritage go.

Spooner Row's loss to the gain of Wymondham Town.

Isn't Spooner Row's heritage of value?

What did our parish council at Wymondham have to say about this?

This is not a go at you Julian, as we recognise the good stuff you do for the village, but Wymondham Town Council (with its influence) could have lobbied South Norfolk and Network Rail to get it listed knowing that many locals value it. No doubt this is what happened to similar signal boxes elsewhere that did attain listed status. Wymondham Town Council as a whole is too aloof and mainly looks after the Town.

Anything to do with Network Rail is a lottery  !!!!!

The last I heard was that it was to be relocated to Wymondham but there were problems with this and nothing happened. It is just deteriorating where it stands.

Whilst I support the idea of perhaps using this for the community there are a number of practical difficulties

Firstly the box remains the property of Network Rail who may not be too keen to sell it for whatever reason and we would be painting something that does not belong to us assuming we could do this safely

the Current condition of the box necesistates in my view a full structural survey

there is no access to the upper level of the box which was removed when the upgrading took place , let alone it being safe

It would require significant de construction internally to make it safe

Sorry to be so negative and certainly something we could as a council discuss but as I have outlined, some major stumbling blocks in our way

De-cluttering project, demolish boxes on the line???? Clearly Network rail has no sense of heritage and history. Pity it couldn't muster up the funds to preserve the Victorian and C20th boxes as potential assets on its lines

I don’t agree that it’s moved,it should stay where it is.could of been done up and used for the community as something.

why does spooner row always have to lose its own heritage.lost the red phone box,lost the signal box ,lost the shop .spooner row doesn’t even warrant a spooner row sign.

Nothing to do with the council but they get the blame as usual and which council are you talking about , I bet you do not even know?  How about coming up with a suggestion  as opposed to whinging and I suspect when they, the Railway company, try to move it will fall apart anyway.

Why not try to lobby the company yourself ?

I am afraid it is to do with the council because it is currently situated in the parish. I understand that it is owned by Network Rail, but there has already been a series of posts on here which the council asked for suggestions for community projects and ideas for the signal box. We have very different views of what councillors are capable of. The fact that you do not think they can or should intervene here actually suggests that you have a dimmer view of them than me! an individual lobbying network rail will have limited impact, and I have already contested the decision anyway. A council speaks on behalf of its residents- that is why I think they should be involved. 

When this was first mooted we asked about listing and were told that it would not be as I recall, because Attleborough had already been listed. There is also a question of safe access and egress , currently I can see no easy solution, ongoing maintenence, more especially of a listed building which can be very expensive to ensure it is in keeping with the original, and we need to have the building secure.

It is easy to say for communiity use , assuming Network rail would sell but we need some concrete  proposals for its use and please do not forget we need to be Equality act compliant for access purposes.

If someone who is not anonymous wants to write to the council asking that we pursue listing again, then we will of course do that 

I doubt it will disappear in 12 days as we have been here before. This job would require closing Station Road and there are no pre-road closure warnings for this. 

I can't help but notice that the road closure signs have disappeared from the level crossing. Don't tell me it's been cancelled yet again at the final hour!