St Albans South Signal Box

A preserved 1892 signal box beside the main line at St Albans City station, looked after by a volunteer charity. Visitors can see the restored 44-lever frame, and signalling demonstrations on the operating floor are run whenever they are asked for. The ground floor holds a museum of railway signalling and artefacts, including lamps, signs, bells and tablet token machines, with a film of the box in use. Outside, the garden has working signals to operate, a point to change, old signs, a telegraph pole route and a garden railway with Thomas the Tank Engine models; the venue's own site points children straight to the garden railway. Entry is free and the box is a short walk from the station. The upper floor is reached by a long flight of steps, so families with pushchairs or limited mobility may do best staying in the garden and on the ground floor. Opening is on set open days rather than every week, so check before travelling.