Princes Risborough North Signalbox Open Day:

The traditional railway signal box, once immortalised by Charles Dickens, is fast disappearing from the UK’s railways!

As part of the Princes Risborough Town Festival, we are opening the Princes Risborough North Signal Box from 10.00 to 16.00 on Saturday 12 July 2025. No booking required and everyone is welcome.

While entry to the North Box is free, we would appreciate donations to help fund the future restoration and development of the North Box. 

Princes Risborough North 'box once controlled railways radiating to every point of the compass and today, it is the largest former Great Western Railway signal box still standing; but as many readers will know, it was out of use and had deteriorated during the 20 years from it's closure in 1991 until the volunteers of the railway began work to restore it in 2013.

The previous neglect is being rectified and restored to working order by volunteers of the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Assocation, including the renewal of 200 panes of smashed glass, the building of a replica outside staircase and, fittingly, the casting of replica nameplates which are now proudly on display

See the huge amount of restoration taken place so far and hear about our plans for the future.

Volunteers will be on hand to give you a tour and you will be able to view the railway from a signalman’s perspective and learn about mechanical signalling methods. We may even show you a basic demo of some of the ways in which railways were signalled!

We anticipate that we will have some other attractions on hand, including the 'bubble car', W55024 DMU serving serving refreshments in Platform 4 and the potential for Brake Van rides into the South Sidings.

Details: 

• No booking is necessary - come along any time between 10.00 and 16.00
• Access is via the restored Platform 4 at Princes Risborough railway station
• On arrival at the main station entrance cross over the footbridge to Platform 3 then follow the signs/instructions onto Platform 4
• There is a rough footpath to the signal box from Platform 4 and a steep outside staircase - so robust footwear is advised
• Visitor numbers inside the signal box may be limited, so please be prepared for a short wait outside the box if requested
• Children must always be accompanied by an adult
• Please keep away from the edge of all Chiltern Railways platforms at Princes Risborough, as high speed trains pass through some of them!

Admission is free but donations of any amount are welcome so that we can keep up this good work and pursue all our other projects.  

There are NO Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway heritage trains operating on Saturday 12 July, as this then allows us to offer visitors safe access to the signal box. We will however be delighted if you would like to travel with us on any of our Standard Days - see the link below.

See also the PRNB website for any further information about the restoration project.