The Loftus Junction railway signal box is a heritage-listed disused railway signal box on the

Illawarra line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra a ...

at Loftus in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

local government area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was built during 1886. The property is owned by

RailCorp Rail Corporation New South Wales (RailCorp) was an agency of the State of New South Wales, Australia established under the ''Transport Administration Act 1988'' in 2004. It was a division under the control of Transport for NSW since the latter' ...

, an agency of Government of New South Wales. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

The Illawarra line was opened from Sutherland to

Waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

in 1886, being constructed by William Rowe and W. Smith. The branch line was also opened in 1886 to a station named Loftus which was the terminus of a single line of for military traffic, the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the loca ...

then being an army training reserve. The Loftus Junction Signal box was also constructed at this time. The line was duplicated in 1890 and electrified in 1926. Initially the timber signal box was built on the southern end of a small timber platform station named Loftus Junction and this was the first signal and track interlocked point on the Illawarra Line, though the National Park was not interlocked until the 1926 electrification. In 1888 the National Park was set aside for public recreation, and the station was then renamed "National Park" undergoing various changes until finally becoming The Royal National Park in 1955. In 1899 a short length of double line was opened from Loftus Junction to a short distance along the branch line to cope with the growth of rail traffic, but in 1944 this was converted back to a single track connection. Loftus Junction station was renamed Loftus in 1896 and because its location was difficult for starting "Down" trains on the rising 1 in 40 grade, the platforms were moved back towards Sydney in 1917, leaving the original signal box in an isolated situation. The concrete location huts are likely to have been constructed between 1917-1924 with precast panels manufactured at the Auburn cement works.Dawbin & Love, 2005 After closure in 1991, most of the internal equipment was removed from the signal box and the windows boarded up.

Description

;Context The Loftus Signal Box and two concrete drop-slab location huts are on railway land within the railway corridor east of Loftus Avenue, opposite the intersection of Loftus Avenue and Nattai Street, Loftus. ;Junction Signal Box (1886) The exterior of the signal box has painted brick

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

approx 1m in height. It is a small freestanding gabled

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

rectangular building with timber barge boards, and simple short finials with triangular tops. The building has a painted corrugated steel roof without any eaves overhang. A corrugated steel roofed and walled skillion section on the western side is at ground level. Window openings and door to the building have been covered over. On the north side of the building, outside the entry door, is a concrete deck with timber steps and a pipe railing. There is an old fluorescent light and a downpipe across the north elevation. Inside the signal box, no equipment is extant.

Condition

As at 23 November 2012, the condition of the Signal Box was moderate. The guttering to the building is deteriorated. The junction and trackage which related to the signal box have been removed, and therefore the context has lost significance. The signal box is now disused. The building has been repainted and windows covered over. Equipment has been removed from the interior. The integrity of the overall structure is low.

Modifications and dates

*1891Interlocking removed *1926single line branch auto signalling *1991frame removed *N.d.Corrugated steel addition to side.

Heritage listing

As at 10 July 2014, this was the best surviving example of a small signal box for a remote function from the Victorian period. The building is of excellent proportion, of high visual quality and in relation to the adjacent tramway museum forms an extremely important element of the south coast railway system. The box has a typically elevated floor to allow the signal equipment to operate under it and was designed to work the junction points and signals. The building has a pitched gable ended corrugated iron roof without eaves overhang. Access is through a door in the up end and a small timber staircase. Windows extend around three sides. The scale of the building is small reflecting the size of the location. Loftus Junction railway signal box was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Loftus Junction railway signal box, dno=5012083, id=01182, year=2018, accessdate=2 June 2018 New South Wales State Heritage Register Rail infrastructure in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register 1886 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures completed in 1886