Lithgow Coal Stage Signal Box

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Lithgow Coal Stage Signal Box

The Lithgow Coal Stage Signal Box is a heritage-listed former railway bridge and current signal box located on Gas Works Lane in Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by the New South Wales Government Railways and built between 1885 and 1925. It is owned by the NSW Transport Asset Holding Entity and was added to the NSW State Heritage Register on 30 August 2013.

History and purpose
The Lithgow line opened in 1869, and Lithgow received its own station in 1877. The Coal Stage Box was built in 1925 to support expanding marshalling yards and the locomotive depot, replacing the Eskbank depot. It is the third signal box built in the area and gets its name from an 1888 overhead coal bunker nearby (now removed). The box controlled access to the locomotive depot, local coal branch lines, and locomotives using the bunker.

Design and features
The box is a large timber elevated signal box of the type 1 design. Externally it is a rectangular timber building with a hipped corrugated iron roof, weatherboard walls, and timber-framed multi-pane sash windows. A steel staircase at the east end provides access.

Inside, the control room has timber walls and a ceiling made of flat asbestos-cement panels. The original lever frame had 64 levers; 41 levers are still in use, now operating electric signals, points, and a track diagram. An older telephone system and bells remain. The ground floor shows the exposed timber frame and the interlocking mechanism. In 1957, with yard electrification, signals and points were updated to electric light signals and power-operated points. The timber steps were replaced with metal steps.

Condition and significance
As of the 2000s, the building was in good condition with a high level of intactness and continued to operate. It is one of the largest and best-preserved traditional timber elevated signal boxes in New South Wales and is an important part of the Lithgow railway precinct, illustrating the evolution of railway operations and coal industry links in the area.

Heritage listing
The Lithgow Coal Stage Signal Box was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2013 for its historical, aesthetic, technical, and research value, and for its rarity as a well-preserved operating timber elevated signal box from the early 20th century.