Trustees Annual Report 2024-2025 Lowdham Railway Heritage
CIO 1163610
Aims
To preserve and restore for the benefit of the public the historic Victorian signal box once operational at Lowdham Station in Nottinghamshire, together with the equipment contained therein, and to provide the public with access to the signal box and other relevant exhibits in order to provide demonstrations of railway signalling history and practice designed to educate and inform the public.
Progress in the Year from Oct 2024 to Sept 2025
Last year we progressed these projects: on-going restoration work, further slow progress on the simulator.
We have had a couple of special-interest groups book private visits. In August we welcomed U3S Chuffers, and a men’s group form Gedling Church, and Lowdham Primary School in May.
The year finished with Heritage Open Days, which were very successful as last year. Our normal visitors are either local, or have a railway connection. HODs bring in people from further afield who have an interest in heritage of any variety. Again, we interspersed the open days with a ‘signalling gala’ with an intensive Monday morning timetable from 1954, made more interesting by the late running of a key train!
We replaced the Up distant lever with an uncut lever, and to fitted a weight bar outside so it feels right. We were given a three-aspect colour light head, similar to that which formed the Down Home and intermediate distant (repeater for the starter) and used to be at the far side of the dual carriageway bridge, so we now have working colour light distant and home signals for the Down Line. We have also made the staircase safer by fitting anti-slip strips on the wooden surfaces. We have a miniature Midland Railway signal which will become signal No. 3, and this will be connected to the frame over the winter.
Progress on the simulation has been slow, but the key development has been to purchase and wire in 16 channel digital I/O boards which are internet connected. One is in the block shelf and the other behind the lever frame. This means that we can use a Windows laptop rather than a Raspberry Pi for control, which will be more compatible with openSignalBox.org. We held a technical conference with speakers from OSB and Reedham Junction, with reps from Armathwaite, Lowdham and Warmley. We proved that the OSB bell module works, and we are expecting to get that hardware in November 2025.
The year included two significant railway anniversaries, the Newark Brake Trials of 1875 (150 years) and the first commercial railway, the Stockton to Darlington which opened in 1825 (200 years). There are two new information boards out on the station platform, and we incorporated information about the two anniversaries into our open day script.
We would like to acknowledge the support we have received from the public, and from the railway community. It has been a real pleasure to welcome visitors to the box, and to bring so much to life. A special joy is when former railwaymen or signalmen visit.
Lowdham Railway Heritage Annual Report 2024-25.docx
Future projects / progress since year end
There is a lot of work to do on the simulator project , although very little further expense.
There is some work to be done on cranks to the lead-out in front of the box,
We are actively pursuing the possibility of licensing the old dock siding from NR/EMR, but no progress has been made in the year.
Eventually, we would like to replace the plastic gutters and downpipes with cast iron, although that will be an expensive project requiring grant aid.
Finance
In future years, we expect our running costs to be around £1,000, most of which is insurance, and our income to be mostly visitor donations, with some additional expenditure on paint, maintenance, and minor improvements.
In the year, we spent around £600 on restoration, and £500 on simulator and wiring parts.
As of November 2025, we have almost £700 in the bank and no large foreseen costs, with the insurance for the year already paid.
At the end of the year, Jan Yelland-Sutcliffe resigned from the board of trustees.
Approved by the trustees
David Moore, Chair of Trustees
28 October 2025
Lowdham Railway Heritage Annual Report 2024-25.docx
Accounts for Lowdham Railway Heritage, 2024-2025
Lowdham Railway Heritage was incorporated on 17 Sept 2015.
| Income Gift Aid Donations Small Donations Grant for info boards Tax reclaim Sale of signs etc Total income Expenditure Restoration Simulator parts Vintage parts Running costs Info Boards Total Expenditure Surplus/Deficit for the year Balance Sheet Bank at start of year Start of year funds (1/10/23) Surplus for the year Bank at end of year End of year funds (1/10/24) Current Assets Total Assets Current Liabilities Total Liabilities Cash + Assets - Liabilities |
750.00 1,587.11 837.11 1,036.00 1,431.60 395.60 50.00 50.00 3,068.71 574.33 570.47 179.56 859.48 1,036.22 3,220.06 151.35 1,506.69 1,506.69 151.35 1,355.34 1,355.34 1,355.34 0.00 0.00 1,355.34 |
|---|---|
| 574.33 570.47 179.56 859.48 1,036.22 |
|
| 1,506.69 | |
| 1,355.34 | |
| 1,355.34 | |