A RESTORED relic of Romsey’s railway heritage has been given a huge cash boost to help it attract more visitors.

Grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund (£10,000) and Test Valley Borough Council (£5,000) will enable the Friends of Romsey Signal Box to build a new visitor reception and display area at their Plaza Parade site.

The box was saved from demolition by volunteers in 1982 who restored it and opened it to the public in 1992.

Friends president Dick Hewett said the grants have come at an auspicious time as March 6 will mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the “Sprat and Winkle Line”, which ran from Redbridge to Andover until 1964 when it fell victim to the Beeching cuts.

It was at Romsey Junction – the division of tracks to Eastleigh, Southampton, and Salisbury –where the box stood.

“It’s absolutely fantastic that we have been awarded these grants,” said Dick. “They will enable us to take the whole project to another level with far more professional presentation to visitors and make it easier to cope with the larger number of visitors we hope will come to visit us.

“It has given us a real injection of self-confidence and renewed enthusiasm.”

Dick explained that part of the cash would be used on marketing and recruiting new volunteers.

“Romsey Signal Box is probably unique in the UK. Nowhere else can members of the public enter an operational signal box and do everything from pulling levers to make signals work to operating a full simulated train service and everything in between,” said Dick.

The new visitor reception building and display area will house a mobile miniature signal box which can be taken to other venues.

Builders Croudace Ltd – who are working on the neighbouring site formerly occupied by Romsey Infants School – have built the concrete base of the new building for free John Johnson from Croudace, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to make this contribution to the development of the signal box site, which we see as a really interesting feature at the end of our new development.”

Romsey-based BHM Electrical will be doing the wiring for the new building for free.