RESTORERS who brought a Victorian signal box in St Albans back to life have won a national award.

The St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust, which restored the 1892 building just south of St Albans City Station between 2005 and 2008, won the Structures section at the National Railway Heritage Awards on Wednesday.

Trust chairman Keith Webster said “We are absolutely delighted to receive this award against some very worthy opposition.

"We started out by just wanting to tidy the place up and we ended up creating an asset for the whole community, not just for railway buffs.

"The volunteers who come along and provide cups of tea and huge amounts of effort are the ones who contribute the most to ensuring that this unique heritage asset is worthy of such recognition."