West Runton Station Sign Restoration, Norfolk, UK

West Runton station serves the charming village of West Runton and features a rare railway sign, known as a running-in board which is thought to be the only surviving structure of its kind still in existence on the national rail network. The board has been welcoming passengers to West Runton Station in North Norfolk since 1921, and in 2021 was given a new lease of life using Dura Composites d² Dura Daggerboard material.

The project was a collaboration between the Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership, rail operator Greater Anglia and Dura Composites, and involved carefully researching the sign’s history to ensure that the new lettering was an authentic and respectful visual representation of the heritage design. All CNC work and installation was performed by Dura Composites, whose in-house graphic communications specialist was able to identify the closest modern-day typographic match to the original 1920s lettering so Dura could replace the degraded timber with a hardwearing no-maintenance composite.

The aim was to provide renewed running-in board using composite materials that will withstand the effects of the coastal climate, so that the sign could continue to be a familiar landmark for future generations of rail users. The successful project won first place at the National Railway Heritage Awards 2021.