PJM Models launches laser-cut OO kit for Tenby signalbox

A named signalbox can do more for a small layout than almost any other building, and Tenby is a good example. PJM Models has turned the South Wales prototype into a laser-cut OO kit, giving modellers a 1956 GW16b box that looks right for a Great Western or Pembrokeshire scene rather than a one-size-fits-all accessory.

The Tenby box is not just scenic dressing. The Signalling Record Society says the original McKenzie & Holland type 3 box went up about 1895 and was replaced by a GW16b box on 25 March 1956. Its successor carried an 18-lever frame, which makes the building feel operationally plausible on a branch terminus, junction or station throat where the signalbox matters as much to the story of the layout as the platform buildings do. That detail is exactly what gives it weight on a compact scene: the box is small enough to fit, but specific enough to anchor a period and place.

PJM Models’ new kit was listed on April 25 at £19.99 and is in stock. The package includes laser-cut exterior parts in MDF and plywood, plus laser-cut clear glazing, with basic tools, glue and paint needed to finish it. That puts it in the manageable end of the market, the kind of project that feels approachable straight out of the box while still rewarding a careful build. It also fits a wider pattern in the company’s range, which already includes other prototype-led OO signalbox kits such as Crewe Station A and Yarnton.

Tenby itself gives the kit a strong back story. The Pembroke & Tenby Railway was formed in 1859, opened the first section between Pembroke and Tenby on 30 July 1863, and extended east to Whitland on 4 September 1866. The town became a seaside destination, and the line that served it developed into one of the key routes in the area. Today, Tenby remains the only passing loop on the Whitland to Pembroke Dock branch, even though the signal box has gone and crews now work the electric token instruments on either side under the Whitland signaller.

The box’s survival into the modern era is well documented, too. RailScot carries a May 1988 view of the interior, close to the late-1980s end of its working life. For modellers chasing the look of a real station rather than a generic railway scene, that kind of photographic and operational background matters. Key Model World’s March 24 feature on building PJM Models kits with designer Phil Moreton underlined the company’s simple-tool approach, and that accessibility is part of the appeal: Tenby offers a recognisable piece of Welsh railway architecture without demanding a full scratchbuild.