Lines diverge), which had the busiest signal box on the NER system. The main station structure had a glass-covered entrance in a unique design of ironwork, which led to a booking office and waiting rooms for four classes. Built of brick, the additional stonework was made of creamy yellow stone. Carved embracing the Arts and Crafts Movement of William Morris, a competition between local stonemasons resulted in 104 different designs. The competition was noted on a brass plaque in the entrance area, which was removed and melted down as part of the war effort during World War II. The platform canopies were also of a unique ironwork design to Thornaby, but lost their glass after a Nazi Luftwaffe bomb fell close to the station during the war. After being taken over by British Railways on nationalisation, the decayed station was never really repaired post war, but kept its proud staff and hence well kept flower borders. The variety of stone carvings also gained the station an entry in the newly created Guinness Book of Rail Facts and Feats. With dwindling passenger numbers, staff were removed in the early 1970s, which led to a dramatic level of vandalism to the decayed station structures. After promises to refurbish the station due to local protests from 1977, demolition of the station buildings occurred in December 1981 in what was described locally as "institutionalised vandalism". In both 1988 and 1994, BR proposed to rename the resulting "bus shelter" station as Stockton, but this and a later proposal in 2000 by Northern Spirit to rename the station as South Stockton were stopped by local protests. The stations revival occurred due to its being located next to the Teesdale development area and Durham University's Queen's Campus, and the provision of the new First TransPennine Express to Manchester Airport. This resulted in a £500,000 refurbishment in 2003 led by Arriva Trains Northern, the Strategic Rail Authority and Stockton-on-Tees borough council, that included the addition of waiting rooms for the first time in 25 years. The newly rebuilt station was officially opened by former local MP Dari Taylor on 7 February 2003 and provides an enlarged car park, heated waiting room, staffed ticket office, a shop, VDU displays and better lighting and security. As a result of this improvement work, and the return of staffing, Thornaby won a National Station of the Year Award in the 2003 HSBC