If you scroll to the left I'm more interested in the first house and the way it appears to be sliced off at one side

Actually, looking at the aerial view there appears to be no room for a back garden.

There's this one in Bulwell on both the Tram network and the Robin Hood line... I have over a period of 30 years crossed that crossing as a pedestrian, in a car, in a bus, on a tram and on a train...

Looked for an AOCL.
Tracked up the line.
Saw this: http://goo.gl/maps/nPdk Isn't that wrong on every level?

Moving further up: http://goo.gl/maps/hXfZ
That's a red/green aspect? Shouldn't green be illuminated? Or, shouldn't it have the correct lighting arrangement?


Not so much "Odd crossing", though they are a mixture of old AHB, wooden gate and metal gate (Public UWC?): http://goo.gl/maps/19pR
I can drive up the line!

It looks like a port authority railway line (which doesn't look well used since there are cars parked on it) crossing a port authority road, so really they can do what they like providing they deem it to be safe.

If there's an accident there though... RAIB would look at past recommendations and best practice. Those crossings meet neither. Though RAIB have no direct power and don't find blame, their investigation showing "this crossing sucks" would carry forward to any other report. Ie, they may be able to ignore rules, but shouldn't

Slightly moving that location on GSV shows that the railway line has since been fenced off, so an accident wouldn't be down to the level crossing!

Fair enough. I'll also assume the hoods and borders went missing from that one at some point.
Back when the line was open though, the second crossing would be dodgy?

If there is an accident and the RAIB blamed the design - it could cost them (ot their insurers) a pretty packet! And I'd not rely on the toothlessness of the RAIB, NR have been convicted 3 times this year under the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to implement RAIB "recommendations" with regard to level crossings!



Though that would probably be enough to meet the requirements in this case

I'm not calling RAIB toothless, just "indirectly toothy"

These series of level crossings were mentioned right at the beginning of the thread. What I like is that you can "zoom" along the railway tracks to get from one crossing to the next. GSV have helpfully put four arrows to zoom along at the level crossing, two for the cars along the road and two for trains along the tracks!

http://goo.gl/maps/2UZL

http://goo.gl/maps/fSxX

Got to like this one on the Barton on Humber line, Lincolnshire. The railway signal levers and instruments are out in the open. I think that the old crossing keeper's house is a listed building so that still stands along with the modern hut replacement. Possible dream job -one train goes down here every couple of hours. No wonder she's keeping herself busy gardening!

Just found an unusual Level Crossing setup, well I mean I've never seen this before.

It's a level crossing with no lights, but has full barriers and yodel alarm.

Have a looksy at Blakeston Lane at http://bit.ly/Rq2HGU

Such crossings are occasionally found on minor roads where low traffic levels mean it would be possible to lower the barriers when there is no oncoming traffic.
Obviously they need to be locally controlled by a signaller or crossing keeper in an adjacent box from where they can see the road traffic.

Here are a few others like that...







In the case of the latter example the barriers usually remain lowered and are raised when a road user needs to cross.

Ah yes, the second picture i know is Arbroath. There was a big hoohah about that one because NR wanted to close it permanently.

Here's another one I haven't seen before. This one is at Navigation Way in Preston.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=53.759119,- ... 16.34,,0,5

As you look at it, it looks like a fairly standard level crossing, but if you swivel around to the right, you'll see another one close by. The train track actually goes over the bridge (down the middle of the road). I'm assuming this is a swing bridge due to the lock on one side and the large recess.

Of course, this is how all level crossings used to be until a generation ago, apart from a few bad cases on busy urban streets that were provided with conventional traffic signal heads for the signalman to control.

Simplistically the signalman just had to look for a gap in the traffic. Gates then were invariably swung from the side (where they had closed off the railway) rather than lowered from above. The old big wheel mechanism up in the signalbox (and for which you needed good muscles), when turned, would close by under-road cable the half-gates on the two approach sides first, when those were fully closed continuing to turn the wheel closed those over the other half of the road. When they were opened again the reverse applied.

As a child I regularly walked from our house in Taunton out to the quite well known crossing (now replaced by a bridge) called Silk Mill, about a mile west of the town, and watched all this in action all summer afternoon. If traffic was busy at closing time the signalman would start to close the gates and you would see the approach side ones starting to swing, somewhat hesitantly, with the signalman up in the box looking down and playing the wheel back and forth until someone insufficiently bold came to a stand; then they would be fully swung across.

Despite the lower traffic levels then, crossing gates were regularly crashed through by road vehicles when they were across, far more than now it seems, when the railway would have to provide a flagman (generally one of the old track gangers) until they were repaired ! It was of course an interest to see this a couple of times at that location, coupled with the smashed gates laid to one side along the railway.

A few more - although Glen rightly identifies that most similar crossings are located adjacent to their controlling signal boxes, there are one or two examples that are a fair distance from the box:

Ashwell Gatehouse MCBR, controlled from Ashwell SB (just visible along the line to the left), and Gringley Road RC, controlled from Thrumpton SB around the curve to the left (from where I don't think it's possible to see the crossing). Certainly in the former case (and I suspect Gringley Road will be similar), the barriers are raised on request then (usually) lower automatically after a short period - both are fitted with emergency plungers in case a vehicle does become trapped. Not sure whether there's any significance in the difference between the MCBR and RC designations. Interestingly, Ashwell Gatehouse is in the block section between Langham and Ashwell on the Down line, so its protecting signal is at Langham SB.


At most wheel-worked crossings, all four gates would swing (approximately!) simultaneously. I've only ever come across two exceptions, though I'm sure there will have been more. At Firsby (closed long before my time!), the wheel would be wound fully in one direction to close one of the gates across the Skegness branch platform (the left hand set in the photo) and a pair of gates over the main lines (to the right). A lever would then be operated, before the wheel would be wound halfway back to close the remaining gates. Stow Park is another unusual example, with just a pair of large wheel-worked gates that operate simultaneously - the angle of the crossing means that the gates don't conflict at the midpoint of their travel as they usually would!

Tom

There are a few interesting crossings in Bourne End on the "Marlow Donkey" line by the Thames.

On with barriers has lights but no alarm, I guess because it's in a residential are & would be disturbing every time a train goes by.

I've heard of trains crashing though the old style crossing barriers where the keeper left them across the line for too long.

I suspect this difference in operation is one of the million-and-one differences between what the old Great Western Railway did, and what every other contemporary railway did.

Quite possibly! I'd be surprised if they made a habit of going to the expense and trouble of providing the additional mechanical bits to allow the gates to be swung in pairs, bearing in mind the complexity of the arrangement at Firsby.

A permanently manned crossing on the Birmingham - Gloucester line at Oddingley.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=5 ... 47.21,,0,0

Including a wonderful Midland Railway ground level cabin, lovingly maintained.