Level Crossings

[AlanL]

In case anyone is interested I have recently posted some photos of the reinstatement of Darley Dale level crossing in 1990. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/s ... 778491878/
It went pretty much without a hitch except that the road settled slightly on one track and had to be dug up later to correct the problem.

[AlanL]

Regarding the negative attitude of the H&SE to level crossings I spotted an article in this months "Steam Railway" about the Plym Valley Railway who are rebuilding the disused line from scratch (i.e no track, overgrown trackbed) and have recently installed a level crossing at Lee Moor http://www.btinternet.com/~plymvalleyra ... _2009.html The whole of their site is well worth a look - they seem a very organised bunch.

[csimpson]

Thanks for your Peak rail photos. Peak rail has seem to done quite well without the need for expensive, high maintenace steam passenger locos. The photos just prove what could be done with abit of vision and loads of hard work!
Peak district like the Wolds has the scenery, so maybe something could develop with patience AND HARD WORK!

[dodger]

I note that the crossing will only carry a cycle path across it, hence the woodern gates, have i read somewere that for a vehicle crossing colour lights and automatic barriers have to be used ???, or am i wrong ????

[csimpson]

Dear Dodger,
This is ofcourse an important point of the YWR to develop some serious milage to develop into the tourist attraction that the Wolds and Driffield needs. We have been in discussion and taken advice from other railways in a similar position. The upshot is a physical barrier such as a metal/wooden gate with road warning signs, track speed limit, and operated by a responisble officer/guard is allowed.
Ofcourse there is lots of documents and h&s to deal with, but the roads we wil encounter have good visiblity and the only limiting factor would be COST... which seems manageable for a little station set-up with a good business case.

[AlanL]

The Mid Norfolk Railway have a team which manufactured new level crossing gates for their )many) level crossings.I seem to remember a typical cost of £2000 being bandied about but I am not sure whether that is for one gate or two.Most of their crossings are protected by 30 foot single span gates of the type necessary to cross Fimber Road.The last figure I heard for an AHB (automatic half barrier) crossing setup was £250,000 but that was a LONG time ago.On Peak Rail we actually had a pair of AHB mechanisms in the yard but our S & T guy said we were not allowed to use them as they were a type installed in the late 1960s known as "Driven Down" barriers and they were no longer allowed for new installations.

[dodger]

There are a lovely pair of woodern crossing gates on the level crossing at gristhorpe near filey, on the scarborough /hull line, there is also the attendant NER signal box and fine quadrant signal posts as well, i was chatting to the signalman the other day, i think its the last gated road crossing on this line, he told me that they are due to be removed sometime next year when gristhorpe crossing is upgraded to automatic barriers, so the gates, box and signals will all disapear, sad for that line, but could be good for us if anyone wants to approach network rail about this, we could find a new home for them surely, would we be in a position to do this ? strike while the iron is hot, be a real shame for them to be bonfire material,what does anyone else think ?

[AlanL]

Excellent idea Dodger.They are single span gates and therefore exactly what we need.When I was on the Eden Valley Railway we could have had Cayton signalbox for nowt + transport but they ummed and ahhed and eventually NR stepped in and demolished it.

[AlanL]

Here's my photo of the box in 1978.BTW I just measured the gates on Google Earth and they are 30 foot span - exactly the right width for Fimber Road crossing (for example)./

[dodger]

Nice picture alan, since then the box has had tasteful cosmetic restoration, its had new windows and a new paint job, and generaly a good tidy up, also the gates were repainted in recent years, it would be a shame for it all to go the way of filey and brid quay signal boxes, broken up on site and taken away to be burnt