Australian Railroad Crossing Signals

[McK&H.Aust]

So I thought that I’d just make a quick list about crossings on the Frankston line with potentially dead bells.

Station street Seaford: Western E bell dies everytime it rains, but comes back to life after a day of so.
Eel Race road Seaford/Carrum: dead hybrid bell on the western side of the crossing (most likely because of the salty beach air). The working one is now also starting to act up.
Station street Mordialloc: this crossing for the last few months has not been audible while in the train. Before, you used to be able to hear the e bells in the train. So I’ve come to the conclusion that the volume has been turned down or one or both bells have died.
Parkers Road Parkdale: The cloth on the Western E bell has been peeled off now, but I’m pretty sure that it’s dead.
Wickham/Worthing Road Morabbin/Highett: the eastern E bell is full of orange sludge and is either really quiet or dead now.

But still the Bell and now the gate mech nazis continue to go after crossings that work perfectly fine and leave ones that have faulty equipment untouched for months and sometimes years. (The Riversdale tram square only has one out of four Barker Technics E bells working and it’s been like this for a couple years now...)

I also think that Melbourne may now have the most General Signals Type 3 e bells out of any other American or Canadian city as almost every single crossing on the Upfeild line has at least one type 3... Beats adjusted type 1s though!

It seriously makes no sense that keep replacing equipment works perfectly fine, but ignore all the faulty ones. I don't understand why the gate mechs at Parkdale were replaced.

I've also recently noticed that the hybrid bells at Main Street, Pakenham sound somewhat worn out, hopefully they'll survive for a while longer.

I can't believe they're going to still be running the network for seven more years.

I think they should be replaced with another company NOW! They just make stupid decisions that ruin the network!

...and their service is terrible at times. The rail network should go back to being government ran like it did until the late 90's.

Metro are a private company so their first priority would be making the most profit they can. I'm sure the finer details of their contract would be confidential and some decisions which seem stupid to us would probably make perfect business sense to them.

It's possible that the crossing upgrades on the Upfield line are being directly funded by the government, perhaps as part of their obligation to contribute a certain amount of money towards maintaining the network. That is just a guess on my part and I have no information or proof.

It may explain why some crossings with dead or dying bells are being neglected, maybe Metro are holding out until more government funding becomes available and the crossings can be fully upgraded then. As long as there is at least one working bell in the meantime. It seems to be a similar situation with ARTC, the crossings at The Rock are a good example. Yerong Street got new gates because it was funded by the government Level Crossing Improvement Program, while Old Trunk Rd has one dead bell and they are not in a hurry to replace it because it comes out of ARTC's pocket.

Junee is another example, along with Mascot.

[TrickyMario7654]

Metro are a private company so their first priority would be making the most profit they can. I'm sure the finer details of their contract would be confidential and some decisions which seem stupid to us would probably make perfect business sense to them.

It's possible that the crossing upgrades on the Upfield line are being directly funded by the government, perhaps as part of their obligation to contribute a certain amount of money towards maintaining the network. That is just a guess on my part and I have no information or proof.

It may explain why some crossings with dead or dying bells are being neglected, maybe Metro are holding out until more government funding becomes available and the crossings can be fully upgraded then. As long as there is at least one working bell in the meantime. It seems to be a similar situation with ARTC, the crossings at The Rock are a good example. Yerong Street got new gates because it was funded by the government Level Crossing Improvement Program, while Old Trunk Rd has one dead bell and they are not in a hurry to replace it because it comes out of ARTC's pocket.

Junee is another example, along with Mascot.

Why can't the money be spent on improving rail services? Instead of pointless upgrades to crossings up for removal? As part of their new contract, they'll be given more money for maintenance by the Andrews "Communist" Government.

[McK&H.Aust]

Travelled past Koolewong level crossing recently and it has Federal Signal gate mechs, haven't had the opportunity to film the crossing but hope to in the next few weeks.

The gates at Koolewong were installed on December 11, 1980 and it got me to wondering if there were (or are) any other crossings with Federal Signal mechs. The other crossing known to have FS mechs is at Blayney and it was installed in 1977 so I did some research on all gated crossings installed between 1977 and 1982 and came up with the following.

Ash St, Orange (February 2, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.308 ... 312!8i6656

Adelaide St, Blayney (February 2, 1977) Federal Signal https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.527 ... 312!8i6656

St James Rd, Adamstown (July 7, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D http://nswrail.net/locations/gphoto.php ... height=600
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.933 ... 312!8i6656

Old Bathurst Rd, Rydal (August 10, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.481 ... 312!8i6656

Range Rd, Whittingham (November 1, 1977) Unknown. Seems to have been upgraded with WCH gate mechs before it's closure, as they have newer Harmon style counterweight arms. https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.604 ... 312!8i6656

Koolewong (December 11, 1980) Federal Signal https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.466 ... 312!8i6656

Station Lane, Lochinvar (May 17, 1981) Unknown, was renewed with WCH mechs and the crossing has since been removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.720 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.720 ... 328!8i1664

1977 to 1982 seems to have been a very quiet time for gated installations in NSW, with only six crossings in six years. Prior to 1977 the NSW Railways used WRRS/GRS Type B or Type D gate mechs on their crossings. Beginning in 1983, most gated installations used Harmon mechs. It seems there would have been very few other crossings which could have used Federal Signal mechs, they are a rare species indeed!

[TrickyMario7654]

Travelled past Koolewong level crossing recently and it has Federal Signal gate mechs, haven't had the opportunity to film the crossing but hope to in the next few weeks.

The gates at Koolewong were installed on December 11, 1980 and it got me to wondering if there were (or are) any other crossings with Federal Signal mechs. The other crossing known to have FS mechs is at Blayney and it was installed in 1977 so I did some research on all gated crossings installed between 1977 and 1982 and came up with the following.

Ash St, Orange (February 2, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.308 ... 312!8i6656

Adelaide St, Blayney (February 2, 1977) Federal Signal https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.527 ... 312!8i6656

St James Rd, Adamstown (July 7, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D http://nswrail.net/locations/gphoto.php ... height=600
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.933 ... 312!8i6656

Old Bathurst Rd, Rydal (August 10, 1977) WRRS/GRS Type D https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.481 ... 312!8i6656

Range Rd, Whittingham (November 1, 1977) Unknown. Seems to have been upgraded with WCH gate mechs before it's closure, as they have newer Harmon style counterweight arms. https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.604 ... 312!8i6656

Koolewong (December 11, 1980) Federal Signal https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.466 ... 312!8i6656

Station Lane, Lochinvar (May 17, 1981) Unknown, was renewed with WCH mechs and the crossing has since been removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.720 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.720 ... 328!8i1664

1977 to 1982 seems to have been a very quiet time for gated installations in NSW, with only six crossings in six years. Prior to 1977 the NSW Railways used WRRS/GRS Type B or Type D gate mechs on their crossings. Beginning in 1983, most gated installations used Harmon mechs. It seems there would have been very few other crossings which could have used Federal Signal mechs, they are a rare species indeed!

That's good to hear about Koolewong!

It's funny as down in Victoria, a lot of crossings were gated during that period (these are most of them)...

Champion Road, Williamstown North (March 6, 1977) McK&H.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.849 ... 312!8i6656

Fitzgerald Road, Ardeer (December 2, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mech and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.781 ... 312!8i6656

Anderson Road, Sunshine (December 3, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing has since been removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.785 ... 312!8i6656

Alpine Street, Ferntree Gully (December 18, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Invensys Rail mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.882 ... 312!8i6656

Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena (1979) Westinghouse McK&H.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.889 ... 312!8i6656

Coolstore Road, Croydon (May 12, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.794 ... 312!8i6656

Camp Road, Campbellfield (May 20, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with WCH mechs and the crossing was recently removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.689 ... 312!8i6656

Aviation Road, Laverton (June 10, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.866 ... 312!8i6656

Rooks Road, Mitcham (December 16, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, crossing removed in 2014.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.819 ... 312!8i6656

Mitcham Road, Mitcham (December 16, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, removed at the same time as Rooks Road.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.817 ... 312!8i6656

Settlement Road, Thomastown (1979-80) Westinghouse McK&H?, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.687 ... 312!8i6656

Manns Crossing, Lalor (1979-80) Westinghouse McK&H?, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.672 ... 312!8i6656

Seaby Street, Stawell (1980) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.058 ... 328!8i1664

High Street, Dimboola (1980) Unknown, renewed with WCH mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.455 ... 312!8i6656

Wickham & Worthing Road, Highett (May 1980) Westinghouse, likely one of the first installs in use them.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.944 ... 312!8i6656

Station Street, Thomastown (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.682 ... 312!8i6656

Paschke Crescent, Lalor (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.666 ... 328!8i1664

Childs Road, Epping (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.659 ... 312!8i6656

Maddox Road, Williamstown North (1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.848 ... 312!8i6656

Mt Derrimut Road, Deer Park (January 29, 1981) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.777 ... 312!8i6656

Robinsons Road, Deer Park (January 29, 1981) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.773 ... 312!8i6656

Edgars Road, Little River (mid-1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.962 ... 312!8i6656

McIntyre Road, Lara (September 5, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.011 ... 312!8i6656

McClelland Avenue, Lara (September 5, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.023 ... 312!8i6656

Canterbury Road East, Lara (September 19, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.034 ... 312!8i6656

School Road, Corio (September 19, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.069 ... 312!8i6656

Bakers Road, Coburg North (July 27, 1982) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.727 ... 312!8i6656

Scoresby Road, Bayswater (September 11, 1982) Westinghouse, crossing removed last year.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.843 ... 312!8i6656

Old Calder Highway, Diggers Rest (September 21, 1982) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.626 ... 312!8i6656

Bedford Road, Ringwood (December 19, 1982) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.816 ... 312!8i6656

I haven't been able to find any information on the installation dates for these crossings, but I suspect them to be from the same time period...

Heatherton Road, Noble Park (Possibly 1977) McK&H & WRRS (though the latter mech might of been a like for like replacement).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.964 ... 312!8i6656

Centre Road, Clayton (Possibly 1977 too) Westinghouse McK&H & WRRS (both mechs were probably like for like replacements).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656

Unlike NSW, Victoria seems to have been consistent when it came to gate mechanisms (McK&H, then Westinghouse McK&H, then Westinghouse).

[McK&H.Aust]

That's good to hear about Koolewong!

It's funny as down in Victoria, a lot of crossings were gated during that period (these are most of them)...

Champion Road, Williamstown North (March 6, 1977) McK&H.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.849 ... 312!8i6656

Fitzgerald Road, Ardeer (December 2, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mech and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.781 ... 312!8i6656

Anderson Road, Sunshine (December 3, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing has since been removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.785 ... 312!8i6656

Alpine Street, Ferntree Gully (December 18, 1977) McK&H?, renewed with Invensys Rail mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.882 ... 312!8i6656

Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena (1979) Westinghouse McK&H.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.889 ... 312!8i6656

Coolstore Road, Croydon (May 12, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.794 ... 312!8i6656

Camp Road, Campbellfield (May 20, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with WCH mechs and the crossing was recently removed.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.689 ... 312!8i6656

Aviation Road, Laverton (June 10, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.866 ... 312!8i6656

Rooks Road, Mitcham (December 16, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, crossing removed in 2014.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.819 ... 312!8i6656

Mitcham Road, Mitcham (December 16, 1979) Westinghouse McK&H, removed at the same time as Rooks Road.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.817 ... 312!8i6656

Settlement Road, Thomastown (1979-80) Westinghouse McK&H?, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.687 ... 312!8i6656

Manns Crossing, Lalor (1979-80) Westinghouse McK&H?, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.672 ... 312!8i6656

Seaby Street, Stawell (1980) Westinghouse McK&H?, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.058 ... 328!8i1664

High Street, Dimboola (1980) Unknown, renewed with WCH mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.455 ... 312!8i6656

Wickham & Worthing Road, Highett (May 1980) Westinghouse, likely one of the first installs in use them.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.944 ... 312!8i6656

Station Street, Thomastown (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.682 ... 312!8i6656

Paschke Crescent, Lalor (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.666 ... 328!8i1664

Childs Road, Epping (1980-1981) Westinghouse, upgraded with new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.659 ... 312!8i6656

Maddox Road, Williamstown North (1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.848 ... 312!8i6656

Mt Derrimut Road, Deer Park (January 29, 1981) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.777 ... 312!8i6656

Robinsons Road, Deer Park (January 29, 1981) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs and the crossing now has new signals.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.773 ... 312!8i6656

Edgars Road, Little River (mid-1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.962 ... 312!8i6656

McIntyre Road, Lara (September 5, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.011 ... 312!8i6656

McClelland Avenue, Lara (September 5, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.023 ... 312!8i6656

Canterbury Road East, Lara (September 19, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.034 ... 312!8i6656

School Road, Corio (September 19, 1981) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.069 ... 312!8i6656

Bakers Road, Coburg North (July 27, 1982) Westinghouse.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.727 ... 312!8i6656

Scoresby Road, Bayswater (September 11, 1982) Westinghouse, crossing removed last year.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.843 ... 312!8i6656

Old Calder Highway, Diggers Rest (September 21, 1982) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.626 ... 312!8i6656

Bedford Road, Ringwood (December 19, 1982) Westinghouse, renewed with Safetran mechs.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.816 ... 312!8i6656

I haven't been able to find any information on the installation dates for these crossings, but I suspect them to be from the same time period...

Heatherton Road, Noble Park (Possibly 1977) McK&H & WRRS (though the latter mech might of been a like for like replacement).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.964 ... 312!8i6656

Centre Road, Clayton (Possibly 1977 too) Westinghouse McK&H & WRRS (both mechs were probably like for like replacements).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656

Unlike NSW, Victoria seems to have been consistent when it came to gate mechanisms (McK&H, then Westinghouse McK&H, then Westinghouse).

That's a big list! Obviously Victoria had (and still has) more crossings than NSW. Some very nice crossings there, always seems to be the nicest ones which are upgraded or closed. Won't comment on the crossings I like in case the bell Nazis are watching, don't want to give them ideas

NSW seems to have the knack of picking the gate mech companies which go out of production, first GRS and then Harmon. They must have been caught off guard when GRS stopped production, interesting that they only tried a few Federal Signal mechs before going with Harmon, only to end up back with WCH. I wonder why they liked Harmon better than FS/WCH?

[TrickyMario7654]

That's a big list! Obviously Victoria had (and still has) more crossings than NSW. Some very nice crossings there, always seems to be the nicest ones which are upgraded or closed. Won't comment on the crossings I like in case the bell Nazis are watching, don't want to give them ideas

NSW seems to have the knack of picking the gate mech companies which go out of production, first GRS and then Harmon. They must have been caught off guard when GRS stopped production, interesting that they only tried a few Federal Signal mechs before going with Harmon, only to end up back with WCH. I wonder why they liked Harmon better than FS/WCH?

Even Victoria was all over the place in terms of gate mechanisms, asides from Westinghouse mechs, they also used Westinghouse EB and Harmon gate mechs (though the latter was rarely used).
I've noticed that all of the nicest crossings are targeted for upgrade or removal, though it's probably a coincidence (I hope).

I'm pretty sure Sisely Avenue, Wangaratta would of been the first installation of EB gate mechs in Victoria (1984).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.360 ... 312!8i6656

As mentioned in the past, Summerhill Road in Craigieburn would been the last installation to use them (1998).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.571 ... 312!8i6656

As far as I know, there were five known installations of Harmon gate mechs in Victoria (two in Wodonga, two in Shepparton, and one in Geelong), but they've all been replaced now.

On a different note, there seems to be some new images in GSV (from March-August 2017), here's some of the highlights...

Blackburn & Heatherdale Road's grade separations shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.820 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.818 ... 312!8i6656

Some of those strange Skyrail modifications are now shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.965 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.923 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.890 ... 312!8i6656

The crossing at Hampton has received new gate mechanisms, further ruining it.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.938 ... 312!8i6656

Same with Cramer Street, Preston...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.740 ... 312!8i6656

These must of only been uploaded just today as when I was looking at some of these crossings earlier, they had older images.

[Swedish Crossings]

That's a big list! Obviously Victoria had (and still has) more crossings than NSW. Some very nice crossings there, always seems to be the nicest ones which are upgraded or closed. Won't comment on the crossings I like in case the bell Nazis are watching, don't want to give them ideas

NSW seems to have the knack of picking the gate mech companies which go out of production, first GRS and then Harmon. They must have been caught off guard when GRS stopped production, interesting that they only tried a few Federal Signal mechs before going with Harmon, only to end up back with WCH. I wonder why they liked Harmon better than FS/WCH?

Even Victoria was all over the place in terms of gate mechanisms, asides from Westinghouse mechs, they also used Westinghouse EB and Harmon gate mechs (though the latter was rarely used).
I've noticed that all of the nicest crossings are targeted for upgrade or removal, though it's probably a coincidence (I hope).

I'm pretty sure Sisely Avenue, Wangaratta would of been the first installation of EB gate mechs in Victoria (1984).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.360 ... 312!8i6656

As mentioned in the past, Summerhill Road in Craigieburn would been the last installation to use them (1998).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.571 ... 312!8i6656

As far as I know, there were five known installations of Harmon gate mechs in Victoria (two in Wodonga, two in Shepparton, and one in Geelong), but they've all been replaced now.

On a different note, there seems to be some new images in GSV (from March-August 2017), here's some of the highlights...

Blackburn & Heatherdale Road's grade separations shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.820 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.818 ... 312!8i6656

Some of those strange Skyrail modifications are now shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.965 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.923 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.890 ... 312!8i6656

The crossing at Hampton has received new gate mechanisms, further ruining it.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.938 ... 312!8i6656

Same with Cramer Street, Preston...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.740 ... 312!8i6656

These must of only been uploaded just today as when I was looking at some of these crossings earlier, they had older images.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.924 ... 312!8i6656
Looks like they caught Clayton Rd, Clayton in action! All LED about 12 months before removal. Why?

[Username1]

You can see the Bell and gate mech Nazis getting ready to destroy Hutton street Thornbury, one of the last crossings in Melbourne to have a normal sounding type 1: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.755 ... 312!8i6656

I'm gonna go asses the 'damage' tomorrow and film the crossing, so i'll report back at whats changed.

[Username1]

That's a big list! Obviously Victoria had (and still has) more crossings than NSW. Some very nice crossings there, always seems to be the nicest ones which are upgraded or closed. Won't comment on the crossings I like in case the bell Nazis are watching, don't want to give them ideas

NSW seems to have the knack of picking the gate mech companies which go out of production, first GRS and then Harmon. They must have been caught off guard when GRS stopped production, interesting that they only tried a few Federal Signal mechs before going with Harmon, only to end up back with WCH. I wonder why they liked Harmon better than FS/WCH?

Even Victoria was all over the place in terms of gate mechanisms, asides from Westinghouse mechs, they also used Westinghouse EB and Harmon gate mechs (though the latter was rarely used).
I've noticed that all of the nicest crossings are targeted for upgrade or removal, though it's probably a coincidence (I hope).

I'm pretty sure Sisely Avenue, Wangaratta would of been the first installation of EB gate mechs in Victoria (1984).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.360 ... 312!8i6656

As mentioned in the past, Summerhill Road in Craigieburn would been the last installation to use them (1998).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.571 ... 312!8i6656

As far as I know, there were five known installations of Harmon gate mechs in Victoria (two in Wodonga, two in Shepparton, and one in Geelong), but they've all been replaced now.

On a different note, there seems to be some new images in GSV (from March-August 2017), here's some of the highlights...

Blackburn & Heatherdale Road's grade separations shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.820 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.818 ... 312!8i6656

Some of those strange Skyrail modifications are now shown...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.965 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.923 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.890 ... 312!8i6656

The crossing at Hampton has received new gate mechanisms, further ruining it.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.938 ... 312!8i6656

Same with Cramer Street, Preston...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.740 ... 312!8i6656

These must of only been uploaded just today as when I was looking at some of these crossings earlier, they had older images.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.924 ... 312!8i6656
Looks like they caught Clayton Rd, Clayton in action! All LED about 12 months before removal. Why?

i think it's because the government likes to pointlessly waste money! Just kidding, there must be some sort of regulations or rules stating that all crossings that are in construction zones I.e being removed, must have LED lights to help improve safety. All crossings that have been removed for quite a while now receive LED lights before major construction starts.

[TrickyMario7654]

I think it's because the government likes to pointlessly waste money! Just kidding, there must be some sort of regulations or rules stating that all crossings that are in construction zones I.e being removed, must have LED lights to help improve safety. All crossings that have been removed for quite a while now receive LED lights before major construction starts.

I don't think that's the case, as both crossings in St Albans were incandescent when they were removed last year (not counting the overhead lights).