I like the crossings at Bentleigh and Clayton, real classics so of course they have to go. It's a shame to think how many rare and interesting crossings have been removed over the years with little or no documentation of the equipment. It's sad to see the crossing at Murrumbeena suffering a slow death and gradually being butchered.TrickyMario7654 wrote:I agree, the adjusted type 1's are irritating (Murrumbeena comes to mind).McK&H.Aust wrote:I can't understand the logic behind adjusting a GS type 1 to sound more like a type 2, it's a very fiddly job for no real benefit. In my opinion the adjusted type 1's are the worst sounding, it's a shame because I like the normal type 1 sound.Username1 wrote:I just uploaded a video of the new e bell at Seaford: https://youtu.be/akJ062MPhB8
I actually think that the combination of the adjusted type 1 and the type 3 sounds really interesting!
Also I think Seaford has the most different types of bells as it has 4 adjusted type 1s, 1 type 2, 1 type 3 and 2 Westinghouse hybrid bells (Eel Race).
Also, Eel Race Road is in Carrum, not Seaford.
It's a shame that the Level Crossing Removal is spelling the end of many nice crossings. While a couple of them may need to be removed badly, can't they at least give us the chance to document them before removing it?McK&H.Aust wrote:Certainly looks like a Safetran bell to me, it was a nice crossing so of course it had to go
With the recent demise of the Safetran bell at Taree and the impending upgrades of the crossings at Wodonga and Barnawartha, there can't be many more Safetran m-bells surviving in Australia. Maybe there is one left on the Portland line, or some other remote crossings that have escaped the bell Nazis.
Clear examples are both level crossings on Centre Road...
The one in Clayton has a really unusual setup, with the median signals having the lights above the crossbucks.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.929 ... 312!8i6656
Where as the Bentleigh one had CRB cantilevers on the wrong side of the road and trial pedestrian warning devices (although they were removed in early 2015).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.918 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.918 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.918 ... 312!8i6656
As for surviving Safetran m-bells, there's one at Heywood (on the Portland line). The image is from 2008 though.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.133 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.133 ... 328!8i1664
Also, there was another one at Red Cliffs (on the Yelta line).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.312 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.312 ... 328!8i1664
It was still there in 2015...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.312 ... 312!8i6656
But by 2017, it was replaced by a Safetran Type 3.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.312 ... 312!8i6656
Further down the line, a crossing in St Arnaud has two of them. But the image is from 2010 and they've probably been replaced now.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.622 ... 312!8i6656
While we're on the topic of Safetran m-bells, this one near Elmhurst on the Ararat-Maryborough line will likely be gone soon as they're reopening the line as part of the "Murray Basin Rail Project". The other crossings with active protection along the line have Teardrop bells and one also has a WABCO bell (Chris96 has posted pictures of that crossing he took earlier this year on page 47 of this thread).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.166 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.166 ... 312!8i6656
I really want to know why the DOI hate mechanical bells so much?
The crossing at St Arnaud would have sounded great with the two Safetran bells, but yeah they are most likely gone. I don't understand the widespread replacement of perfectly good m-bells, it would be more financially responsible to wait until an m-bell dies before replacing it. I don't buy the whole maintenance excuse, I've spoken to signal maintainers before and they hardly do any maintenance to m-bells. They will dust out the inside of the bell mechanism every now & then, but as long as the bell is working they don't do much else to it.