Australian Railroad Crossing Signals

[TrickyMario7654]

Not sure if this has been posted about, but according to some photos posted in the Railroad Signals group on Facebook earlier today, this signal at the crossing next to the Parkdale Station was replaced:
https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.993768 ... 312!8i6656

From what I can tell in the photos posted (they were focusing on the Searchlight signals on the station platform), the new signal has a WCH gate mechanism, black-painted lights (likely Westinghouse, they are LED), and a General Signals e-bell. Also, the other signal has had the lights upgraded to LED, and the gate mech was replaced it appears as well. Not sure who made that gate mech, as I could only see the side facing the street, but it appeared to be either Safetran or WCH.

Yes I’ve posted this before. I go past this crossing quite often on the train. Both of the gate mechs are WCH and it has new Magnetic Autocontrol swing gates, Westinghouse LED lights and an adjusted type 1 GS e bell and a type 2 GS e bell. The type 2 sounds out after the gates have lowered now when before it never used to and the adjusted type 1 is so quiet you can’t hear it from 5 meters away, making the crossing seem as if it totally silences after the gates have lowered (although abonoxiously loud Yodalarms have been installed in the pedestrian gates...)

One weird thing about this crossing is that when it was upgraded it got new inverted SORS signs, when all of the others around Melbourne that have been installed recently have the newer style.

If I recall correctly, someone almost got ran over by a train at this crossing last year and caused mass distress on the driver (which the passengers confronted when the service arrived at Flinders Street). Guess the upgrade nazis saw this as a good opportunity to “improve” the said crossing. Plus, it gave our favourite premier the opportunity to promote his crossing removal program on his Facebook page.

[McK&H.Aust]

Noticed on the ARTC website that a few level crossing upgrades have been delayed recently. Wonder if it could have anything to do with the crossing problems on the Maryborough - Ararat line?

Lynch Rd https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489

Ewings Rd https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489

O'Connors Rd https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489
https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489

Park Rd https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489
https://extranet.artc.com.au/docman/Doc ... 1932305489

I have a feeling that Bradken may have lost the contract for all the upgrades, but the crossings that VicTrack are getting upgraded from them still appear on both the Bradken and VicTrack websites.

From my understanding, Bradken are just the suppliers of WCH equipment and the actual installation work is carried out by Active Railway Signalling Pty Ltd. I presume they have separate contracts, as recent ARTC level crossing upgrades in NSW have taken place with no problems and Bradken would have supplied that equipment also.

[Username1]

The adjusted type 1 at McDonald street in Mordialloc was replaced by a GS type 3 sometime recently. You can just hear it in this video: https://youtu.be/09WFAFtDctM

[chris96]

I got some pictures of the Hybrid Bell at Geelong-Ballan Rd, Moorabool, VIC today:




A train came through while I was at the crossing and your'e not going to believe it, but the other Safetran Type 3 is dead! Now only the Hybrid Bell works!

On the way home I went through Little River and V/Line maintainers were working on this Westinghouse gate mech:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.961 ... 312!8i6656

Hopefully they can fix whatever the issue is and don't replace it.

[Username1]

I got some pictures of the Hybrid Bell at Geelong-Ballan Rd, Moorabool, VIC today:




A train came through while I was at the crossing and your'e not going to believe it, but the other Safetran Type 3 is dead! Now only the Hybrid Bell works!

On the way home I went through Little River and V/Line maintainers were working on this Westinghouse gate mech:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.961 ... 312!8i6656

Hopefully they can fix whatever the issue is and don't replace it.

Nice pictures :)

Judging by this video, the hybrid bell has been there for at least a couple months now: https://youtu.be/O_42yv44x_o

I also found yet another dead Safetran Type 3 E bell: https://youtu.be/7N9iWbV0q_I
You can see that one of the type 3s has already been replaced by a hybrid bell and now the other ones gone too... Hopefully WCH makes a comeback in Victoria!

[trainman7]

I got some pictures of the Hybrid Bell at Geelong-Ballan Rd, Moorabool, VIC today:




A train came through while I was at the crossing and your'e not going to believe it, but the other Safetran Type 3 is dead! Now only the Hybrid Bell works!

On the way home I went through Little River and V/Line maintainers were working on this Westinghouse gate mech:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.961 ... 312!8i6656

Hopefully they can fix whatever the issue is and don't replace it.

Nice pictures! Can’t believe the other Type 3 has died! Hopefully a hybrid bell replaces the dead Type 3. With all these dying Type 3s, I wonder if the signal maintainers are seriously regretting removing the m-bells in favour of unreliable e-bells?

[trainman7]

I got some pictures of the Hybrid Bell at Geelong-Ballan Rd, Moorabool, VIC today:




A train came through while I was at the crossing and your'e not going to believe it, but the other Safetran Type 3 is dead! Now only the Hybrid Bell works!

On the way home I went through Little River and V/Line maintainers were working on this Westinghouse gate mech:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.961 ... 312!8i6656

Hopefully they can fix whatever the issue is and don't replace it.

Nice pictures :)

Judging by this video, the hybrid bell has been there for at least a couple months now: https://youtu.be/O_42yv44x_o

I also found yet another dead Safetran Type 3 E bell: https://youtu.be/7N9iWbV0q_I
You can see that one of the type 3s has already been replaced by a hybrid bell and now the other ones gone too... Hopefully WCH makes a comeback in Victoria!

Wow, the list of dead/dying Type 3s just keeps growing! I am glad ARTC kept the hybrids as I think they’ll be needed!

[McK&H.Aust]

Nice pictures! Can’t believe the other Type 3 has died! Hopefully a hybrid bell replaces the dead Type 3. With all these dying Type 3s, I wonder if the signal maintainers are seriously regretting removing the m-bells in favour of unreliable e-bells?

Wow, the list of dead/dying Type 3s just keeps growing! I am glad ARTC kept the hybrids as I think they’ll be needed!

You have to wonder how many more Safetran Type 3's will die in the future, certainly quite a few if the current trend continues. I bet the signal maintainers are becoming frustrated as plenty of time and money would have been spent on replacing perfectly good m-bells, and then having to replace the replacements (so to speak)!

There are some interesting times ahead regarding a long term solution to the problem. The railways will have to decide on an alternative bell, as unless they have kept most of the old m-bells, they probably wouldn't have enough to keep up with the current rate of failures for very long. Unless they want to buy some new WCH m-bells, they would have to go back to using General Signals e-bells or start approving the use of WCH e-bells.

It sure would be great if they have kept some of the old Safetran m-bells and decide to reuse them, or maybe even some teardrops

Also found another 2 crossings in Adelaide with short lived Safetran Type 3's. The first is Cross Rd at Hawthorn which went from m-bells to Safetran Type 3's and then WCH e-bells....
November 2009: m-bells https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.965 ... 312!8i6656
February 2013: Safetran Type 3 https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.965 ... 312!8i6656
November 2015: WCH https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.965 ... 312!8i6656
Sadly the old incandescent lights were since replaced.

The second crossing is Barretts Rd, Lynton which had an older Safetran Type 3 with the taller base on this signal in 2016. When I recently filmed the crossing, it had been replaced by a newer Type 3 with the shorter base, although not shown on GSV yet. https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.993 ... 312!8i6656

[StuartHunt101]

This is a bit of a late response to all this good news about the hybrid bells replacing Safetran type-3 e-bells, but I thought I'd add something. I went to the VR Workshops in Albert Park in May, and the guy there told me he was gonna receive a whole bunch of hybrid bells (apparently about 20, although that might be an exaggerated amount) from the level crossing removal authority and metro (I believe) which he planned to sell, but before he could get them V/Line/VicTrack (I think) got their hands on them first. He told me they desperately needed them because lots of regional crossings had faulty e-bells: which i can assume were the Safetran type-3 e-bells. So yeah that might explain that, but I need to really emphasise that these were his words and not mine, so don't quote me on anything! I know as much as everyone else knows about whether any more crossings will actually get hybrid bells to replace Safetran e-bells

After all that he only got one hybrid bell, which was the black hybrid bell from the Chandler rd level crossing in Noble Park, which he put on EBay for a few weeks, and has since sold. I was able to take a few pics of it before it sold.




And btw I'm loving the pictures and the videos! Ahhh it fills me up with joy

[Username1]

This is a bit of a late response to all this good news about the hybrid bells replacing Safetran type-3 e-bells, but I thought I'd add something. I went to the VR Workshops in Albert Park in May, and the guy there told me he was gonna receive a whole bunch of hybrid bells (apparently about 20, although that might be an exaggerated amount) from the level crossing removal authority and metro (I believe) which he planned to sell, but before he could get them V/Line/VicTrack (I think) got their hands on them first. He told me they desperately needed them because lots of regional crossings had faulty e-bells: which i can assume were the Safetran type-3 e-bells. So yeah that might explain that, but I need to really emphasise that these were his words and not mine, so don't quote me on anything! I know as much as everyone else knows about whether any more crossings will actually get hybrid bells to replace Safetran e-bells

After all that he only got one hybrid bell, which was the black hybrid bell from the Chandler rd level crossing in Noble Park, which he put on EBay for a few weeks, and has since sold. I was able to take a few pics of it before it sold.




And btw I'm loving the pictures and the videos! Ahhh it fills me up with joy

Interesting info Stuart!
Hopefully in the future we could make a thread titled ‘List of remaining Safetran Type 3 E-Bells in Victoria’ instead of the list of remaining mechanical bells thread

On another note though, I think the metro Bell Nazis are still unfazed by the V/Line dilemma as I’m pretty sure the Hybrid bells at the Baxter end of Frankston Flinders road on the stony point line have been replaced as in this video at 54:28 you can hear the tone of a E bell instead of the hybrid bells: https://youtu.be/TcnGMhwfi68