Australian Railroad Crossing Signals

[TrickyMario7654]

One thing that I noticed is that it seems like Metro, in when choosing which crossings to upgrade to e-bells, primarily chose the crossings with more "traditional" mechanical bells over the Hybrid bells, though that's probably due to the fact that Hybrid bells require less maintenance than other mechanical bells, if it's true. Also, I guess Metro is still installing relatively interesting bells with the General Signals e-bells considering how many of them are adjusted Type 1s and how rare General Signals e-bells are in Australia outside of Metro's system (from what I've observed, anyways).

Whatever the case, Metro are determined to replace every remaining mechanical bell on their network.

[McK&H.Aust]

This passive crossing at Lake St, Ganmain NSW is due for an upgrade next month http://www.jhrcrn.com.au/media/3583/ctn ... anmain.pdf
An interesting thing about the old passive crossing is the crossbucks seem to be mounted on old bus stop sign posts!!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

I guess these old advance warning signs will also be replaced....
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.789 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

[TrickyMario7654]

This passive crossing at Lake St, Ganmain NSW is due for an upgrade next month http://www.jhrcrn.com.au/media/3583/ctn ... anmain.pdf
An interesting thing about the old passive crossing is the crossbucks seem to be mounted on old bus stop sign posts!!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

I guess these old advance warning signs will also be replaced....
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.789 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

That is weird...

But I still think these take the cake!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664

On a different note, I drove by the factory which is producing the concrete pillars for the Dandenong corridor Skyrail the other day.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.097 ... 312!8i6656

Also, it looks like that the complex High Street, Reservoir level crossing is earmarked to be removed via Skyrail. Still can't believe how Metro stupidly replaced the hybrid bells at this crossing.

[McK&H.Aust]

This passive crossing at Lake St, Ganmain NSW is due for an upgrade next month http://www.jhrcrn.com.au/media/3583/ctn ... anmain.pdf
An interesting thing about the old passive crossing is the crossbucks seem to be mounted on old bus stop sign posts!!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

I guess these old advance warning signs will also be replaced....
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.789 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

That is weird...

But I still think these take the cake!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664

Yeah if it was still around I would take pictures

On a different note, I drove by the factory which is producing the concrete pillars for the Dandenong corridor Skyrail the other day.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.097 ... 312!8i6656

Also, it looks like that the complex High Street, Reservoir level crossing is earmarked to be removed via Skyrail. Still can't believe how Metro stupidly replaced the hybrid bells at this crossing.

I understand why they are removing the crossing but the sky rail option would certainly look ugly, it's probably cheaper which is why the government wants it. Feel sorry for the local residents.

Why stop at replacing the bells, how about some new gate mechs and LED lights

[StuartHunt101]

This passive crossing at Lake St, Ganmain NSW is due for an upgrade next month http://www.jhrcrn.com.au/media/3583/ctn ... anmain.pdf
An interesting thing about the old passive crossing is the crossbucks seem to be mounted on old bus stop sign posts!!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

I guess these old advance warning signs will also be replaced....
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.789 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-34.792 ... 312!8i6656

That is weird...

But I still think these take the cake!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.423 ... 328!8i1664

Yeah if it was still around I would take pictures

On a different note, I drove by the factory which is producing the concrete pillars for the Dandenong corridor Skyrail the other day.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.097 ... 312!8i6656

Also, it looks like that the complex High Street, Reservoir level crossing is earmarked to be removed via Skyrail. Still can't believe how Metro stupidly replaced the hybrid bells at this crossing.

I understand why they are removing the crossing but the sky rail option would certainly look ugly, it's probably cheaper which is why the government wants it. Feel sorry for the local residents.

Why stop at replacing the bells, how about some new gate mechs and LED lights

Honestly skyrail anywhere is an eyesore, but at least it'll allow the road and railway line to be open for more time while construction is done. Not exactly a long term benefit though. Another issue is if they ever decide to add a third or fourth track to the line, there may be a few problems there lol. It'll become more like a tunnel than an overpass!

[Username1]

Well i sent an email to LXRA about getting a hold of a bell and this is the reply they sent me:

email.PNG (10.96 KiB) Viewed 7575 times

Hopefully they actually do reply back in the future, but i doubt it. If they're anything like Metro, all the old equipment is going straight in the bin...

On another note, remember this crossing which is half grade separated
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 328!8i1664
Well it got gates!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 312!8i6656
The weird thing is though, the lights are still on top of the crossbuck, and the crosssbucks aren't the ugly red ones!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 312!8i6656
I also wonder if those are GS type 3s. at least they're definitely not adjusted type 1s!
Sorry if this crossing has been posted before.

[Username1]

Just found out that Dawson street in Brunswick used to have Unipart Rail gate lights! These could have been the first ones in the entire country! (The image is from 2009, but they were there in 2007 as well).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.771 ... 312!8i6656

The other side also had a New Zealand style gate with General signals gate lights (this side has already been posted numerous times before).
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.771 ... 312!8i6656

True to the metro fashion though, as soon as they took over the network, everything was replaced...
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.771 ... 312!8i6656

[TrickyMario7654]

On another note, remember this crossing which is half grade separated
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 328!8i1664
Well it got gates!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 312!8i6656
The weird thing is though, the lights are still on top of the crossbuck, and the crosssbucks aren't the ugly red ones!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.144 ... 312!8i6656
I also wonder if those are GS type 3s. at least they're definitely not adjusted type 1s!
Sorry if this crossing has been posted before.

I've posted that crossing in the past, and I think it's had gates since 2012. Chances are, they're Type 2's.
http://www.southernthunderer.com.au/boo ... -crossing/

On a different note, I found this crossing at Bell Post Hill (near Geelong) which has an unusual mounting of the rear facing lights.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.076 ... 328!8i1664
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.076 ... 328!8i1664

Sadly it's gone now. The crossing now has gates, with the usual mounting of the rear facing lights.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.077 ... 312!8i6656

Here's a crossing at nearby Inverleigh that was undergoing an upgrade at the time.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-38.094 ... 328!8i1664

The finished product can be seen in this video.


At Lismore (further down the line), this crossing had been upgraded from crossbucks to gates in early 2007 following this rather messy smash a year earlier. A truck was driving in foggy conditions and failed to notice the oncoming train, leading to the death of the truck driver.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.966 ... 312!8i6656

But for some reason, this passive crossing nearby was upgraded with gateless signals in 2008/2009, but the bell used was a Westinghouse Hybrid!
Before: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.969 ... 328!8i1664
After: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.969 ... 312!8i6656

I wonder what happened? I'm guessing they were out of e-bells at the time, and they just used a spare hybrid bell that was lying around at the time.

Another passive crossing nearby in Derrinallum was also upgraded with gateless signals in early 2008, this time the bell used was a Safetran Type 3.
2008: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.939 ... 328!8i1664
2010: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.939 ... 312!8i6656

[freebrickproductions]

Someone posted a few pages from an Australian Driver's Manual from 1965 in a Facebook Group I'm apart of, so I thought I'd share this page:

AusDriversManual1965.jpg (95.58 KiB) Viewed 7519 times

Old Driver's Manuals are always great places to find examples of old standard signage that was in use years ago.

[McK&H.Aust]

Someone posted a few pages from an Australian Driver's Manual from 1965 in a Facebook Group I'm apart of, so I thought I'd share this page:

AusDriversManual1965.jpg

Old Driver's Manuals are always great places to find examples of old standard signage that was in use years ago.

Cool find, thanks for sharing! Interesting to see the advisory speed sign in M.P.H. while the worded signs on the top of the page are rare now.

Before crossings were referred to as being either active or passive, they were identified by the signage used. The sign on the left with the hazard triangle (now Give Way sign) was known as a Type B crossing, and installations with Stop signs were Type D crossings. Crossings with flashing lights were known as Type F installations, and are still known as such by the railways.