Australian Railroad Crossing Signals

[Applehead137]

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[chris96]

Sad that the teardrop got replaced. I hope it’s a griswald or raco but if it s a safetran im fine with that . Now different note.

Today I found some display railway crossing signals at the METEC driving school in Kilsyth . They are pretty neat signals with a badly mounted Westinghouse Hybrid bell and some Harmon lights . The crossing doesn’t have any rails and the closest railway is the Belgrave or lily dale line . The signals activate while drivers are taking their tests . Unfortunately I didn’t see them activate.
Her are some photos

Great pictures ! That's a very nice setup they've got there. It's fantastic to see some Harmon lights surviving in Victoria as there are very few left these days.

I've also discovered something quite unusual, in this video (shot in 1998) you can see the Shirley St, Byron Bay crossing in action with incandescent lights and a WCH M-Bell (after 0:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJKETK7Oh8&t=559s

However, the latest street view image shows that the crossing currently has upgraded LED lights and a Teardrop Bell!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-28.642 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-28.642 ... 312!8i6656

This line went out of service in 2004, so these changes were made in it's final years! What's even more bizarre is that the entire signal was moved further to the left sometime between 2010 and 2017:

2010: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-28.642 ... 312!8i6656
2017: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-28.642 ... 312!8i6656

You'd wonder why they bothered re-installing the signal when it's obvious the line isn't used!

[RedhenRailcarSAR]

Nice find Applehead 137, SA has something similar, next time I go past it I will see what equipment it has (it’s in the city, I take that route sometimes when travelling to a friends place or whatnot).
That is very odd and very cool a Teardrop bell replaced a WCH bell! I wonder how that happened. Usually the opposite happens.
My Crossing Signal is taking shape, the pole has been installed, same with the Stop on Red Signal Sign (I am missing crossbucks at the moment), I just need to put the bell and lights on, and of course wire it up. To complete the signal fully I need to get crossbucks, relays and more 12 volt power supplies.
Earlier this year, VR Workshops was selling a black hybrid bell on eBay for a hefty sum, would anyone know what crossing it is from?
Also I came across a very odd crossing in rural SA, it had 2 poles made out of rails, penalty signs from SAR days, and a now gone WCH M-Bell mounted on one of the poles. I found a video of it while it was in operation. There is also another crossing in this video with a nice classic SA setup of the time http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/132791/20 ... a_1983.wmv
Here is what the crossing looks like today, the bell would have been on the taller pole https://www.google.com/maps/place/John+ ... 8f1ea0210f
And here is what the other one looks like (it’s probably been removed since this image because all the crossings on the main highway have been removed) by the way the line is abandoned (you probably figured that out already) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Weymo ... f4a673a6f5

[chris96]

My Crossing Signal is taking shape, the pole has been installed, same with the Stop on Red Signal Sign (I am missing crossbucks at the moment), I just need to put the bell and lights on, and of course wire it up. To complete the signal fully I need to get crossbucks, relays and more 12 volt power supplies.
Earlier this year, VR Workshops was selling a black hybrid bell on eBay for a hefty sum, would anyone know what crossing it is from?
Also I came across a very odd crossing in rural SA, it had 2 poles made out of rails, penalty signs from SAR days, and a now gone WCH M-Bell mounted on one of the poles. I found a video of it while it was in operation. There is also another crossing in this video with a nice classic SA setup of the time http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/132791/20 ... a_1983.wmv
Here is what the crossing looks like today, the bell would have been on the taller pole https://www.google.com/maps/place/John+ ... 8f1ea0210f
And here is what the other one looks like (it’s probably been removed since this image because all the crossings on the main highway have been removed) by the way the line is abandoned (you probably figured that out already) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Weymo ... f4a673a6f5

Great to hear your crossing signal project is going well. If you've got a Jaycar Electronics store near you, they sell 12v power supplies (as well as pretty much every other electronic component you could possibly need). I use their 12v supplies to run all of my bells and they work really well.

The black Hybrid might have come from Mitcham Rd in Mitcham. Here's the bell in 2009 before it was removed:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.817 ... 312!8i6656

This crossing also had a RACO bell!:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.817 ... 312!8i6656

There were a couple of other crossings in Melbourne that had black Hybrids, but they were replaced years ago.

Thanks for sharing the video of that unusual crossing. It seems like the crossing activates very late and then deactivates while the train is on it. I wonder what happened there?

[Applehead137]

Cool. Odd about the WCH bell getting replaced by a teardrop bell. I think and heard somewhere ( might have been here ) that the hybrid bell was from chandler road noble park . I could be wrong tho. Cool find with the old SA setup but the video doesn’t work.

[RedhenRailcarSAR]

Cool. Odd about the WCH bell getting replaced by a teardrop bell. I think and heard somewhere ( might have been here ) that the hybrid bell was from chandler road noble park . I could be wrong tho. Cool find with the old SA setup but the video doesn’t work.

If the video doesn’t work, you can watch this https://youtu.be/EySX5fIJAiY I screen recorded it but I won’t be releasing it to public, as it is not my video.
The Eyre Peninsula Grain Railway is now closed, but a tourist railway group wants to have part of the railway reopened (I reckon you guys should go support it)
This means a few crossings are now abandoned/under threat of being removed. The gypsum trains are still running though.
The gypsum train uses these 3 crossings: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.122 ... 312!8i6656

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.132 ... 312!8i6656

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-32.099 ... 312!8i6656

[Applehead137]

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[freebrickproductions]

Great video . There sure is some cool abandoned crossings around south Australia.

I think I know why Metro and victrack hate mechanical bells. Victorian Rail heritage said that they require more power that ebells because ebells have a speaker and mechanical bells have actual moving parts . It makes sense but still I think that’s still not that good of a reason to remove them. Also talking or wasting electricity , Stuart hunts new video shows that the signals for the train track that was activating at McClure st Maryborough has been removed. In Level crossing fans video from September last year shows that the lights were still there and the relay cases for them unlocked. When I went there in November last year the lights were removed and the relay cases locked. Also where the line meets up with the main line the tracks connecting to the main line have been pulled up so trains can’t go along that line. There’s also a whistle post with a yellow cross buck and a sign saying McClure street ant the start of the line.

Mechanical and electronic bells all operate off of similar voltages, usually somewhere around 12VDC. The main advantage of e-bells over mechanical ones is the lack of moving parts that have to be maintained.
Here's what all needs to be checked & maintained in a mechanical bell:

• Gong (rotation every so often, replace as needed)
• Hammer (replace as needed)
• Hammer mechanism (parts oiled and replaced as needed)
• Electromagnets (replace as needed)
• Wiring (replace as needed)

Meanwhile, with an e-bell:

• Does it sound? If not, replace.

If you do all of the above, in theory, you could keep a mechanical bell running forever. However, almost all mechanical bells ain't made anymore, so you'll likely run out of parts eventually.
Also, electronic bells are much lighter and tend to be a bit less bulky than mechanical bells, which makes for a huge difference when trying to lug one up and down a ladder.

[RedhenRailcarSAR]

On the topic of Mechanical Bell replacement, does anyone else find it strange that Metro replaces both bells on a crossing when only one has died? (And they do this with mechanical bells only). I bet you Murray Rd Preston has had both its bells replaced when only one of the hybrids died. At least ARTC knows some common sense (they had 2 failtran Type 3s on a crossing, one died, and they only replaced the dead one. Now the replacement for the Type 3, the hybrid is dead too!)
Also questions for those who got equipment from the LXRA: how much did it cost? Did you have to go somewhere to pick it up or was there shipping?
Victorian Rail Heritage found out the wishbone gate lights (the Victorian ones only) are made by artcraft. It turns out they are a primary maker of road signs, including crossbucks (I do not know if they make stop on red signal signs though since I couldn’t find it on their website. I also do not know if they still make those gate lights or if they are publicly available). They make both red and normal crossbucks. I am considering getting normal crossbucks from them since they have a site near me, or some second hand crossbucks for my Signal project (which is complete apart from crossbucks).

[McK&H.Aust]

Mechanical and electronic bells all operate off of similar voltages, usually somewhere around 12VDC. The main advantage of e-bells over mechanical ones is the lack of moving parts that have to be maintained.
Here's what all needs to be checked & maintained in a mechanical bell:

• Gong (rotation every so often, replace as needed)
• Hammer (replace as needed)
• Hammer mechanism (parts oiled and replaced as needed)
• Electromagnets (replace as needed)
• Wiring (replace as needed)

Meanwhile, with an e-bell:

• Does it sound? If not, replace.

If you do all of the above, in theory, you could keep a mechanical bell running forever. However, almost all mechanical bells ain't made anymore, so you'll likely run out of parts eventually.
Also, electronic bells are much lighter and tend to be a bit less bulky than mechanical bells, which makes for a huge difference when trying to lug one up and down a ladder.

That is certainly the theory behind bell maintenance but from speaking to a couple of signal maintainers in the past, I could add the Australian procedures for mechanical bell maintenance (well NSW anyway). I think it really depends on the enthusiasm of the local signal maintainers for the crossing concerned.

1) If it works, leave it alone.
2) Very occasionally, open up the bell door and clean out any dirt from inside. Apply some bug spray around the gong.
3) If it doesn't work, have a play around to see if you can get it going again. Replace if needed.

While on the subject of mechanical bells, I just returned from a weekend away in the Lithgow area and have some good news for a change. It turns out that the crossing at Rydal which I thought was going to be upgraded, hasn't actually been upgraded yet and still has the same m-bells https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.481 ... 312!8i6656

Also discovered that this crossing at Portland actually has a Federal Signal bell https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.357 ... 312!8i6656

It's pleasing to report that none of the other m-bells in the area have been touched and all of these crossings still have the same bells:
Bundarra St, Blackheath https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.635 ... 312!8i6656
Geordie St, Bowenfels https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.478 ... 312!8i6656
Oakey Forest Rd, Marrangaroo https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.451 ... 312!8i6656
Pipers Flat Rd, Wallerawang https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.410 ... 312!8i6656
Portland Cullen Bullen Rd, Cullen Bullen https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.300 ... 312!8i6656