Australian Railroad Crossing Signals

[trainman7]

It’s sad that the MI bell is playing up like that. Hopefully they fix it although I don’t have my hopes up.

I suspect the hybrid bells died at Parkville and had to be replaced. My Dad (who regularly drives trains through the area) said that one was dead and the other was dying back in March. The e-bells are likely from the former level crossings at Belford and Lochinvar. They had new Safetran type 3 e-bells fitted for reasons known only to ARTC just weeks before they were removed.

I am crossing my fingers that the MI bell survives, but if the Hebden Rd crossing is removed soon, they could use the Safetran type 3 from there to replace it. The WCH m-bell from Hebden Rd sounds a bit tired so they may not recycle it.

At least the hybrid bells at Parkville died and weren't just replaced for the sake of it. It's a big relief as I was fearing an outbreak of e-bell fever in the area!

It seems like newer hybrids don’t seem to last as long compared to older ones. For example, Hebden Rd had a hybrid bell replace the other WCH mechanical bell in 2010 but it died in mid 2015.

It’s interesting most crossings in the Muswellbrook area have had one mechanical bell replaced with an e-bell and the m-bell kept. I wonder if it has something to do with the amount of Coal trains most crossings now see which makes components wear out? Did you film Mangoola?

Yes it seems to be a lucky dip with the newer hybrid bells, they either die quickly or last for a long time. I did film Mangoola, as well as Rosemount Rd, Denman and the odd gateless private crossing at Coggan Creek. I also checked out a newer gated crossing at Bylong, known as the Upper Bylong Service Rd, didn't film it as it has the typical newer setup of WCH gate mechs & e-bells, and United Group lights. It also has locked gates preventing anyone from using it.

I think you're right about m-bells around Muswellbrook wearing out because of the frequent long and slow moving coal trains, specially for the one bell that rings for the whole time. I noticed at Mangoola that the crossing seems to activate for a long time before the train arrives, and the slow moving trains either entering or departing from the nearby passing loop, which is probably why the other hybrid bell died there.

Coggan Creek certainly is a bizarre setup. It looks like they grabbed whatever parts they could find and chucked them together! Interestingly, it was one of the first Installations of WCH e-bells on the ARTC network. I am guessing they were most likely a trial as the signals were installed in 2012. You must be looking forward to editing all these crossing videos

[McK&H.Aust]

What does the crossing at Coggan Creek have?

It is a private crossing which is the access to a farm, I'm guessing they installed signals here because of the nearby passing loop, a train waiting in the loop could obscure the vew of a second train approaching the crossing. One of the masts is really tall for some reason, and it has two WCH e-bells which is odd for such a low use crossing.
The setup of the lights is also odd, two of the signals use double brackets for single pairs of lights.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WPvDQ ... FgMlzVoinw
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xpdRf ... 3MZwsgSgMa

[McK&H.Aust]

Coggan Creek certainly is a bizarre setup. It looks like they grabbed whatever parts they could find and chucked them together! Interestingly, it was one of the first Installations of WCH e-bells on the ARTC network. I am guessing they were most likely a trial as the signals were installed in 2012. You must be looking forward to editing all these crossing videos

I wonder if ARTC picked Coggan Creek to test out the WCH e-bells because it's a low usage crossing. I'm looking forward to the editing but I'm rather slow at that stuff, so will take me a while lol.

[chris96]

Sorry to change the subject, but I traveled along the Ballarat Line today and found what could best be described as a wishbone gate graveyard near Ballan station:






As you can see from the photos, many of the gates are starting to deteriorate from neglect. It's a sad site seeing all these old gates (many of which still had lights and junction boxes on them) being left abandoned. I guess this is where V/Line dumped all the wishbone gates from the area when they were removed.

While in the area, I was also able to get pictures of an unusual setup between Ballan and Bacchus Marsh that uses a surprising amount of old equipment. The crossing was passive in 2015:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.647 ... 312!8i6656

However, the new installation uses Safetran Mechs, the original and updated versions of the Safetran Type 3 and a mixture of old and new Westinghouse Lights!:








The crossing also features V/Line's new crossing fault sticker (with a colored V/Line logo):


Every other crossing on the line uses new equipment (with WCH gate mechs). I wonder why this setup came mostly from storage?

[McK&H.Aust]

Sorry to change the subject, but I traveled along the Ballarat Line today and found what could best be described as a wishbone gate graveyard near Ballan station:

As you can see from the photos, many of the gates are starting to deteriorate from neglect. It's a sad site seeing all these old gates (many of which still had lights and junction boxes on them) being left abandoned. I guess this is where V/Line dumped all the wishbone gates from the area when they were removed.

While in the area, I was also able to get pictures of an unusual setup between Ballan and Bacchus Marsh that uses a surprising amount of old equipment. The crossing was passive in 2015:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.647 ... 312!8i6656

However, the new installation uses Safetran Mechs, the original and updated versions of the Safetran Type 3 and a mixture of old and new Westinghouse Lights!:

Every other crossing on the line uses new equipment (with WCH gate mechs). I wonder why this setup came mostly from storage?

Very interesting pictures

I've never understood the big urgency to replace perfectly good wishbone gates, but if a gate is damaged or it's on a new installation then fair enough.

Those Safetran gate mechs look new, and it's great to see the Safetran name living on! I wonder if the upgrade of the crossing was planned quite some time ago and the equipment had already been purchased when the project was delayed for some reason, maybe they kept the equipment in storage until the upgrade was completed?

[trainman7]

Thought I would share a few photos taken by my dad of this interesting gate-less crossing located at the Pacific National Maintenance facility, Greta NSW. These signals were installed in 2012 when the facility was opened. It’s a bit of an overkill but this crossing has 5 tracks and 7 signals! The crossing itself has no bells but is otherwise of NSW standard featuring United Group lights, brackets and WCH bases.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/

[McK&H.Aust]

Thought I would share a few photos taken by my dad of this interesting gate-less crossing located at the Pacific National Maintenance facility, Greta NSW. These signals were installed in 2012 when the facility was opened. It’s a bit of an overkill but this crossing has 5 tracks and 7 signals! The crossing itself has no bells but is otherwise of NSW standard featuring United Group lights, brackets and WCH bases.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/

Cool pictures With so many pairs of lights, the crossing would look quite interesting at night! I wonder if all signals activate together or only for certain tracks?

[trainman7]

Thought I would share a few photos taken by my dad of this interesting gate-less crossing located at the Pacific National Maintenance facility, Greta NSW. These signals were installed in 2012 when the facility was opened. It’s a bit of an overkill but this crossing has 5 tracks and 7 signals! The crossing itself has no bells but is otherwise of NSW standard featuring United Group lights, brackets and WCH bases.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/

Cool pictures With so many pairs of lights, the crossing would look quite interesting at night! I wonder if all signals activate together or only for certain tracks?

I have seen a video of this crossing and it certainly looks good at night! All of the signals activate no matter what track is being used.

[chris96]

Thought I would share a few photos taken by my dad of this interesting gate-less crossing located at the Pacific National Maintenance facility, Greta NSW. These signals were installed in 2012 when the facility was opened. It’s a bit of an overkill but this crossing has 5 tracks and 7 signals! The crossing itself has no bells but is otherwise of NSW standard featuring United Group lights, brackets and WCH bases.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/

Cool pictures With so many pairs of lights, the crossing would look quite interesting at night! I wonder if all signals activate together or only for certain tracks?

I have seen a video of this crossing and it certainly looks good at night! All of the signals activate no matter what track is being used.

That is indeed a very cool crossing. I would love to see it in action!

I have a few things of my own to share as well. Yesterday, I traveled to Castlemaine and found that the Maclise St crossing on the Victorian Goldfields Railway (with a teardrop bell) has been upgraded with LED lights. However, the additional lamps facing the side roads are still incandescent:






I checked the abandoned Moscript St crossing as well and some equipment still remains:









I also visited Maldon station and was surprised to find a pair of Safetran Gate Mechs, new "red background" crossbuck signs, new style Westinghouse LED lights, a Safetran Type 3 E-Bell and a new relay cabinet lying in the station yards. Unfortunately, I couldn't get an images of them as there were a lot of workmen in the area at the time. Could the VGR soon be upgrading one of their crossings with gates?

[trainman7]

Thought I would share a few photos taken by my dad of this interesting gate-less crossing located at the Pacific National Maintenance facility, Greta NSW. These signals were installed in 2012 when the facility was opened. It’s a bit of an overkill but this crossing has 5 tracks and 7 signals! The crossing itself has no bells but is otherwise of NSW standard featuring United Group lights, brackets and WCH bases.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139253871 ... ed-public/

Cool pictures With so many pairs of lights, the crossing would look quite interesting at night! I wonder if all signals activate together or only for certain tracks?

I have seen a video of this crossing and it certainly looks good at night! All of the signals activate no matter what track is being used.

That is indeed a very cool crossing. I would love to see it in action!

I have a few things of my own to share as well. Yesterday, I traveled to Castlemaine and found that the Maclise St crossing on the Victorian Goldfields Railway (with a teardrop bell) has been upgraded with LED lights. However, the additional lamps facing the side roads are still incandescent:






I checked the abandoned Moscript St crossing as well and some equipment still remains:









I also visited Maldon station and was surprised to find a pair of Safetran Gate Mechs, new "red background" crossbuck signs, new style Westinghouse LED lights, a Safetran Type 3 E-Bell and a new relay cabinet lying in the station yards. Unfortunately, I couldn't get an images of them as there were a lot of workmen in the area at the time. Could the VGR soon be upgrading one of their crossings with gates?

It is pretty cool to see it in action! Hopefully my dad can film the crossing since its employees only. I wonder if they’ll upgrade the rest of the lights? It’s sad seeing the equipment rot away to that depressing condition. I am honestly surprised they haven’t removed the signals yet.

If they have new equipment sitting in their yard, there’s an upgrade planned It’s a bit of bummer the new signals will probably use e-bells