Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

freebrickproductions wrote:Are there any gateless crossings left on Metro's system?

No. The last gateless crossings on the suburban network (aside from the Stony Point line and Racecourse Road, Pakenham) were located on the Upfield line. All crossings beyond Fawkner station (with the exception of Camp Road) were gateless until 1998, when they were upgraded with gates.


This video (which I've shared before) from 1992 shows a timelaspe from the driver view of the train from North Melbourne to Upfield stations. You'll start seeing gateless crossings at around 6:22.

However, there are a few crossings on the Hurstbridge line beyond Diamond Creek located on little used roads or private driveways which have no active protection.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.653 ... 312!8i6656

freebrickproductions wrote:Are there any gateless crossings left on Metro's system?

Nah they upgraded them all to gates, but there are still some passive crossings left on the Stony point line and the Hurstbridge line:

https://www.google.com.au/maps/uv?pb=!1 ... erState=im

Edit: Whoops didn't see above post

There are some interesting crossings between Echuca and Deniliquin, but as usual the images are quite old so they could have been upgraded by now.

These two crossings have WCH m-bells which are the older kind without the stepped base. They also seem to have WRRS junction boxes for the lights which is rare for Victorian Railways.

Pakenham St, Echuca
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.127 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.127 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.127 ... 312!8i6656

Francis St, Moama
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.112 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.112 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.112 ... 312!8i6656

This crossing at Sturt St, Echuca has an interesting setup with a cantilever signal and a Westinghouse hybrid bell mounted on the median signal.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.125 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.125 ... 312!8i6656

This crossing on the Cobb Hwy has a semaphore signal nearby!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.029 ... 328!8i1664

Newer WCH m-bell on this crossing at Ochtertyre St, Deniliquin
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-35.535 ... 328!8i1664

McK&H.Aust wrote:There are some interesting crossings between Echuca and Deniliquin, but as usual the images are quite old so they could have been upgraded by now.

This crossing at Sturt St, Echuca has an interesting setup with a cantilever signal and a Westinghouse hybrid bell mounted on the median signal.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.125 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.125 ... 312!8i6656

I also noticed this other track completely unprotected. I guess it must be abandoned:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-36.124 ... 56!6m1!1e1


I've also got a few interesting things to share, as I just got back from a little trip to South Australia. On the way to Adelaide, I stopped at a historic Pioneer Village called Old Tailem Town. The main purpose of the attraction is to re-create a South Australian town in the early 20th century. However, the place is full of vintage railway signalling equipment and even has it's own miniature railway (I think it's pretty safe to assume the creator of the village was a rail fan)! Here's what I found at the site:

At the entrance of the attraction, an old passenger coach sits under a semaphore signal bridge with a FL signal placed in front of it:
DSC00136 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00133 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00147 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

The signal features a cast-iron Teardrop Bell!:
DSC00140 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00142 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00145 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

It also has Westinghouse incandescent lights:
DSC00139 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00144 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

And a WRRS base:
DSC00137 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

The miniature railway has a crossing protected by flashing lights. The lights are incandescent, but I'm not sure who made them:
DSC00152 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00154 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00155 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00156 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00157 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00158 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00159 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00160 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

The village even has a Magnetic Signal Co Wig Wag! Apparently it still works but I didn't get to see it operating:
DSC00182 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00173 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00178 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00179 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00187 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00188 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00184 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

Old "Look Out For Train" sign as used in SA:
DSC00183 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

Another vintage passive crossing sign:
DSC00196 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00197 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00195 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

Another old semaphore signal:
DSC00198 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00200 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

The village has heaps of old signal parts lying around:
DSC00167 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00165 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00193 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00191 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00210 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00211 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00205 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00204 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr
DSC00201 by Christian Nolan, on Flickr

There were loads of other signal parts I found lying around, way too many to include in this post. This place is truly a gold mine of vintage equipment!

Sorry for this double post, but there's something else I want to share (and I didn't want to make my previous post too long). On the way home from Adelaide, I drove through Hamilton, Victoria and managed to get some images of the Tyers St level crossing with a Teardrop Bell:



Some close-up shots of the bell:



The rain shield has "82/3150" painted on it. I'm not sure what this means:




All of the equipment here (apart from the LED lights and track wiring) appears to be original!





Old PTC signage:


The lights were upgraded sometime after 2010, as seen in this streetview image:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.737 ... 56!6m1!1e1

Here are the lights today:


More images of the crossing:



Looking down the line towards Portland:


Looking towards Melbourne:


This wiring is not original, however it has been there since at least 2010:


Here is the crossing in action:


I also drove past the Hamilton Pastoral Museum, which has a miniature railway with real crossing signals! The driveway is protected by Westinghouse incandescent lights and a Westinghouse Hybrid bell:






Here are the signals operating:



I also noticed that every single active level crossing I passed on the way to Adelaide had an Electronic Bell including this on Griffiths St in Stawell that used to have a teardrop:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.056 ... 56!6m1!1e1

But to end on a positive note, at least the classic Hamilton crossing is still alive and well!

While we're on the subject of sharing pictures we've recently taken, here's some pictures I've taken of crossings along the Puffing Billy Railway.

The first one is located on the road which leads to Lakeside station's car park (Lake Park Road, according to the relay case).


As you can tell, this crossing has a McK&H Teardrop bell!


There's also a Hazard Triangle on a 'Crossing Ahead' sign nearby. Strangely enough, there's a newer sign below it.


Next up, is the Wig Wag near the station.



Some other items of interest.




Lastly, is this crossing at Lakeside protected by sliding gates and a Westinghouse Teardrop!




More items of interest.




An action shot showing off loco G42 shunting through the crossing.


With that, I've shown off all that I have to show...

TrickyMario7654 wrote:While we're on the subject of sharing pictures we've recently taken, here's some pictures I've taken of crossings along the Puffing Billy Railway.

The first one is located on the road which leads to Lakeside station's car park (Lake Park Road, according to the relay case).


As you can tell, this crossing has a McK&H Teardrop bell!


There's also a Hazard Triangle on a 'Crossing Ahead' sign nearby. Strangely enough, there's a newer sign below it.


Next up, is the Wig Wag near the station.



Some other items of interest.




Lastly, is this crossing at Lakeside protected by sliding gates and a Westinghouse Teardrop!




More items of interest.




An action shot showing off loco G42 shunting through the crossing.


With that, I've shown off all that I have to show...

Nice pictures! Do you plan on sending those pictures to David for the site? If you want to you can send them to me and I can make the pages and I'll send the pages to David.

Are 12'' lights common in Australia? I don't really recall seeing many in Australia.

ToledoRailfan wrote:Nice pictures! Do you plan on sending those pictures to David for the site? If you want to you can send them to me and I can make the pages and I'll send the pages to David.

I've already sent the pictures to David, so they should be in the next update.

ToledoRailfan wrote:Are 12'' lights common in Australia? I don't really recall see many in Australia.

I've noticed them in WA, QLD, and SA. There's also one crossing in NSW with 12 inch lights, but I know of none in VIC.

Quite an interesting gateless crossing in Tom Price. Safetran 12" incandescent lights, tall signal masts, two hybrid bells, and huge SORS signs!
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-22.698 ... 312!8i6656

Mix of Safetran 12" LED lights & Westinghouse 8" incandescent lights.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-22.871 ... 312!8i6656


https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.153 ... 328!8i1664

TrickyMario7654 wrote:

ToledoRailfan wrote:Nice pictures! Do you plan on sending those pictures to David for the site? If you want to you can send them to me and I can make the pages and I'll send the pages to David.

I've already sent the pictures to David, so they should be in the next update.

Probably September actually.