TrickyMario7654 wrote:Oh dear, the V/line nazis have spread to NSW!
I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, still hurts to see it though
The upgrade at Uralla seems like a waste of money, there is no freight on the line and the crossing sees just 2 passenger trains per day. All of the old equipment was removed along with the relay bungalow, so it's like a completely new installation now. The new crossing uses axle counters, where the previous crossing used the old DC track circuits, so maybe the main aim was a detection upgrade.
Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
Apart from that, the type 3s all sound normal with no odd sound.
Something else that's odd is that the type 1s have a cage around them which is weird also. Maybe a different supplier is making the bells, not actually GS? https://goo.gl/maps/rcHN42sQWwK2
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 1:41 am
by freebrickproductions
Username1 wrote:Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
Some of them might've been GS Type 1s that were pitched down to sound like Type 2s. Why? I don't know.
Username1 wrote:
Something else that's odd is that the type 1s have a cage around them which is weird also. Maybe a different supplier is making the bells, not actually GS? https://goo.gl/maps/rcHN42sQWwK2
They might've put the cage around the Type 1s back when they installed them to make sure that they wouldn't get damaged by vandals, since the bells are made from PVC, IIRC.
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 2:02 am
by Username1
freebrickproductions wrote:
Username1 wrote:Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
Some of them might've been GS Type 1s that were pitched down to sound like Type 2s. Why? I don't know.
Username1 wrote:
Something else that's odd is that the type 1s have a cage around them which is weird also. Maybe a different supplier is making the bells, not actually GS? https://goo.gl/maps/rcHN42sQWwK2
They might've put the cage around the Type 1s back when they installed them to make sure that they wouldn't get damaged by vandals, since the bells are made from PVC, IIRC.
Hum that could be a possible reason why, although the adjusted 'type 1s' are still being installed. Unless Connex bought a whole lot of adjusted type 1s before they were discontinued.
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 2:31 am
by freebrickproductions
Username1 wrote:
freebrickproductions wrote:
Username1 wrote:Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
Some of them might've been GS Type 1s that were pitched down to sound like Type 2s. Why? I don't know.
Username1 wrote:
Something else that's odd is that the type 1s have a cage around them which is weird also. Maybe a different supplier is making the bells, not actually GS? https://goo.gl/maps/rcHN42sQWwK2
They might've put the cage around the Type 1s back when they installed them to make sure that they wouldn't get damaged by vandals, since the bells are made from PVC, IIRC.
Hum that could be a possible reason why, although the adjusted 'type 1s' are still being installed. Unless Connex bought a whole lot of adjusted type 1s before they were discontinued.
Or they're re-using removed ones from the grade-separated crossings. Alternatively, the newer ones could be adjusted Type 3s, though I'm not sure how those'd sound.
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 3:01 am
by TrickyMario7654
Username1 wrote:Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
I took an excerpt of the bells in the first video and increased the pitch by 1 in Sony Vegas Pro. Upon playback, they did sound similar to a Type 1.
According to McK&H Aust...
The main difference (apart from the sound) between Type 1 bells and subsequent models is the screws in the top of the cap which secure the circuit board and speaker. Water has been known to leak through the screws and short out the electronics, and beginning with the type 2 bells these screws were removed from the design.
Chirs96 mentioned that A Metro signal maintainer (aka Bell Nazi ) once told him a few years ago 'they were having a lot of trouble with E-Bells filling up with water and shorting out.' Did the e-bells at the Station Street, Seaford crossing (which you said the e-bells died at two months ago) make the same 'odd clunk' sound as the crossing in Murrumbeena? If it did, then the bells could possibly be a Type 1, as the said Type had the screws in the top of the cap, which was known to have water leak through screws.
Speaking of the Murrumbeena crossing, I found a video from 2004, when the crossing had it's original Safetran m-bells. (It's quite surreal if you think about due to the fact that this crossing is being removed as part of the Skyrail project)
Username1 wrote:Something I've always wondered is why do some of Metros GS type 2 E-bells sound weird. They just seem to have a odd clunk sound to them which no other railway has around the country (apart from darwin). What I'm talking about is here: https://youtu.be/-FpW-OVDi14
I took an excerpt of the bells in the first video and increased the pitch by 1 in Sony Vegas Pro. Upon playback, they did sound similar to a Type 1.
According to McK&H Aust...
The main difference (apart from the sound) between Type 1 bells and subsequent models is the screws in the top of the cap which secure the circuit board and speaker. Water has been known to leak through the screws and short out the electronics, and beginning with the type 2 bells these screws were removed from the design.
Chirs96 mentioned that A Metro signal maintainer (aka Bell Nazi ) once told him a few years ago 'they were having a lot of trouble with E-Bells filling up with water and shorting out.' Did the e-bells at the Station Street, Seaford crossing (which you said the e-bells died at two months ago) make the same 'odd clunk' sound as the crossing in Murrumbeena? If it did, then the bells could possibly be a Type 1, as the said Type had the screws in the top of the cap, which was known to have water leak through screws.
Speaking of the Murrumbeena crossing, I found a video from 2004, when the crossing had it's original Safetran m-bells. (It's quite surreal if you think about due to the fact that this crossing is being removed as part of the Skyrail project)
Very smart thinking about changing the pitch with Sony Vegas! It's wierd that the whole time we could have possibly been hearing type 1s and passing them off as type 2s! lol
Currently at the Station street crossing only one bell is working and yes they did make the clunking sound (although not as loud or noticeable as the Murrembeena crossing. They bell may have been replaced yesterday though because I saw two signal maintainers there at around 8:00am. I hope it has a type 3!
I love the sound of those Safetran bells. They sound like they may have Griswold gongs in them. I especially love the sound of the 3 Safetran bells that used to be a Springvale station!: https://youtu.be/SfsDTpc98PU
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 4:41 am
by TrickyMario7654
Username1 wrote:I love the sound of those Safetran bells. They sound like they may have Griswold gongs in them. I especially love the sound of the 3 Safetran bells that used to be a Springvale station!: https://youtu.be/SfsDTpc98PU
I also have to admit, the new station is quite nice too.
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 1:06 am
by Username1
Metro didn't replace the dead e bell. If it was a M bell they would have jumped on it the minute it stopped working... They could be waiting for a new bell, but I doubt it!
Re: Australian Railroad Crossing Signals
Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 3:47 am
by TrickyMario7654
Found this crossing going under upgrade in Warral, NSW. This crossing has two Safetran Type 3 e-bells on the gated signals, and two WCH e-bells on the gateless signals! https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-31.159 ... 312!8i6656
) once told him a few years ago 'they were having a lot of trouble with E-Bells filling up with water and shorting out.' Did the e-bells at the Station Street, Seaford crossing (which you said the e-bells died at two months ago) make the same 'odd clunk' sound as the crossing in Murrumbeena? If it did, then the bells could possibly be a Type 1, as the said Type had the screws in the top of the cap, which was known to have water leak through screws.
