Railway lines crossing at right angles

[Eyersey468]

Just north of Newark there is a crossing on the ECML where 2 separate lines cross each other at 90 degrees to each other. Are there any other similar crossings on the UK rail network and were there any others that are not there now?

 

[NSE]

I don’t believe there are any others still in use. Could be wrong.

 

[Darandio]

Flat Crossings. Newark is the last one here I believe, at least on the main line.

Some previous reading:

How many flat crossings are left?

The picture above is where the Hitchin/Bedford railway (Hitchin going off in the distance) crosses the Oxford/Cambridge line circa 1964. I have seen one north of Newark but I don't know anything about the line. Anymore? And can you get near them?

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[zwk500]

Just north of Newark there is a crossing on the ECML where 2 separate lines cross each other at 90 degrees to each other. Are there any other similar crossings on the UK rail network and were there any others that are not there now?

The only other crossing is just outside Portmadog (apologies to those who can spell it correctly in either language), between the Cambrian line and the Welsh Highlamd narrow gauge railway.

I believe there was a flat crossing similar to Newark at Retford that was replaced by today's dive under in the 60s? Not sure about any others.

 

[alistairlees]

There used to be one at Boldon, and I’m sure there were others in the north east of England.

 

[Eyersey468]

Thanks for the responses. I know there was one between Eastrington and Howden where the former Hull and Barnsley line crossed the Hull to Selby line at roughly a 45 degree angle

 

[Western Sunset]

Another well-known one was at Murrow, where the M&GNJt line crossed the GN and GE Joint, northwest of March.
Also at Highbridge, where the S&DJt branch to Burnham crossed the GW main line.

There were once numerous examples where industrial freight lines crossed over passenger-carrying lines on the flat.


Present-day, lines cross on the flat at the London end of Lewisham station.

Being really pedantic, but the crossing at Newark isn't strictly at right angles.

 

[swt_passenger]

Just north of Newark there is a crossing on the ECML where 2 separate lines cross each other at 90 degrees to each other. Are there any other similar crossings on the UK rail network and were there any others that are not there now?

It’s nearer 45 degrees than 90, but that’s a minor detail really.

There used to be one at Boldon, and I’m sure there were others in the north east of England.

Just north of Darlington was another example on the ECML. That was much nearer 90 degrees.

 

[Western Sunset]

Just remembered there was the horse-drawn tramway from Lee Moor, that crossed the GW at Laira. Also there was a flat crossing just north of Ashchurch station.

 

[edwin_m]

Just north of Darlington was another example on the ECML.

This was where the original Stockton and Darlington route crossed the ECML, roughly east of North Road station. This section of the S&D is now closed, with trains using the later diversion via Darlington station.

 

[pdeaves]

A little south of Bedford, where the Midland route to Hitchin crossed the Oxford-Cambridge line.
There were two flat crossings on Somerset & Dorset land, too, at Wells and Highbridge, both crossing GWR lines.

 

[thenorthern]

The Welsh Highland Railway crosses the mainline in a similar way.

The Luas in Dublin on O'Connell Street/Abbey Street cross in a similar way to Newark.

 

[Eyersey468]

It’s nearer 45 degrees than 90, but that’s a minor detail really.


Just north of Darlington was another example on the ECML. That was much nearer 90 degrees.

Sorry, I thought it was roughly 90 degrees but could be the angle I saw it at from the road

 

[APT618S]

I believe there was a flat crossing similar to Newark at Retford that was replaced by today's dive under in the 60s? Not sure about any

Here's a good article on the building of the Retford dive-under, pictures showing where the old crossing used to be in relation to the current layout:

Building of Retford Dive-under in 1964

www.signalboxes.com

There used to be one at Boldon, and I’m sure there were others in the north east of England.

That was Pontop crossing:

BR British Railways Steam Locomotive Class A8 69850 at Pontop Crossing in 1958 - 01/08/1958 - Neville Stead Collection

thetransportlibrary.co.uk

The steam train is heading west on the Sunderland - Newcastle line and the bridge on the far right is still in situ and can be seen from the Metro.

 

[mike57]

Thanks for the responses. I know there was one between Eastrington and Howden where the former Hull and Barnsley line crossed the Hull to Selby line at roughly a 45 degree angle

According to 1908 OS map H&B crossed over the Hull Selby on a bridge, and 1895 one inch maps looks to be the same maybe it started as a flat crossing? (Map snip courtesy National Libary of Scotland)

 

[Quakers Yard]

The Melingriffith tramway crossed the Taff Vale just north of Radyr on the straight bit where there is a gate either side of the line.

 

[alistairlees]

According to 1908 OS map H&B crossed over the Hull Selby on a bridge, and 1895 one inch maps looks to be the same maybe it started as a flat crossing? (Map snip courtesy National Libary of Scotland)
View attachment 98968

Indeed. You can walk along the course of the Hull and Barnsley railway shown above the lettering on the map above, as it is part of Eastrington nature reserve. It’s on an embankment as the map shows.

 

[krus_aragon]

Many many moons ago, the broad gauge South Wales Railway crossed the narrow (standard) gauge Taff Vale on the level in Cardiff. The immense growth in coal traffic soon saw a flyover put in for the Taff Vale instead.

 

[zwk500]

Present-day, lines cross on the flat at the London end of Lewisham station.

That's as part of a junction layout permitting trains to switch between lines, so not really what the OP was after I think.

 

[Darandio]

Present-day, lines cross on the flat at the London end of Lewisham station.

Assuming the OP was simply talking about flat crossings such as at Newark then the example at Lewisham is far from unique on the network, it isn't really the same.

 

[alexl92]

Not on the National Network but there is one on the Tanfield Railway.

 

[swt_passenger]

Sorry, I thought it was roughly 90 degrees but could be the angle I saw it at from the road

I think it probably does look more of an angle from up on the road, but I remembered seeing pictures of its renewal a few years ago and that’s when I realised it was a skew angle.

 

[Taunton]

In the USA at Rochelle, Illinois, there is a spectacular flat crossing of two transcontinental double-track lines, BNSF and Union Pacific, which has fairly constant traffic on one or the other. Many other flat crossings in the USA, but none with the traffic intensity of this one. Youtube video :

⁴ᴷ UP & BNSF Action At Rochelle Illinois - YouTube

 

[Aictos]

Here's a good article on the building of the Retford dive-under, pictures showing where the old crossing used to be in relation to the current layout:

Building of Retford Dive-under in 1964

www.signalboxes.com

That was Pontop crossing:

BR British Railways Steam Locomotive Class A8 69850 at Pontop Crossing in 1958 - 01/08/1958 - Neville Stead Collection

thetransportlibrary.co.uk

The steam train is heading west on the Sunderland - Newcastle line and the bridge on the far right is still in situ and can be seen from the Metro.

Thanks for that, makes you wonder why they couldn't do the same at Newark.

 

[Eyersey468]

That's as part of a junction layout permitting trains to switch between lines, so not really what the OP was after I think.

I wasn't referring to junction layouts permitting trains to switch between lines it was layouts like Newark I wondered about

 

[lincolnshire]

According to 1908 OS map H&B crossed over the Hull Selby on a bridge, and 1895 one inch maps looks to be the same maybe it started as a flat crossing? (Map snip courtesy National Libary of Scotland)
View attachment 98968

I always thought it was a bridge that the Hull & Barnsley ran on above the Hull to Selby Line, as majority of the Hull & Barnsley line in that area was built on embankments.

 

[Western Sunset]

But you can switch between the routes at Newark, so do we have to discount it on that score too? Just wondering...

 

[Eyersey468]

I always thought it was a bridge that the Hull & Barnsley ran on above the Hull to Selby Line, as majority of the Hull & Barnsley line in that area was built on embankments.

I apologise for my error, I had just been under the impression that it had crossed on the flat as there is no evidence of any embankments in that area

 

[zwk500]

But you can switch between the routes at Newark, so do we have to discount it on that score too? Just wondering...

Although there is a chord, it's not functionally part of the crossing. It could be several miles away, the nature of the junctions would not be radically different. (Obviously the specifics of the signalling would change slightly). Unlike Lewisham, where the flat crossing is an integral part of the S&C for the junction.

 

[MATARIKI]

I think the Rhondda & Swansea Bay Railway crossed the GW Mainline on a 90-degree flat crossing just west of Port Talbot station. I remember the short clattering sound as we passed over it, back in the 1950s.