Heritage railways with modern signalling/level crossings

[jamieintercity]

Which heritage railways in the UK that have modern coloured lighting signalling and level crossings, both standard and smaller gauges.

Dufftown on the keith and Dufftown railway has a colour light signal on the approach to the station.
Aviemore has a ACOL+B on the strathspey railway

 

[158760]

Swanage has two level crossings and two colour light signals, although the colour light signals are on the approach to the SR/NR boundary at Worgret and controlled by Basingstoke.
Quarr Farm (AOCL)
Norden Gates (MCB)
PW5752 and PW5750 on the approach to Worgret Junction

Bluebell has several colour light signals between Kingscote and East Grinstead, this part of the route being presented in 1960s condition.

(KC17), KC20R, KC22 and KC22R are the four I remember off the top of my head.

 

[D365]

Welsh Highland Railway has a flat crossing at Porthmadog (Cae Pawb) that interfaces with the Cambrian ERTMS.

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

Alton on the Watercress Line is colour light, controlled from a switch panel (AT), with joint control with Woking (WK) of the signals between MHR and NR. It also has auto working when unmanned.
Pat

 

[Lloyds siding]

LLangollen has coloured lights round Deeside Halt, but the passing loop is now lifted and the halt closed so how many are needed or in use I don't know.

 

[billio]

ELR has a level crossing just outside Rawtenstall station.

 

[WAB]

The Ffestiniog has auto colour lights at Minffordd and Tanybwlch, and an odd colour light signals with mechanical points setup at the passing loop at Rhiw Goch. There was briefly auto colour light signalling at Blaenau Ffestiniog, but this was removed when it derailed a special. Aside from Penrhyn, all level crossings have modern AOCL or open (remotely-controlled) installations.

On the Welsh Highland Railway, a very different system modern emerged under the basic railway principle. Article with a fuller explanation here

Stop boards were used in the 'ladybird' style, along with trailing points indicators, and ladybird boards fitted with two yellow lights where you'd otherwise have a home signal (these yellow lights extinguish when the shunt token is removed to protect movements within the shunt limits).

WHR stop board at Pont Croesor.


This is now evolving to a better system where there is a home and starter at each station, in the style below. The proceed aspect on the starter can only be obtained by operating a keyswitch with the relevant token.

Starting signals at Rhyd Ddu. Two red lights are danger, two yellows are proceed. The centre aspect illuminates white if the shunt token has been removed, indicating authority to proceed as far as the limit of shunt.

 

[Flange Squeal]

The Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway has a lot of level crossings. I think it’s around 10-15. I’m not sure on the split of the various types, but from memory quite a lot have lights and barriers.

 

[WAB]

The Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway has a lot of level crossings. I think it’s around 10-15. I’m not sure on the split of the various types, but from memory quite a lot have lights and barriers.

All which cross the public highway have lights and barriers. Sadly, three engine drivers have been killed on the line by vehicle drivers misusing the crossings. The first fatality in 1973 triggered the introduction of warning lights at all crossings, and the latter two in 2003 and 2005 led to the introduction of half-barriers.

 

[birchesgreen]

Northwood crossing on the Severn Valley Railway.

 

[matt]

Minehead on the West Somerset has a modern crossing as well as a very modern signal for trains heading into the station.

 

[bishdunster]

And for several months after comissioning the Minehead crossing was fully functioning but in the middle of a field, as the road (Seaward Way) had not been constructed !

 

[Forty29]

ELR has a level crossing just outside Rawtenstall station.

Also has colour lights near the "ski-jump" part of the line.
The Paignton Dartmouth line l believe has colour lights.

 

[duffield]

The Dean Forest Railway (DFR) has a modern level crossing over Station Road.

The Mid Norfolk Railway (MNR) has a couple of modern level crossings approaching Dereham station. The A1075 crossing is particularly interesting as an unbarriered crossing diagonally over a busy A road, underneath the flyover of an even more major road, the A47.

Link below shows Google street view of the MNR A1075 level crossing:

Street View of Dereham · Google Maps

www.google.com

 

[JGurney]

The Cholsey and Wallingford has a light- controlled half-barrier crossing where it crosses the Wallingford by-pass.

 

[John Webb]

The Cholsey and Wallingford has a light- controlled half-barrier crossing where it crosses the Wallingford by-pass.

Seen here in a photo from 2022:
A4130 level crossing of preserved railway

© Copyright Colin Pyle and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Unusually for a half-barrier crossing, there are traffic islands in the centre of the road each side of the track.
(Click on photo to go to the larger original on the Geograph website.)

 

[CarltonA]

The Paignton Dartmouth line l believe has colour lights.

Installed under contract by BR technicians in about 1979, I've been led to believe.

 

[Geswedey]

P & D is fully colourlight with 3 barriered crossings. Britannia Crossing box controls the signalling and 2 of the crossings at Britannia and Kingswear, there is a crossing south of Paignton also used by and on Network Rail infrastructure to give access to Goodrington carriage sidings, this crossing is shown as TMO on Trackmaps

 

[Belperpete]

Welsh Highland Railway has a flat crossing at Porthmadog (Cae Pawb) that interfaces with the Cambrian ERTMS.

This crossing originally had "ladybird" signals on the narrow gauge, but they were replaced by conventional R/G colour lights.

Porthmadog Harbour currently has a temporary colour light home signal, since the trident blew done in one of last year's storms. As at Rhiw Goch, the yellow and green are used for routing information.

Porthmadog Harbour is controlled by an "all electric" miniature lever frame: all the interlocking between the levers is done electronically, there is no mechanical interlocking. The points and signals are all electrically operated. There are similar frames on the Bluebell and Paignton lines - not sure whether they are "all electric" or not.

Britannia Bridge crossing, where the WHR crosses the main road just outside Harbour Station must surely be one the most skew crossings around. It also has four road approaches, each with associated road lights.

There was a scheme at one time to convert the manually operated gates at Penrhyn into an AHB. However there were concerns about the sharp bend in the road on the downhill approach. Unusually there are houses with parking inside the crossing!

 

[SuspectUsual]

The Talyllyn has colour lights on the forestry commission track where it crosses the line between Abergynolwyn and Nant Gwernol. No barriers, but I'm 99% sure there's an audible warning

[EDIT] There's also at least one colour light signal at Abergynolwyn

 

[MarkyT]

Installed under contract by BR technicians in about 1979, I've been led to believe.

The current state of installation was achieved in various stages over the years. Today, relay-based interlockings following Western Region E10K standard circuits are controlled by a turn-push panel (actually toggle-push, though equivalent electrically) at Britannia Crossing, the line's busiest road crossing immediately adjacent to the higher Dart ferry terminal ramp. Fully track-circuited and worked under TCB, the railway retained the tokens for a while as a backup to avoid pilot working if there was a problem with the new-fangled systems but presumably they have been sufficiently reliable as the token instruments have since been decommissioned and removed.

P & D is fully colourlight with 3 barriered crossings. Britannia Crossing box controls the signalling and 2 of the crossings at Britannia and Kingswear, there is a crossing south of Paignton also used by and on Network Rail infrastructure to give access to Goodrington carriage sidings, this crossing is shown as TMO on Trackmaps

Dual controls are provided. One for national rail staff and one for the steam railway. There's a little shelter by the crossing on the NR side. I believe on busy days NR can appoint an operator there to do the gates and any other duties say when there's a steam special scheduled and there are ground frame duties as well. Operation by TOC train crews is a slow process, which is why moves between the platforms are preferably made at the north end of the station. The crossing asset is 100% Network Rail owned and a short section of the single line used by the steam trains over the crossing is legally NR property.

Porthmadog Harbour is controlled by an "all electric" miniature lever frame: all the interlocking between the levers is done electronically, there is no mechanical interlocking. The points and signals are all electrically operated. There are similar frames on the Bluebell and Paignton lines - not sure whether they are "all electric" or not.

There was an ex-LUL miniature lever frame at Churston, controlling colour lights and installed in 1979 when the second track at the station was first reinstated. The box was closed in 1991 when control was migrated to Britannia Crossing, and the frame joined parts salvaged from one of the Clapham Junction boxes to create the new larger frame for Kingscote on the Bluebell. These are all Westinghouse 'L' frames, the manufacturer's first all-electric design without mechanical locking.

 

[Forty29]

Interesting information regarding redundant equipment from LUL and Southern Region being used.

 

[Iskra]

There is a colour light signal on Pickering station at the NYMR.

The crossings on the Ribble Steam Railway seemed very modern.

 

[DelW]

The Cholsey and Wallingford has a light- controlled half-barrier crossing where it crosses the Wallingford by-pass.

AIUI something similar will be installed when the Rother Valley Railway constructs its connection to the Kent and East Sussex at Bodiam.

There will need to be a new crossing over the A21 Robertsbridge Bypass, built in the late 1980s long after the original line was closed.

 

[John Webb]

There is a colour light signal on Pickering station at the NYMR.....

Pickering station out to Newbridge and the new carriage shed is all colour light signalling as I recall. I think only the advance starter and the incoming home signals are semaphores.

 

[MarkyT]

Interesting information regarding redundant equipment from LUL and Southern Region being used.

Lever frames, wholly or in part, sometimes including entire signalbox buildings where their construction allowed it, have been relocated and repurposed throughout railway history. The preservation movement is merely following a great tradition!

 

[The_Van]

Epping Ongar has a mix of colour lights and a few semaphores

 

[Belfastmarty]

On the Isle of Man, the MER has traffic light controlled crossings at Halfway House, Ballabeg and Ballure - these have been this way for very many years. Similarly on the IMR the crossings at Ballasalla and Port St Mary are half barriers although these were both gated crossings within my memory span. I think I'm correct in saying there were colour light signals at the platform ends at Douglas, but these have reverted to semaphores.

 

[Belperpete]

Similarly on the IMR the crossings at Ballasalla and Port St Mary are half barriers although these were both gated crossings within my memory span. I think I'm correct in saying there were colour light signals at the platform ends at Douglas, but these have reverted to semaphores.

You are correct that there used to be two colour-light starting signals at Douglas. They were replaced by a bracket with motor-worked semaphores, recovered from the Ffestiniog's aborted TanyGrisiau signalling scheme.

Are you sure about the crossings? All the barrier crossings on the IMR I can recall are FULL barrier crossings, not half barriers.

When the IMR was rebuilt in conjunction with the water main scheme, all the old gated crossings were renewed as automatic barrier crossings. Some have four barriers and some just two, depending on the road width, but in all cases they are full barrier crossings that fully close off the road.

There are significant differences to UK practice. For example, there are no track-circuits, just one treadle on each side of the crossing. When a train approaches the crossing and operates the treadle on that side then the warnings will start and the barriers lower. The treadles are sited sufficiently far from the crossing to ensure that adequate warning is given to road users. The crossing will then stay closed after the train has passed over the crossing until the train reaches the treadle on the other side. So a crossing can stay closed for a noticeable time after the passage of a train - this is especially noticeable with short trains. However, there is no danger of cars weaving the barriers after the train, as they are full barriers.

The crossing at Castletown is particularly odd, as on one side it has flashing yellow lights, not flashing red. The railway here runs parallel with and immediately adjacent to a main road. There is a T-junction off this road, that immediately passes over the railway. You wouldn't want a car to stop at the crossing itself, as it would block the road junction. Equally you wouldn't want flashing reds on the main road, as you wouldn't want to stop all the traffic on the main road just because the side-road was closed. So they have provided flashing yellows, like the flashing yellows that you get for school crossings.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The Great Cockcrow uses various scale colour light signals. Two boxes also have miniature lever frames. Hardwick has part of the old Crewe South frame and Everglades Jct has a Westinghouse “L” frame from South Croydon.