• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Level crossing accident on Arun Valley Line 17/02/18

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

dk1

Veteran Member
Joined
2 Oct 2009
Messages
15,822
Location
East Anglia
The skin of a rhinoceros. Deluded? Self absorbed? I can't get my head around this one.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
Crikey! She really can't say sorry can she. She must be such a nice person in real life.

I haven't read any of her film reviews, but I suspect that if they're like her other Tweets she is just out to be controversial and stir up trouble.

Maybe the Daily Mail will give her a column. Sounds like we have another Katie Hopkins in the making!
 

8089

Member
Joined
17 May 2011
Messages
13
Whatever the reason that car was on the crossing, it will have nothing to do with Southern before the crash. What is she going to say? That Southern planted it there?
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
The Mirror has comments about people saying the authorities were incompetent and clearly knew the problem so could have opened the line quicker, and one person even getting a dig in about privatisation?! Seriously?

Kate can at least be happy that some people supported her, which maybe gave her the confidence to unhide her profile and carry on. She seems quite proud of the fact she's upset some people and got her 15 minutes of fame.
 

dk1

Veteran Member
Joined
2 Oct 2009
Messages
15,822
Location
East Anglia
I doubt it, sadly, these things always happen to 'others', they won't happen to 'me'.

Haha yes as others have said ...barriers!!

When they converted the AOCLs to ABCLs in typical railway fashion it wasn't quite so straightforward. They remained essentially AOCL but with the B added. Caused quite a bit of laughter at the time too.
 

Signal Head

Member
Joined
26 May 2013
Messages
398
The Mirror has comments about people saying the authorities were incompetent and clearly knew the problem so could have opened the line quicker, and one person even getting a dig in about privatisation?! Seriously?

Kate can at least be happy that some people supported her, which maybe gave her the confidence to unhide her profile and carry on. She seems quite proud of the fact she's upset some people and got her 15 minutes of fame.

I can't work out where she was going. I thought the incident is between Littlehampton and Horsham, yet she says her train was terminating at Horsham, *before* her destination, from which I infer she is southbound. However, she then says she has to go to Littlehampton, then Brighton, then Crawley, implying she's trying to go north.
Confused.
 

dk1

Veteran Member
Joined
2 Oct 2009
Messages
15,822
Location
East Anglia
Sorry to be so dumb, but I'm missing something here. How can it be an open crossing if it's got barriers?

They where added at a later date & the two operate seperatley rather than as one. It was probably a more cost effective conversion.
 

Darandio

Established Member
Joined
24 Feb 2007
Messages
10,672
Location
Redcar
I can't work out where she was going. I thought the incident is between Littlehampton and Horsham, yet she says her train was terminating at Horsham, *before* her destination, from which I infer she is southbound. However, she then says she has to go to Littlehampton, then Brighton, then Crawley, implying she's trying to go north.
Confused.

She was going to the Crawley match.
 

JN114

Established Member
Joined
28 Jun 2005
Messages
3,346
Oh I see. I think.

While on the surface AOCLs and ABCLs would seem very similar (to the lay-man the only difference you’d notice is the ‘B’ or lack thereof) - there are some differences in the circuitry and failure operation that I don’t know enough about to explain fully. While it makes little odds to drivers; maintenance staff still need to know difference hence why they weren’t just renamed ABCL.
 

MarkyT

Established Member
Joined
20 May 2012
Messages
6,232
Location
Torbay
AOCL+B was merely a 'conversion kit' to make a AOCL into a ABCL. The circuitry isn't EXACTLY the same as a brand new ABCL, although it is very similar, so engineers and project managers invented a new term to define the converted ones and distinguish them in future from bog standard ABCLs. Operationally there's no difference. AOCLs originally only had the flashing white light for the driver. By the time ABCLs came along, the flashing red light had also been introduced. The idea was originally to add the red to all of the locally monitored crossings whether open or barrierred, but the decision was also made to convert all the open ones to barriers as well. I think there's one AOCL left on the entire UK network. I don't know if there are any white light only crossings of either sort remaining.
 

45669

Member
Joined
26 Jul 2010
Messages
1,028
Location
Farnborough.
While on the surface AOCLs and ABCLs would seem very similar (to the lay-man the only difference you’d notice is the ‘B’ or lack thereof) - there are some differences in the circuitry and failure operation that I don’t know enough about to explain fully. While it makes little odds to drivers; maintenance staff still need to know difference hence why they weren’t just renamed ABCL.

AOCL+B was merely a 'conversion kit' to make a AOCL into a ABCL. The circuitry isn't EXACTLY the same as a brand new ABCL, although it is very similar, so engineers and project managers invented a new term to define the converted ones and distinguish them in future from bog standard ABCLs. Operationally there's no difference. AOCLs originally only had the flashing white light for the driver. By the time ABCLs came along, the flashing red light had also been introduced. The idea was originally to add the red to all of the locally monitored crossings whether open or barrierred, but the decision was also made to convert all the open ones to barriers as well. I think there's one AOCL left on the entire UK network. I don't know if there are any white light only crossings of either sort remaining.

Thanks Gents. That's made it a bit clearer, although how you can remember all these initials beats me!
 

MarkyT

Established Member
Joined
20 May 2012
Messages
6,232
Location
Torbay
The reason locally monitored crossings are not used more widely is they limit approach speed. By definition they can only be approached at a speed from which stopping short would be possible if the white light is not flashing or the crossing is visibly blocked. Usually that limits them to areas where speed of operation is comparatively low already for other reasons, around stations on rural lines where all trains stop for instance. In any case, even with the very best approach visibility, the following applies from ORR guidance:

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2158/level_crossings_guidance.pdf (page 14)

The speed of the trains over the crossings will be determined by the traffic moment but should not exceed 56 mph at any time. There should not be more than two running lines. The carriageway on the approaches to the crossing should be sufficiently wide to enable vehicles to pass safely. The road layout, profile and traffic conditions should be such that road vehicles are not likely to ground or regularly to block back obstructing the railway.

Note segregated light rail crossings of highways under tramway rules work in a similar way to locally monitored level crossings involving heavy rail, but don't provide barriers and use conventional road traffic signals where required rather than railway 'wig-wags'.
 

FOH

Member
Joined
17 Oct 2013
Messages
712
I don’t get why they don’t get rid of railway wig-wags and use normal traffic lights. I bet a small proportion of drivers believe the wig-wags are just warnings rather than a legally enforceable light. Just put normal lights and a red light jumper camera up and I’m sure there’d be more respect.
 

Ben.A.98

Member
Joined
13 Feb 2013
Messages
227
The major difference with an AOCL+B and a ABCL is the addition of a local control unit, however that doesn't mean theat there aren't a few exceptions.

I'm sure there must be more than one AOCL in the country, admittedly I only know of Dingwall No1, which is being upgraded to full barriers shortly. May you be thinking of the last AOCR which is Rosarie.
 

SPADTrap

Established Member
Joined
15 Oct 2012
Messages
2,352
I don’t get why they don’t get rid of railway wig-wags and use normal traffic lights. I bet a small proportion of drivers believe the wig-wags are just warnings rather than a legally enforceable light. Just put normal lights and a red light jumper camera up and I’m sure there’d be more respect.

That same small minority probably jump red lights.
 

Steptoe

Member
Joined
9 Nov 2016
Messages
95
Location
East Anglia
I think there's one AOCL left on the entire UK network. I don't know if there are any white light only crossings of either sort remaining.

I guess that you meant the 'national' network but in fact there are two at Dereham on the Mid-Norfolk Railway complete with white lights. It is interesting to read that there is a kit available to convert these to half barrier operation as one of the crossings is abused on a regular basis by locals who are presumably aware of the stipulated 5mph speed of trains over the crossings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top