Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[MrWolf]

Berwig, with cut down road and pedestrian gates.

The lamp by the gates does appear to have a red front glass, 

 

 

Brimscombe, a much narrower road with a two bay gate.

 

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

It's the B4368, a minor road but the main access down the valley to Clun and beyond.

I remember once going across the Notts / Lincs area and there was one that still had manual gates that were normally closed to the road.

There were one or two like that near Drax power station in the 1980s. Probably no longer.

[Siberian Snooper]

I like the red distant signal in the Berwig photo.

[brumtb]

7 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Berwig, with cut down road and pedestrian gates.

The lamp by the gates does appear to have a red front glass, 

 

 

Brimscombe, a much narrower road with a two bay gate.

 

Both lovely atmospheric photos as well.

Tony

[MrWolf]

2 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I like the red distant signal in the Berwig photo.

 

I believe that the picture was taken 1908 if that helps?

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

I like the red distant signal in the Berwig photo.

 

Standard before c. 1927 (? exact date).

[Nick C]

17 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Yes, definitely manned, though the keepers often seemed to be women.

Often the wife of the PW ganger - saving the railway money as they got two employees to one house!

[Captain Kernow]

If your road is the main access into Clun, then the gates would definitely normally be kept closed across the railway and operated by the signalman or crossing keeper (the former, I assume, as your LC is right next to your signal box?).

 

The Berwig photo looks to be a lightly used lane, so that may possibly reflect the largely horse-drawn traffic of the time with the gates normally closed across the road, although perhaps a train is due.

 

The 'Brimscombe' crossing is actually St Mary's Crossing, Glos (very close to Brimscombe), which is over what is essentially a private road, which leads to offices only (former mill buildings).

 

The gates there are set back some distance from the railway and are normally open to road traffic, but do not close across the railway when in this position. As with most (hopefully all) such crossings these days, when they are open to road traffic, they are interlocked with the signalling and the protecting signals are kept at danger. The crossing keeper in the signal box (a former block post) operates the gates, the associated interlocking and then finally the signals, when the panel advises of a train approaching (done automatically).

 

A similar crossing was at Oddingley, on the main line between Abbotswood Jct and Stoke Works Jct, prior to it being automated, with the delightful Midland single storey structure going into preservation (also the subject of the forthcoming Dapol 7mm R-T-P model).

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Captain Kernow

[MrWolf]

That's a good bit of information, clearly Kernow Knows Things. 

I'd been hunting for pictures that showed the pedestrian gates and of those, the two that were labelled Berwig (actually designated as a halt and appearing in volume one of Great Western Railway halts by Kevin Robertson, a book well worth obtaining, as is volume two.) and Brimscombe happened to show what I needed.

 

Other pictures gleaned from the net seem to resolve the relationship of posts, gates and locking mechanism on crossings with gates similar to those in the MSE kit.

 

 

A lot of pedestrian gates are angled to the road gates which is useful for the space I have.

 

 

The two above are from Blue Anchor, below is Littleton & Badsey.

 

 

 

[Regularity]

37 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

That's a good bit of information, clearly Kernow Knows Things. 

Possibly due to his employment on the real railway prior to retirement!

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Regularity said:

Possibly due to his employment on the real railway prior to retirement!

 

In which case he has a distinct advantage. 🙂

[Limpley Stoker]

I wonder if the Wolf Engineering Worls are planning to motorise the level crossing gates ?

[MrWolf]

Thanks to a generous gift from the LMS up at Derwent Spa, we now have finescale track on the layout, albeit in the shape of signposts, fenceposts and the check rails for the level crossing.

 

 

Although I have allowed sufficient clearance for the remaining hideous bacon slicer wheels in the tolerance, bits of code 100 rail fouled the chairs and simply wouldn't fit.

 

 

The decking is made from two layers of coffee stirrers, slit lengthwise to scale width. I've probably said it before, coffee stirrers are incredibly useful, but need trimming to scale timber sizes otherwise their origin is wildly obvious.

 

Testing has been carried out using a coach still fitted with the wheels of doom.

 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by MrWolf

[Rowsley17D]

I didn't know crossings have check rails, well foot crossings, so that's another job to do.

[Compound2632]

13 minutes ago, Rowsley17D said:

I didn't know crossings have check rails, well foot crossings, so that's another job to do.

 

Some do, some don't. One never can tell with crossings.

[Regularity]

Black Bank, ex GER, 1963:

[JustinDean]

45 minutes ago, Rowsley17D said:

I didn't know crossings have check rails, well foot crossings, so that's another job to do.

There’s plenty around Derbyshire that didn’t  so I wouldn’t worry too much!

 

Jay

[Captain Kernow]

3 hours ago, Regularity said:

Possibly due to his employment on the real railway prior to retirement!

Puts on ancient, wizened blokes voice - 'Aye, five hundred years, man and boy!'

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Rowsley17D said:

I didn't know crossings have check rails, well foot crossings, so that's another job to do.

 

I've seen plenty of foot crossings that don't have check rails, particularly in steam era photographs. Modern foot crossings seem to have them and particularly those on high speed lines.

I'd applied the logic that foot traffic would not be sufficient to dislodge the board infill, but road traffic, particularly in the days of iron tyred carts and traction engines definitely could.

[Regularity]

Whereas nowadays, everyone is ***scared of being sued for causing an accident.

[MrWolf]

18 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Whereas nowadays, everyone is ***scared of being sued for causing an accident.

 

In my experience, to the point where you can't actually do your job on occasion.

 

For instance: "We've been ordered to measure up for a safety railing" 

Response: "You can't go up there, as there's no safety railing."

The old one had been deemed as potentially unsafe, so had been removed entirely.

About a month and £5000 worth of scaffolding later, it was  safe to go up and measure up for a new safety rail.

Edited July 30, 2022 by MrWolf

[Banger Blue]

6 hours ago, MrWolf said:

That's a good bit of information, clearly Kernow Knows Things. 

I'd been hunting for pictures that showed the pedestrian gates and of those, the two that were labelled Berwig (actually designated as a halt and appearing in volume one of Great Western Railway halts by Kevin Robertson, a book well worth obtaining, as is volume two.) and Brimscombe happened to show what I needed.

 

Other pictures gleaned from the net seem to resolve the relationship of posts, gates and locking mechanism on crossings with gates similar to those in the MSE kit.

 

 

A lot of pedestrian gates are angled to the road gates which is useful for the space I have.

 

 

The two above are from Blue Anchor, below is Littleton & Badsey.

 

 

 

The second photo Is the level crossing on the “branch line” at Didcot Railway Centre. Beyond the rusty gates is Didcot Yard and in the background, that building is the Thames Valley Signalling Centre (TVSC)

[MrWolf]

6 minutes ago, Banger Blue said:

The second photo Is the level crossing on the “branch line” at Didcot Railway Centre. Beyond the rusty gates is Didcot Yard and in the background, that building is the Thames Valley Signalling Centre (TVSC)

 

Thanks, for some reason the tag where I pinched it from said Blue Anchor. It's a long time since I was at Didcot, I really ought to remedy that.

[MrWolf]

This really is the fun part.... As per the instructions I have cut grooves halfway into the gate to sink in the dog bars.

The next step is apparently to solder them in. 

So I used gel superglue instead, I think solder would be asking for trouble. 

 

One down, one to go. The pedestrian gates should be interesting to do!

 

[MrWolf]

That actually wasn't too painful a job, once all the bars are trimmed I can fit the etched hinges (which means filing off the cast ones) and give the gates a coat of primer, as I'm expecting to do a little filling.

 

Just in case, I have fitted all the dog bars  on the backscene side of the gates.