Wig Wag Signal At Puffing Billy

This is the Wig Wag pedestrian crossing at Lakeside station on the Puffing Billy Railway. It is located on the down side of the station, and provides pedestrian access to the lake. Only trains travelling to Gembrook (or the Lakeside station siding) traverse this section of line. This crossing is the only crossing in Victoria to have a Wig Wag signal
This crossing features the token Wig Wag signal, a few custom made cross-bucks, and state indicators on the semaphore signal. No gates are provided here, though retractable belts are provided on each side of the crossing that can be extended by volunteers to provide a barrier to the train line when a train comes. This is only used during special occasions, such as Day Out With Thomas or The Running Festival, or when pedestrian traffic is high
Basically, the Wig Wag setup involves a pole with a circular plate, bell and light attached to a cantilever. When a train comes, the signal activates by electromagnets moving the plate in a pendulum motion, left to right. The light switches on and each swing causes a hammer to hit the bell located in the mechanism. These were designed to imitate the actions of a watchman, who would swing a red lantern at a road in a left to right motion to warn cars of approaching trains.
I believe this Wig Wag was installed in 2003, though don't quote me on that. I'm not sure where the signal came from either. Before it's installation, the last operating Wig Wag signal was on the Chanters Ln level crossing in Tylden, which was removed in 1974
By April 2024, the Wig Wag was repainted. The footage I took was on ANZAC day, Thursday 25th April, and if you listen carefully Puffing Billy temporarily added a special whistle to locomotive 12A

[@TheiLikeTrainsGuyIsMe]

great video stuart😊😊

[@stuarthunt101]

Thanks man :)

[@emmaziccone4037]

Cool

[@tomhenry6440]

The last one with a wig wag in the state if not all of Australia

[@stuarthunt101]

True