Level Crossing, Junee NSW, Australia.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- The first activation is shown at 5:05
This is the Olympic Hwy crossing at Junee NSW, Australia. The crossing is also referred to as Town Rd. Junee is about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, on the main line. It is also the junction for the branch line to Narrandera and Griffith.
These signals were installed in December 1970 and were manually controlled from Junee North Signal Box (the large building next to the crossing). This arrangement lasted until May 2007 when the Signal Box and it's mechanical interlocking frame were de-commissioned. The level crossing was then converted to automatic operation using track circuits.
All of the lights at the crossing are McKenzie & Holland. The gate mechanisms are made by Safetran, and were installed in June 2014 to replace the original WRRS/GRS Type D mechanisms. There are new style "Stop On Red Signal" signs which have been fastened on top of the old ones.
The crossing has two McKenzie & Holland teardrop bells but at the time of filming, the bell on the eastern side had recently died. It used to ring continuously from start up until the gates began to rise. The bell on the western side used to ring only from start up until the gates had lowered, but as a temporary fix for the dead bell it has been altered to ring continuously.
The pedestrian crossing was unprotected until May 2004, when the current swing gates were installed. These gates are made by Magnetic Autocontrol, while the Don't Walk lights were made by Aldridge Traffic Systems. The pedestrian crossing has alarms which are mounted inside the gate mechanisms, so it cannot be seen what type they are.
The junction for the Griffith branch line faces towards Melbourne, so any Griffith bound trains coming from the Sydney direction need to reverse in the yard opposite Junee Station. This involves detaching the locomotives and "running around" via an adjacent track to position the locomotives at the opposite end of the train. As you can see in the video, this operation can block the level crossing for a considerable amount of time.
Train info: Both trains are operated by Pacific National.
1st train - 9337 empty flour from Nowra to Narrandera, with locomotives 8162 and 8145. The train can be seen arriving from the Sydney direction, then running around and departing to the Griffith branch line.
2nd train - 3331N empty grain from Cootamundra to Junee Sub Terminal, with locomotives 8165, 8172 and 8142. This train was seen in the previous video at Tanyinna. The locomotives can be seen running around the train and then departing for the branch line. Junee Sub Terminal is located on the edge of town, and is accessed from the Griffith branch line.
Filmed on December 17th, 2016.
man i love the sound of the 1st horn
Michael. Got an update. The eastern teardrop bell got replaced with a Western Cullen Hayes mechanical bell when i went to Junee today. Saying that the WC hayes only ring till the gates lowered whilst the teardrop bell on the western side rings till the gates rise.
Thought I let you know. 😀
Thanks Josh. I did see the replacement bell in late November and I'm thinking it probably came from Harefield. Didn't have my camera so only got some phone footage which I'm not entirely happy with. No idea when I'll get there to film it properly, haven't had much time and trying to limit my travels during covid, also not very motivated lol.
@@McKHAust fair enough.wasn't sure if you knew or not. Too easy. I'm looking to go back there next pay and do some train spotting there. I'll be happyto get some footage there while I can.
The Magnetic Autocontrol pedestrian gates are actually manufactured with the alarms built-in. It's just that the railways sometimes decide to use external audible warning devices instead. In Victoria, pretty much all installations of Magnetic Autocontrol gates use the internal alarm.
Ahh ok, thanks for the information. Most crossings in NSW seem to use external alarms for whatever reason. Maybe they just got used to doing it that way back when GRS semaphore mechanisms were used.
That's a nice crossing there! Great video! Shame only one teardrop works, and even that guy is starting to die!
Thanks, this is one of my favourite crossings. Hopefully the bell can be repaired, but if not then I hope it gets replaced by another m-bell. The second bell will probably die quicker because it operates continuously now, I got plenty of footage in case they are both replaced.
Great video think the bell needs some love. Like the fencing hope they leave the teardrop bell alone hate the stop on red signal signs
Yes hopefully the bell survives. The fencing adds a nice look. Not sure why they put up the new signs, the old ones underneath still seem ok.
Black isn't retroreflective, so a sign that is mostly white is easier to notice and see at night.
The teardrop on the western side seems to be dying, too.
Awesome Video!
Sounds like one of the teardrop bells is dead and the other is dying.
At 10:45 what is that thing above the tracks?
Freedomtowerman Productions that's a signal gantry (or signal bridge) which has block signals mounted on it.
Freedomtowerman Productions thanks for watching. They don't seem to be in a hurry to do anything about the dead bell, which could actually be a good thing. If it was going to be replaced then surely it would have been done already?
McK&H Aust Most likely, i know here in america, most mechanical bells that dye, end up getting replaced by electronic bells.
It's the same over here, but normally it happens a bit faster once a bell dies. As of today (January 4th, 2017) it has still not been replaced, so I'm hoping that they may be considering fixing the bell. But then again maybe Christmas and New Year have interrupted the work.
McK&H Aust Could be, or the railroad is lazy and just haven't gotten to it yet lol
Great video! The teardrop sounds like
It’s dying sadly
Wow. I was looking at this crossing the other day in Google Street View. When the video started I recognized it instantly! What are the odds!!
That's cool. I think the fences make the crossing easy to recognize, as most crossings have steel fencing.
Well, for me it was the big obvious signal box, the signal bridge, and the tidy flowers and shrubbery. :D
bells still there?
Yes.
@@McKHAust well thats good! maybe find out if. they have been repaired someday soon!
@@willpower3544 i went to Junee today. The dead teardrop was replaced witha WC Hayes mechanical bell on the eastern side.
Any updates on the Teardrop bells here?
I went past the crossing last week on the way back from Wagga Wagga, both teardrop bells were still there but I didn't see the crossing activate so I'm not sure if the dead teardrop bell has been fixed.
If this was Victoria, both bells would be long gone now!
Yes it would probably have GS e-bells!
Or most certainly Safetran T3's if it were outside of Melbourne
5:41 what's with the siren? It sounds way different than the UK style alarm!
7:49 the pedestrian gate says 5 tracks, but the road sign says it's 4 tracks!
8:33 are light engines common at this crossing?
9:03 how much time was between the gates opening until this closing? It must not have been too long because the camera is in the exact same spot!
11:56 I think all of the trains in this video so far is the same pair of locos! I find that neat! it can be hard to find the exact same locos again on the same day, if you aren't chasing it!
15:42 nice horn sound! A very classic sounding horn! This is one reason I want to railfan in Australia!
22:28 the station looks nice!
The siren is most likely a UK one, just set to a different tone. It's probably a Klaxon or a Roshni, they are the most common ones here.
The 4th and 5th tracks diverge in the middle of the crossing, so both signs are probably correct. I guess a 4.5 Tracks sign would confuse people lol.
Light engines are very common. Many trains reverse directions here and the engines run around the train, they go up past the crossing and then come back on a different track.
There are only 2 different trains in this video, but all of the light engine movements when running around make it seem like more. For each movement there was only a few minutes between the gates opening and closing. The first train was in the morning and then I changed sides for the second train just before noon.
These locomotives are known as the 81 Class, they are over 30 years old and have nice horns, but some of the newer engines have crappy sounding horns.
The station is still used by passenger trains so they keep it in good condition.
Nice to now know that Australia not only use WCHayes, but also Safetran like America
Yes there's lots of Safetran gate mechanisms and e-bells in Australia.
One bell on the crossing is dead and the other one is sounding very weak, yet they don't seem too fussed about replacing them. Maybe they think that annoying pedestrian crossing siren is enough warning sound for now
Yes they certainly aren't in a hurry to do anything, hopefully they don't replace them with e-bells.
They have to. All bell changes and upgrades have to be electronic. Oi, my ears...
E-bells are used on all new installations in NSW, but for some reason there is still the occasional installation of a mechanical bell to replace an older one. It's probably against the standards but my guess would be they are running short on e-bells, as they are all imported from the U.S. and it can take months for new stock to arrive.
Not all the time are dead mechanical bells replaced by e-bells. One crossing near me had a dying Modern Industries mechanical bell and dead WABCO mechanical bell, but both were fixed rather than replaced.
3:10 did you see the removed track?
Yes it does look like an old track. I never noticed it before.