Official name: Farncombe East Level Crossing
- Read below for more information about this renewal!
Date filmed: 14/11/2023
Videos filmed between 13:24 and 14:28
Route: Portsmouth Direct Line
- Farncombe is the closest station
Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barrier crossing with CCTV (MCB-CCTV)
- Staying the same post-renewal.
Location: Bourne Road, Farncombe
Here's a video filmed over the course of about an hour at this level crossing in Farncombe, Surrey. It's one of two in the village just outside of Godalming, each located either side of the station.
As of only the last few weeks to this video being filmed and published, this has become the first public highway level crossing to see its full renewal completed as part of the Farncombe to Petersfield Re-signalling project, marking a significant further step in progress of the line's re-signalling. It's the first crossing in the entire country to have a Bombardier / Alstom 'EBI Gate 630' system installed at it, and it has bespoke barrier motors, and 'boom' arms designed to break in a very certain way in case of a collision, now branded 'Alstom' as they took over Bombardier Transportation a few years back. These barriers lower INCREDIBLY quickly mid-stroke and are slowed at either end, possibly suggesting some Computer Numerical Control in use like you see on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Railway's German barriers. As for alarms, it has what I believe to be E2S 'A105 Alert Alarms', also something I've never seen on a public mainline crossing before, which sound exactly like quieter versions of those heard at the crossings on the Llanberis Lake Railway (if you remember my videos from those a little while back).
Likely still controlled from nearby Farncombe Signal Box, control will eventually be transferred to the Wessex Rail Operations Centre at Basingstoke come the completion of the re-signalling. Given how the rest of the crossings' renewals will take place a good few months down the line, it's almost as if this system is being monitored and tested in operation here. The crossing even still runs on its old logic given the very long amber light timer and lack of 'night mode' as it used to have bells before. Other than the logic, a single LED Road Traffic Light / wigwag has been re-used too. If those responsible are perfectly satisfied with the system, it may well be used at the other crossings on this line, and it might also be a possibility all new logic and control may be installed here by the time re-signalling and all the other renewals are complete.
This video features 'before and after' shots and cutaways of the new equipment at the start of the video before the railway action starts. Six trains passed in the first two lowerings here alone, much closer together than scheduled due to delays. One of these was even a Weymouth to London service routed off its planned path (via Havant and Guildford rather than staying on the South West Main Line) most likely in panic when news of a points failure at Woking broke out at first, though it was the only train diverted this way in the end. It lost a lot of time, though, re-joining at Woking 40 minutes late and arriving into Waterloo nearly 50 late, although it would've likely been even later if it stuck to its planned route. After this first burst of trains had gone, I had enough time to work out what was coming and what wasn't in the time I had, and so after a bit of waiting, I managed to provide these further-back, tripod-aided shots (videos three and four). Enjoy!
Video guide:
Before and after - 0:00
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Cut-aways - 0:27
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Lowering 1 (1:11):
1) 444 021 & 450 057 (South Western Railway) - 2:55
1P35 London Waterloo ➡ Portsmouth Harbour | 20 minutes late
2) 444 007 & 444 034 (South Western Railway) - 3:25
2P42 Haslemere ➡ London Waterloo | 1 minute late
3) 450 116 & 450 120 (South Western Railway) - 4:07
2P35 London Waterloo ➡ Haslemere | 2 minutes late
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Lowering 2 (5:05)
1) 450 088, 450 081 & 450 009 (South Western Railway) - 6:18
1P37 London Waterloo ➡ Portsmouth Harbour | 2 minutes late
2) 444 014 (South Western Railway) - 7:03
1P42 Portsmouth Harbour ➡ London Waterloo | 1 minute late
3) 444 017 & 444 031 (South Western Railway) - 7:23
1W16 Weymouth ➡ London Waterloo (Diverted via Havant & Guildford) | No report, off booked path
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Lowering 3 (7:56):
444 032 & 444 010 (South Western Railway) - 8:44
1P44 Portsmouth Harbour ➡ London Waterloo | 1 minute late
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Lowering 4 (9:22):
1) 450 028, 450 019 & 450 087 (South Western Railway) - 10:02
1P39 London Waterloo ➡ Portsmouth Harbour | 19 minutes late
2) 450 120 & 450 116 (South Western Railway) - 10:26
2P46 Haslemere ➡ London Waterloo | On-time
Train details sourced from:
Real Time Trains: www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...
Open Train Times: www.opentraintimes.com/maps
Traksy: traksy.uk/live
Filmed on: Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus in 4K 30fps
Thanks for watching!
3 июл 2024
