(Lowerings 17 Seconds Apart) Helpston Level Crossing, Cambridgeshire

Описание: Helpston Level Crossing, Helpston, Cambridgeshire

Date filmed: 13/04/2019

Location: Glinton Road, Helpston
Trains: Class 43s (LNER)
Class 180 (Grand Central)

Level crossing located within the village of Helpston in Cambridgeshire on Glinton Road. At 70 metres (230ft) in length, it is the longest level crossing in the UK, so it takes a considerable amount of time to walk from one side of the crossing to the other. This level crossing used to be two manually-gated crossings close together (one with two tracks and one with four tracks), until the barriers replaced the gates, turning it into one long crossing, with the signalbox remaining in control, and situated in the middle of the crossing. The four alarms here are each very loud, and the sound they make is quite iconic to this level crossing. The barriers here bang the ground, and are bodged together with sticky tape. This level crossing can see over 15 trains per hour even at off-peak times like when I was here, as this sees both the ECML services and trains that head off through Stamford, so trains and closures here come thick and fast. This is one of my personal favourite level crossings.

In this video, we have two closures only 17 seconds apart. Watch the graphic on the screen to see for yourself how quickly the crossing activated again after the lights went out for the first closure.

The length of the level crossing is demonstrated at the end of this video, as I filmed myself crossing to the other side.

Thanks for watching!