Pirton Level Crossing, Worcestershire (Ft. The "Torbay Riviera Pullman" Class 43 HST)

Описание: Date filmed: 21/05/2022
Videos filmed between 19:37 and 20:11

Route: Bristol to Birmingham Main Line
Between Ashchurch for Tewkesbury and Worcestershire Parkway Stations

Crossing type: Automatic Half Barrier Crossing (AHBC)

Location: Sidings Road, Pirton
Trains featured:
Lowering 1 (Starts at 0:08):
Class 220 & 221 (Cross Country) - 0:37
Edinburgh Waverley ➡ Bristol Temple Meads
-
Lowering 2 (Starts at 1:03):
Class 43 HST (Locomotive Services Limited)
"Midland Pullman" (43 049 & 43 046) - 1:30
Paignton ➡ Barrow-in-Furness
-
Lowering 3 (Starts at 2:13):
Class 170 (Cross Country) - 2:54
Birmingham New Street ➡ Cardiff Central
-
Lowering 4 (Starts at 3:21)
Class 166 (Great Western Railway) - 3:57
Weymouth ➡ Worcester Shrub Hill
-
Lowering 5 (Starts at 4:20):
Class 170 (Cross Country) - 5:01
Cardiff Central ➡ Birmingham New Street

An automatic half barrier (AHB) level crossing located a few miles south of Worcester in a nice and quiet rural location between the villages of Wadborough and Pirton. This level crossing has loud alarms which sound throughout the activation sequence, one of which has a fairly distinctive fast-sounding low-tone and dates all the way back to around 1985! The barriers here also date back to the same year.

These videos were filmed within about half an hour or so in the evening. The second lowering in this video features the (mostly) blue Midland Pullman HST running the "Torbay Riviera Pullman" between Barrow-in-Furness and Paignton, with the tour operator being Locomotive Services Limited (LSL). This was on its return journey, and lead by 43 049 "Neville Hill" in its iconic "Intercity Swallow" livery is seen speeding past with a brief horn salute and 9 Mk.3 Carriages. It was a very nice and nostalgic sight to be seeing a HST service speeding past like this, especially with the lead power car in the Intercity Swallow Livery!

Of course, beneath the evening colours, a handful of other lowerings filmed during this visit here are featured, and see the usual mainline traction for this area. In the 5th lowering, the Cross Country service was running under 'caution' behind the Great Western Railway service seen prior.

Thanks for watching!