Morston Hall Level Crossing, Suffolk

Описание: Morston Hall Level Crossing, Trimley St. Martin, Suffolk

Date filmed: 26/10/2020

Route: Felixstowe Branch Line
Between Derby Road and Trimley Stations

Location: Morston Hall Road, Trimley St. Martin
Trains:
Lowering 1 (Starts at 0:10): Class 66 (Freightliner) - 2:12
Lowering 2 (Starts at 3:20): Class 755 (Greater Anglia) - 4:47
Lowering 3 (Starts at 5:32): Class 66 (GBRF) - 7:58

A level crossing located on a very quiet no-through road just within the settlement of Trimley St. Martin on the outskirts of Felixstowe in Suffolk. For such a narrow and fairly small road, the barriers here are enormous, since two full-length barriers have been used to cover the entire width of the road, which looks a little odd when standing around the level crossing. Aside from these, there are four alarms at this level crossing, each sounding at a moderate volume, which are old-looking, working well, and appear to have been re-used from other nearby level crossings following a series of upgrades on the line. The usual obstacle detection equipment is also apparent at this level crossing (such as LIDARs, Radars, ANPR Cameras, and Light Cameras), which is busy with freight traffic, yet relatively lesser-used by pedestrians and road traffic.

This level crossing was one of three public highway level crossings between Derby Road and Trimley Stations to be renewed from an Automatic Half Barrier (AHB) level crossing in 2019 during re-signalling on the Felixstowe Branch Line, where a few miles of track between Trimley Station and Gun Lane Junction was also doubled to help improve the movement of freight traffic constantly using the line, whilst minimising disruption to passenger services at the same time. This level crossing, along with nearby Levington and Trimley St. Martin (Thorpe Lane) level crossings, was converted to a Manually Controlled Barriers with Obstacle Detection (MCB-OD) level crossing during re-signalling, which is linked in with the signalling system to improve the flow of freight and passenger traffic alike, whilst minimising disruption to road users and improving overall level crossing safety and efficiency. Equipment such as LIDARs, Radars, and ANPR cameras scan the level crossing and prove whether or not it is clear before allowing the signals to turn green for trains to pass.

Whilst all four alarms at the aforementioned nearby level crossings were installed as new alarms, those at this level crossing appear to have been re-used from other nearby level crossings.

Video stabilisation unfortunately glitched during the third activation in this video, so that video may seem wobbly and slightly shaky.

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