Broken bells (now fixed) at Mount Pleasant Level Crossing, Southampton
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
- This busy, retro level crossing in Southampton is really starting to show its age. As can be heard, the bells didn't sound at all bar a single faint chime right at the start of each activation, only heard when the video starts before it activates (each lowering except the first). Thankfully, this fault has since been fixed within a week. In the third lowering, you can also see one of the barriers struggling to lower, though this was also due to high winds at the time. I was going to report the fault, but then a response unit turned up to inspect the crossing, suggesting the fault had already been reported in.
Date filmed: Saturday the 30th of December 2023
Videos filmed between 15:05 and 15:48
Route: South West Main Line
- Between St. Denys and Southampton Central Stations
Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barrier crossing with CCTV (MCB-CCTV)
Filming location: Mount Pleasant Road, Southampton (SO14 0SP)
A total of fifteen different passenger services can be seen in these videos taken within the space of about 45 minutes at Mount Pleasant Level Crossing in Southampton, located to the North East of the City Centre near the Northam area of the city and controlled from a signalling centre in Eastleigh. According to Network Rail's figures, this is believed to statistically be the busiest public highway level crossing in the entire country. The line over the crossing is four-track, but the throat from Northam Junction into Southampton Central, and both lines beyond the junction at St. Denys, have only two tracks each. With well over 400 different trains per a typical day (including passenger and freight services) all fighting for frequently conflicting paths through the area, it can all get quite congested and prone to knock-on delays. Very long lowerings of the barriers here are a commonplace - it's not uncommon at all to see the barriers lowered for numerous trains at a time causing a lot of traffic woes. During my visit, even with a gap of about ten minutes between lowerings at one point, the crossing's barriers pretty much spent more time lowered than raised.
Retro Godwin Warren Engineering barriers, the pedestals dating way back to the 1970s, still remain operational here, as do two bells that weren't working properly at the time, which is surprising given just how busy the crossing is. A new footbridge structure with high sides has been installed in the past year, but there are still plenty of shots available for trains on this busy line. The surroundings are rather desolate, run-down, partly industrial, and have a little bit of a rough edge to them, though this location is perfectly fine to be around in the day.
The first lowering lasted around 9 minutes for 5 trains. Among these was the "Another Awkward Week Adventure" Rail Tour, seen for the third time by me this day just after turning around in a siding just past the crossing on its route to the busy Western Docks. Enjoy!
Trains featured:
Intro - 0:00
-
Lowering 1 (0:16):
1) 165 132 & 166 220 (Great Western Railway) - 1:32
1F22 Portsmouth Harbour ➡ Cardiff Central | 3 minutes late
2) "Another Awkward Week Adventure" (UK Rail Tours) - 2:07
Leading: 66 028 & 66 185 (DB Cargo UK)
Trailing: 66 158 (DB Cargo UK)
1Z67 Southampton Eastern Docks ➡ Southampton Western Docks | 15 minutes late
3) 450 057 (South Western Railway) - 4:10
2B39 Winchester ➡ Southampton Central | 4 minutes late
4) 165 137 & 166 212 (Great Western Railway) - 4:32
1F17 Cardiff Central ➡ Portsmouth Harbour | 5 minutes late
5) 377 430 (Southern) - 5:15
1N18 Brighton ➡ Southampton Central | On-time
-
Lowering 2 (6:07):
1) Class 377 (Southern) - 7:01
1J47 Southampton Central ➡ London Victoria | On-time
2) 444 027 & 444 036 (South Western Railway) - 7:27
1W69 London Waterloo ➡ Weymouth & Poole | On-time
3) 220 029 (Cross Country) - 7:50
1M58 Bournemouth ➡ Manchester Piccadilly | On-time
-
Lowering 3 - Slow barrier (8:24):
1) 377 430 (Southern) - 10:02
1N27 Southampton Central ➡ Brighton
2) 158 880 (South Western Railway) - 10:30
2S43 Romsey ➡ Salisbury (Via Eastleigh and Southampton) | 1 minute late
3) 444 029 & 444 006 (South Western Railway) - 11:15
1W22 Weymouth ➡ London Waterloo | On-time
4) 450 103 (South Western Railway) - 11:54
2E44 Portsmouth & Southsea ➡ Southampton Central | 1 minute late
-
220 002 (Cross Country) - 12:40
1O16 Manchester Piccadilly ➡ Bournemouth | 1 minute late
-
Lowering 4 (13:18):
1) 444 045 & 444 033 (South Western Railway) - 14:24
1W29 London Waterloo ➡ Weymouth | 1 minute late
2) 450 103 (South Western Railway) - 14:50
2E45 Southampton Central ➡ Portsmouth & Southsea | On-time
-
Pictures - 15:33
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: Panasonic HC-VX1 in 4K 25fps & Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus in 4K 30fps (towards end of video)
Thanks for watching! 
Авто/Мото
You got five trains in 1 closure!
Back in September there was one bell working normally in the north western barrier cabinet, but nothing else. I’m surprised the barriers got replaced in the 1970s seeing as they originally installed barriers and wig wags in the mid 1960s. Adelaide Road crossing at st Denys got renewed fully late last year and so now has E2S alarms rather than bells. I think chapel road and Canute road crossings may date to about 1981, as I think that’s when the area was resigned and those two crossings converted from gates.
Brilliant Videos and Shots at this busy crossing! That’s a shame, I liked them.
Many thanks! Absolutely, I've always especially liked the bell on the side closest to the industrial estate. Thankfully, at least one bell is now sounding again as of yesterday.
Ah ok!@@SouthEastLevelCrossings
Excellent video and Crossing 👍
Thank you very much!
Everything in Southampton is being a pain, malfunctioning Wigwags, Broken bells, struggling barriers, lol
And the crossing that, to be fair, needed it the least was the first and so far only to get renewed. I refer to St. Denys (Adelaide Road) crossing.
I love the barriers and the bells, despite them not working. Great video!
Thanks! At least one bell has been fixed within a week as I've seen from another video published and filmed yesterday.
@@SouthEastLevelCrossings ok
That’s dangerous! Nice video! That barrier can do with some adjustment too.
Thanks! Indeed, though as it turns out it was fixed within a week. I found out from another more recent video.
@@SouthEastLevelCrossings ah, can you send the link to the video?
@@BRLevelCrossingsAndMoreUK ruclips.net/video/E9_aJmYSan8/видео.html&lc=UgxnHlvbZUSfeU2kO3N4AaABAg.9zGKUiJ17XP9zH8_u64eKT
Nice one strange how that barrier got stuck. It must have been the wind
Thank you! I see that most likely tbh
Great video! Shame the one operational bell wasn't really working on this day. Was it a particularly cold day? I know here in the US, mechanical bells can sometimes freeze and work poorly/not at all as a result, especially if it's very cold for a while. I've filmed a few frozen bells before, in fact, one of which did indeed have a build-up of ice in it.
I see that one 158 is still in an older paint scheme. Did you show the maintainers your video of the one gate arm being slow to lower?
Thanks! It was very windy at the time, not really 'cold' as such. I'd like to revisit at some point now at least one bell is working, absolutely before it all gets inevitably renewed. It never really crossed my mind to alert them to the slow barrier at the time. Almost certainly due to a spell of wind at the time of that lowering. Can't do masses about that with these older barriers tbh.
Maybe they can do what they’ve done at some level crossing upgrades: renew the equipment but retain the bells instead of using other alarms.
It is possible if the controlling logic isn't overhauled as well.
Nice! It be very weird if you were crossing the crossing and the barriers suddenly started lowering
Absolutely.
Great video! Shame the bells aren't working. Stange that the barrier had forgotten to lower in lowering 3 aswell
Thank you! The bells have since been fixed, I've seen. This crossing is really showing its age now.
I think it is time for a renewal here with new barriers and E2S alarms
I'd rather moflash alarms
I'd rather just keep the bells cos I like the sound of them!
I don’t know why the didn’t just install alarms
I know they've been fixed now, but with that faulty barrier, I'm expecting this to have the same upgrade as Adelaide Road. P.S Congrats on 7K subs!
Thank you very much!
Nice video! You caught a lot of captures!
Thank you very much!