Last Rites
It's a dour misty day over the fenland-like landscape of the River Humber's north bank, and the last rites of Crabley Creek Signal Box and semaphore signals are all but playing out.
Well, at least that was the plan. The £34m re-signalling project designed to eliminate all signal boxes and semaphore signals along the 9½ mile stretch from Gilberdyke to North Ferriby was ultimately successful - with the exception of the box at Crabley Creek. Required to serve Crabley Farm, which lies isolated on the banks of the Humber behind me, the deeds of the land specify that while ever there is a railway crossing just here, it must be manned.
So, the signal box, which at over 120 years just happened to be the oldest along this stretch, remains in use. It no longer controls signals (that takes place some 30 miles away at the York Rail Operating Centre), but the attendant on duty does monitor the location of trains on the track diagram to decide when it's safe for traffic to and from the farm to cross. With typically 10 trains an hour using the crossing, integrating the passage of tractors, especially during the busy harvest season, together with the occasional movement of livestock, can be quite a challenge.
In this shot, a 2-car Northern class 142 Pacer unit approaches under clear signals with a local train destined for Hull. Rather like the signals, the Pacer unit is now also consigned to the past. But at least some of the history here lives on.
2nd April 2014
Last Rites
It's a dour misty day over the fenland-like landscape of the River Humber's north bank, and the last rites of Crabley Creek Signal Box and semaphore signals are all but playing out.
Well, at least that was the plan. The £34m re-signalling project designed to eliminate all signal boxes and semaphore signals along the 9½ mile stretch from Gilberdyke to North Ferriby was ultimately successful - with the exception of the box at Crabley Creek. Required to serve Crabley Farm, which lies isolated on the banks of the Humber behind me, the deeds of the land specify that while ever there is a railway crossing just here, it must be manned.
So, the signal box, which at over 120 years just happened to be the oldest along this stretch, remains in use. It no longer controls signals (that takes place some 30 miles away at the York Rail Operating Centre), but the attendant on duty does monitor the location of trains on the track diagram to decide when it's safe for traffic to and from the farm to cross. With typically 10 trains an hour using the crossing, integrating the passage of tractors, especially during the busy harvest season, together with the occasional movement of livestock, can be quite a challenge.
In this shot, a 2-car Northern class 142 Pacer unit approaches under clear signals with a local train destined for Hull. Rather like the signals, the Pacer unit is now also consigned to the past. But at least some of the history here lives on.
2nd April 2014