Felixstowe Beach Level Crossing, Felixstowe, Suffolk
Date filmed: 26/10/2020
Route: Felixstowe Branch Line (Entrance to Felixstowe South)
- Timetable used: Felixstowe Beach (on Realtime Trains)
Location: A154 Beach Station Road / Walton Avenue, Felixstowe
Trains:
Class 66 (DB Cargo UK) "Maritime Intermodal Four" - 1:11
Wakefield Europort ➡ Felixstowe South DBC
This level crossing is on the very busy A154 which runs through the Suffolk seaside and port town of Felixstowe, at the railway entrance to the southern end of the very busy Port of Felixstowe - the start/end of the journey of many container trains heading across the east and midlands of the country. This level crossing is located next to the now-abandoned Felixstowe Beach Station, the abandoned platform of which is located in clear view next to this level crossing. Whilst the Felixstowe branch line's hourly passenger services heading to and from Ipswich diverge at nearby Felixstowe Beach Junction to head to the current Felixstowe Station, this single-track branch line continues down the small gradient from Trimley Station as to bring the railway to near sea-level at the site of the abandoned station, to allow trains to gain access to and exit the port at the necessary level. Only a handful of freight trains per day typically use this branch line, and they have to stop and wait for clearance at one of two nearby signals whilst the level crossing is being lowered and proven clear, as to prevent more disruption than necessary to users of this very busy road through Felixstowe which crosses the short branch line at this level crossing between Felixstowe Creek Sidings and the abandoned platform of Felixstowe Beach Station, though this doesn't always work, since trains heading into the port often briefly stop on the level crossing whilst they gain access to the southern end of the port.
All four barriers here at this level crossing have supporter arms and are in a tired state, since two strike the floor pretty hard when they lower, with all four looking rather aged, rusty, and dirty due to the sea air despite slightly newer and cleaner barrier arms. For such a busy level crossing, both alarms here are incredibly quiet despite the fact that pedestrian traffic on one of the two footways at this level crossing is quite high. One of these alarms has a fairly low-ish tone, as can be heard in this video. This level crossing is monitored and controlled via CCTV.
As it entered the southern end of the Port of Felixstowe, the passing freight train, finishing its journey from Wakefield Europort - a Maritime Class 66 hauling a container train - briefly stopped on the level crossing as it gained entry to the port. This increased the amount of time for which the barriers were lowered, since the level crossing was active for a total of just over 5 minutes in the end. Felixstowe Creek Sidings can be seen at the end of the video where I walk over the single-track at this level crossing. You can also see a class 08 shunter in the Creek Sidings during the walk-over at the end.
Thanks for watching!