Date filmed: Monday the 13th of May 2024
Videos filmed between 11:17 and 11:53
Route: Tyne Valley Line
- Prudhoe (PRU) Station
Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barrier crossing (MCB)
Filming location: Station Road, Prudhoe (NE42 6NR)
About 35 minutes' worth of Railway action at this level crossing located beside Prudhoe Railway Station on the Tyne Valley Line - a passenger line which connects Newcastle with Carlisle in the far north of England. If you've ever worried about the future of Semaphore signals - mechanical ones at that - then this video will put you at ease as they are abundant here and have no sign of any upcoming replacement, all still worked from a largely mechanical signal box. Indeed, a lot of the Tyne Valley Line is still signalled under the old 'Absolute Block' regulations from signal box to signal box - one train in one section at one time, and they communicate using Morse Code-style specified bell signals. This line has tonnes of them! Northern passenger services make up a majority of the featured traffic in this video, serving one of the line's most-served stations, as well as a Class 66 locomotive hauling a rather embarrassing load.
There are loud alarms at this level crossing, and the road here is quite busy with a weak and narrow bridge just beyond it. Marked footways exist on both sides of the road here over the crossing, though on the 'signal box' side of the road it's very pedestrian un-friendly. The signal box here towers over the level crossing, and is indeed where it continues to be controlled from - long may it be so. I hope you enjoy these videos!
Trains featured:
Lowering 1 (0:00):
156 488 (Northern) - 1:36
2W19 Nunthorpe ➡ Hexham | 1 minute late
-
Lowering 2 (2:14):
156 471 (Northern) - 4:13
2A28 Carlisle ➡ Morpeth | On-time
-
Lowering 3 (4:49):
66 538 (Freightliner) & 5 empty flatbed wagons - 5:43
6E48 Carlisle New Yard ➡ Tyne Sorting Sidings | On-time
-
Lowering 4 - Very dim amber light (6:21):
158 845 (Northern) - 7:06
2N15 Morpeth ➡ Carlisle | 7 minutes late
-
Lowering 5 (7:41):
156 483 (Northern) - 8:18
1N62 Carlisle ➡ Newcastle | On-time
-
End-of-video picture showcase: 9:08
Train details sourced from:
Real Time Trains: www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...
Filmed on: Panasonic HC-VX1 in 4K 25fps
Thanks for watching!