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Modelling Level Crossings: Real Life Inspiration

By Iain, 22nd September 2023 | General

Level crossings are an integral part of a railway and make for a great scenic feature on any layout, from the steam era to today's modern railways.

But what items & features do level crossing contain & how can they be modelled?

In this guide, we'll take a look at the real-world prototypes, as well as what is available in model form for creating a level crossing or two on your layout.

Level Crossings Brief History

A level crossing is where a footpath, road, or track, crosses a railway at the same level. Originally, when railways were just cartways with horses pulling carts on wrought iron or wooden plateways, gates were provided at crossing points. This was to prevent animals from straying onto the cartway/plateway. Later, during the steam era and as the railways rapidly expanded, level crossings became more commonplace with various types of crossings developed.

These crossings include occupation, accommodation, and public crossings. An occupation crossing is where a railway crosses a private road or track. An accommodation crossing is where the railway divides and splits private land in two, such as a field. The accommodation crossing, allows a farmer to move their herd across the railway into another field. Private crossings, as mentioned, the user was responsible for their safe use. Public footpaths were provided with crossing stiles over the railway boundary fences, whilst public roads and highways had gates. As each new railway was built, the use and conditions of such level crossings on the new line were determined by each Act of Parliament.

In the late 1830s and early 1840s, the government implemented new standards & safety measures for public level crossings. This was in order to enhance public and railway safety. As the 1800s progressed and railway and signalling technology advanced, level crossings became interconnected with signal boxes. In cases where the level crossing was not connected to a signal box, it was necessary for a crossing keeper to manage the level crossing. Later in the 1800s, the Board of Trade gained the authority to compel railway companies to construct bridges over or under roads on all new railway lines. Ultimately this eliminated the need for providing a house and salary for the crossing keepers, making it cheaper & safer in the long run.

After World War II, railways began to modernise, which brought many changes to the network, including the upgrading of level crossings. Unsupervised automated level crossings started replacing traditional swing-gated crossings. Automated crossings featured warning lights, alarm bells, and lifting half barriers. Some new automated crossings had no gates at all, only warning lights and bells. This again, placed the responsibility on users of the crossing, to observe and act according to the newly installed safety equipment. British Railways launched a significant safety campaign at the time to educate the public. However, with the half barriers and ungated crossings, some members of the public ignored them and would go around the barriers or cross the crossing with the warning lights in operation. Naturally, this resulted in near misses, injuries, or even loss of life.

Full-length lifting type barriers are now more commonplace, being much safer than half-barrier and ungated types. However, some ungated crossings and half-barrier crossings can still be found around the rail network. Network Rail is now pursuing a policy of replacing level crossings with bridges or closing them altogether, where possible.

It's worth taking time to photograph level crossings. In my area alone, a number of crossings have now been closed, downgraded to foot crossings, or replaced by road bridges.

A look at real prototype examples

Depending on the time period, level crossings would have swing-type gates. These would be made mainly out of timber. They featured some form of red warning panel &/or a warning lamp mounted on the gate. The gates vary in style depending on the railway company and location. Some crossings would have just two large gates, while others would have four gates. The crossing may often have had smaller pedestrian gates too. The gates would be painted white, whilst ironwork on the gates would be painted black. A mesh grid would be fitted on the gates to prevent anyone from climbing through the gaps. The side approaches of the crossing would have wooden fencing usually painted in white to prevent people and animals from straying onto the line.

The road surface on the crossing, would either be baulks of timber laid across the width of the roadway, or a mixture of timber baulks and asphalt. The photo below is from Ian P and features Ian as a youngster at Westbury. It's worth taking time to study Ian's photo for the period details, including the road surface across the crossing.

Westbury - IanP

As mentioned above, the design and style of level crossing gates varied across the country. The image below at Lairg, Scotland, is another example. Lairg is located on the far north line, with its level crossing located just outside the station. Note the different styles of gates and also the red-painted warning panel. The red lamp panel on the gate makes for an interesting feature. Another feature to note is that the road crosses the line at an angle rather than 90 degrees. The Highland Railway signal box to the left behind the crossing controls both the line and the level crossing.

John R Walker - Lairg Scotland

Forward to more recent times, and here is the same location again. The swing gates have been removed along with the signal box. The crossing is now automated with half barriers and warning lights. Note the addition of anti-trespass panels and palisade fencing, as well as the Network Rail road surface crossing panels.

Lairg crossing today - Streetview

Another type of level-crossing gate was found at Redcar. The image below, by Ian Barker, shows a picket-style crossing gate. Due to the length of the gates, they were mounted on rubber wheels. They, in turn, are motorised to enable them to be remotely open or closed. The gates were operated by the signal box.

Ian Barker - Redcar

In the image below, the same location a few years later sees the picket-style gates replaced by modern curtain-style barriers. Unlike boom lifting barriers, these slide out from fenced recesses across the road. Again by remote operation.

Level Crossing - Redcar - Street View

Another level crossing that has seen changes is Whitelaw Level Crossing, between Wester Hailes & Curriehill. Seen in the photo below by club member Calderdepot, which was taken by his father in 1979. The gates were removed sometime in the early 80s, and the crossing was downgraded to a foot crossing. Notice again the style of gates in this image, as well as the lack of safety signage.

Calderdepot (Father) - Whitlaw Crossing

The same crossing now serves pedestrians and cyclists today. Note the safety signage, which provides instructions on how to use the crossing, as well as the traffic light-style warning lights for users of the crossing.

Whitlaw Crossing Streetview

Level crossings in urban areas can present interesting variations, as pointed out by club member David N. One such example is St. Dunstan's Crossing in Canterbury. Since this street view image was taken, the crossing gates have been replaced with full curtain boom barriers. Additionally, the warning lights have been modified to accommodate taller vehicles by adopting a narrower design. It is worth mentioning that pedestrians have the option to use a subway located to the left of the crossing, allowing them to pass under the line when the barriers are down.

St. Dunstans Crossing Canterbury- Streeview

Not all level crossings are for public use. Club member RoyB's example from street view shows Achanalt Station and a private level crossing. The crossing features large gates in a metal farm bar gate style for vehicles. A smaller pedestrian gate is provided for rail passengers to access the platforms

Achanalt Station & private crossing - Streetview

A modern-day accommodation crossing, which in this case is also a public bridleway. Located at Bessacarr Junction on the Lincoln to Doncaster line. This crossing was upgraded a few years ago with mesh-style fencing and farm-style crossing gates as can be seen here. The track/road surface on the crossing has also been upgraded with Network Rail crossing road panels. Important details to note include the safety signage and crossing phone. Also, note the concrete gate stopper block complete with a metal hook for holding the gate open.

Photo - My personal collection - Bessacarr Junction Level Crossing

The next photo shows another style of level crossing near Hensall, which Network Rail has closed in recent years to vehicle traffic. It is now repurposed for pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders. Details to note here, include palisade fencing, wooden sprung gates, armco crash barriers, safety signage, and a phone.

Photo - My personal collection

Another additional feature on the above crossing includes a set of mounting steps with handrails. Note the large wooden post to the right of the steps, complete with a metal ring for horse riders to secure their horses to.

Photo - My personal collection

Other crossing details

On today's level crossings, various other details can be found. Here are a few we've spotted:

The half-barrier crossing seen below features red-light traffic cameras on either side of the crossing. The traditional cameras seem to be in the process of being replaced with newer taller cameras. The white pole behind the camera appears to have some form of a wireless communications device mounted on top of it.

Photo - My personal collection

Again, at the same crossing, yellow hazard-painted road markings and lane markings can be observed. Note the standard Network Rail road surface panels.

Photo - My personal collection

With level crossings being remotely operated, many crossings now have CCTV cameras. Floodlighting is also a common feature, both of which are seen in the image below.

Photo - My personal collection

Usually located next to the crossing, equipment boxes, like the one seen in the image below.

Photo - My personal collection

Anti-trespass panels, either in timber or the newer rubber black panel type, can be found on both sides of crossings. The example below showcases the older wooden panels. Further examination of the photo reveals that the road crossing surface is made of concrete panels. Additionally, there is a speed limit instruction sign for train drivers and treadle boxes.

Photo - My personal collection - Hensell

A closer view of the treadle boxes. They are used when a track circuit requires additional information about a train's location & also to activate the crossing barriers & warning lights on automatic level crossing, as in this case.

Photo - My personal collection - Hensell

On a high-speed mainline, such as this location near Askern on the ECML, this level crossing has equipment in the form of bar rods. These are anchored to the track bed and the sides of the road crossing panels. Note also the angled deflector plates in the track four-foot section.