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A bit of a stretch but any idea where in the Reading area this might have been?

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BasildonBob

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My local paper, the Reading Chronicle, occasionally publishes photos from their archives with suitably amusing "goodness me, look at that" type captions. They recently included one of a user operated crossing which they thought might have been somewhere between Reading and Newbury.

There's very little to go on but I just wondered whether anyone might have an idea whereabouts the photo might have been taken?

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18636218.step-back-1960s-newspaper/#gallery1

Reading Chronicle old railway crossing.jpg
 
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yorksrob

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I never knew that the late Peter Sellars worked as a crossing keeper !
 

BrianW

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This reminded me of the Ufton Nervet tragedy. That car looks like it's virtually on the track. Is the guy opening or closing the gate? Either way the gates shut on the other side.
I can see this guy as a kind of Goon or Dr Strangelove 'character' and recall that Sellers had mental health issues, dying at 54. The suicide car driver at Ufton Nevert was 48 and the six fatalities on the train aged 6 to 72 including the driver.
We are still paying the price of such use of crossings.
 

geoffk

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This reminded me of the Ufton Nervet tragedy. That car looks like it's virtually on the track. Is the guy opening or closing the gate? Either way the gates shut on the other side.
We are still paying the price of such use of crossings.
Surely Ufton Nervet had an AHB crossing, not user-worked. How is it relevant?
 

BrianW

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Surely Ufton Nervet had an AHB crossing, not user-worked. How is it relevant?
I have no idea about the detail of the Ufton Nevert layout; I do know that a car driver committed suicide by being on the track, and killed six others.
The picture posted here shows a car 'parked' on a crossing.
That's 'relevant' as I see it.
I found the picture horrifying- and as I said it 'reminded me of the Ufton Nevert tragedy', however wrongly as you may see it.
I think if I had known someone killed on a level crossing I might well see 'relevance' here.
My understanding is that the RAIB continues to have concern about the safety of level crossings:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings
Ufton Nervet is only 7 miles from Reading and many readers of the Chronicle may have memories.
 

WesternLancer

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My local paper, the Reading Chronicle, occasionally publishes photos from their archives with suitably amusing "goodness me, look at that" type captions. They recently included one of a user operated crossing which they thought might have been somewhere between Reading and Newbury.

There's very little to go on but I just wondered whether anyone might have an idea whereabouts the photo might have been taken?

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18636218.step-back-1960s-newspaper/#gallery1

View attachment 83086
The style of the warning sign looks similar to types I associate with the Southern Railway (possibly LSWR in origin), potentially mounted on old bullhead rail (another southern habit, like signal posts made of rail) but I suspect other lines did that too.
Is that a clue of any use?
 

geoffk

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Yes the photo looks worrying although it doesn't look like a main line.

As I see it, level crossings are perfectly safe, provided road users obey the signs and signals. The rail operator is rarely, if ever, to blame for a collision. But how often does a highway authority contribute to the cost of a bridge or underpass?
 
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WesternLancer

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I have no idea about the detail of the Ufton Nevert layout; I do know that a car driver committed suicide by being on the track, and killed six others.
The picture posted here shows a car 'parked' on a crossing.
That's 'relevant' as I see it.
I found the picture horrifying- and as I said it 'reminded me of the Ufton Nevert tragedy', however wrongly as you may see it.
I think if I had known someone killed on a level crossing I might well see 'relevance' here.
My understanding is that the RAIB continues to have concern about the safety of level crossings:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings
Ufton Nervet is only 7 miles from Reading and many readers of the Chronicle may have memories.
I would have through the gent in question is using the crossing in an authorised manner (albeit the manner authrised at the time).

The sign advises you to stop (and that is required to operate the gate any way), and I suspect the camera lens has made the car look closer to the track than it in fact is. Is it possible it is a single track line? I can't quite be sure from the angle of the picture.

There is presumably another person there to close the gate behind the car (the photographer if no one else) .
 

JB_B

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GW Railwayana Auctions have listed that style of warning sign as LSWR/SR


(But I don't know if that's relevant or even accurate. )

The car appears to have a Southampton registration.
 

alxndr

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The style of the warning sign looks similar to types I associate with the Southern Railway (possibly LSWR in origin), potentially mounted on old bullhead rail (another southern habit, like signal posts made of rail) but I suspect other lines did that too.
Is that a clue of any use?

I've seen rail repurposed in all sorts of ways outside of the Southern region so not necessarily a clue, it was most likely just seen as some handy scrap that could be reused.

The sign advises you to stop (and that is required to operate the gate any way), and I suspect the camera lens has made the car look closer to the track than it in fact is. Is it possible it is a single track line? I can't quite be sure from the angle of the picture.

To me it looks double track.
 

yorksrob

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Aren't there a couple of level crossings on the SR line between Reading and Wokingham ?
 

WesternLancer

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I've seen rail repurposed in all sorts of ways outside of the Southern region so not necessarily a clue, it was most likely just seen as some handy scrap that could be reused.



To me it looks double track.
Indeed, but post #10 more or less confirms the sign is LSWR in origin, pointing to an SR route not a GW/WR line perhaps
 

Gloster

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If that is an LSWR sign, then could it have been one put up on the old Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Line at some time.
 

Colin1501

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I have no idea about the detail of the Ufton Nevert layout; I do know that a car driver committed suicide by being on the track, and killed six others.
The picture posted here shows a car 'parked' on a crossing.
That's 'relevant' as I see it.
I found the picture horrifying- and as I said it 'reminded me of the Ufton Nevert tragedy', however wrongly as you may see it.
I think if I had known someone killed on a level crossing I might well see 'relevance' here.
My understanding is that the RAIB continues to have concern about the safety of level crossings:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings/summary-of-learning-1-design-and-operation-of-user-worked-level-crossings
Ufton Nervet is only 7 miles from Reading and many readers of the Chronicle may have memories.


Looking further at the safety and correct operation point, if you zoom in and look carefully, I think the gate on the far side of the crossing is also open, away from the track, as per the nearer gate, and normal for an occupation ot user worked crossing. So where is the problem?
 

GusB

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If the car is in the same area where it was registered, the 'CR' part of number plate indicates it was Portsmouth registered (if it was photographed prior to 1974).

It also looks to me that the car isn't actually straddling the line.
 

edwin_m

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It's a bit peculiar. The presence of a hut suggests a keeper-worked crossing. The keeper would have duplicate block bells and/or instruments to be able to tell whether there was a train in section (though this was far from foolproof and several accidents resulted) or even their own set of signals to stop any approaching trains. However the besuited gentleman holding the gate doesn't look like a crossing keeper, and the "Shut gate" (at least I assume that's what is says) sign suggests a user-worked crossing. Also he can't have got out to close the gate as his car is preventing that, so the photo is probably posed. The hut also appears to be perfectly placed to block the view of trains approaching from the left!
 

Beebman

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Having lived in the area for over fifty years I'm going to take a stab at where I think it might be. Just to the east of Earley Station on the south side of the line is a cul-de-sac called Pond Head Lane. Old OS maps show a sort of continuation of it on the other side of the line but they're not consistent on showing it as a road or a path, however it exists today as a footpath between two housing estates both built in the 1960s - and if it had been a proper full-sized road then surely the developers would have made use of it?

Anyway the old maps do show some sort of crossing here but none of them positively identify it as a level crossing, indeed a 1944 1:10,560 map on the NLS site suggests that it might have been a bridge under an embankment, but the current Google Street View shows the end of Pond Head Lane as appearing to be level with the railway:

https://goo.gl/maps/xW7GHrKdJH2ZHuGC6

Going off to the left of that GSV scene can be seen a path which goes through a subway under the railway and the A329(M) (now the A3290) so there must have been a public right of way across the railway which needed maintaining when the road was built in the early 1970s. Therefore I'm wondering if that press photo shows the crossing before it was closed when the road construction started? As I've said I can't find any firm evidence that there was any sort of level crossing at Pond Head Lane but my guess is that there was one, and if so then it was probably lightly used.
 

Merle Haggard

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Could the sign reading '.....T GATES' (visible through the gate) be the cabin nameboard?
Referring to an old copy of the SR wtt appendices the only crossing box in the Reading area shown is Star Lane Crossing, between Bracknell and Wokingham - given as 1 mile 286 yards from Wokingham Station box.
 
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brstd4260

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I'd be surprised if it was Pond Head Lane. It is and has been level with the railway since at least the late 20's / mid 30's when the current houses were built. The other side of the railway/A3290 is a good 20' lower than the Pond Head Lane side so I doubt a proper level crossing would have been built here. Also before the Southlake development was built in the 70's, the other side was I'm pretty sure mainly woodland and although there are trees in the photo's, they don't look heavy enough for woodland
 

BasildonBob

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Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far - I'm very impressed given how little there is to go on!

Beebman's suggestion is a very interesting one; the Woodley History Society seems to confirm the existence of a level crossing prior to the 1970s.

Today, access to Drovers Way (and Woodley) from Earley, is via a tunnel from Pond Head Lane beneath both the railway line and the A329M. Prior to construction of the motorway in the early 1970s, an unmanned level crossing had existed from the opening of the railway line in 1849. With just one property on the Woodley side, namely a small cottage, vehicular traffic over the lines was minimal to say the least. No doubt as an aid for passengers to shorten their walk to Earley Station from Woodley, a narrow footpath diverged a short distance to the north of the cottage; in doing so running diagonally in a south westerly direction to a style that provided access to a foot crossing over the lines.

Sadly in March 1940 a tragic accident occurred on the unmanned level crossing when a delivery van operated by Messrs Ferguson, wine and spirit merchants, was endeavouring to make a delivery to the cottage. Having opened the gates, the driver, John Viner, never double checked that the line was clear. By the time that he was on the first set of rails a Reading bound electric train was a mere twelve feet away!
http://www.woodley.gov.uk/about-woodley/history-local-walks/u3a-woodley-transport

RMweb also has a discussion about the use of gates for crossings on railway land which includes the following response:

Earley (goods yard) gated up until the building of the A329M I lived nearby across the line on what was Pond Head lane which had a hardly used level crossing"

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120611-level-crossing-on-railway-property/
 
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bangor-toad

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Hi,
Just as a suggestion:

What about Waterloo Road crossing between Wokingham and Bracknell?
The current GoogleMaps image shows there's a rise required for the road to cross the tracks.
Google Maps link
If you go to the map view you can see the grass / parkland in the distance.

Looking at the NLS maps there's some evidence of a SB in the right place for the image.
NLS Side by Side link

I don't know the area in detail enough to be sure but this looks possible.
Cheers,
Mr Toad
 

JB_B

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Hi,
Just as a suggestion:

What about Waterloo Road crossing between Wokingham and Bracknell?
The current GoogleMaps image shows there's a rise required for the road to cross the tracks.
Google Maps link
If you go to the map view you can see the grass / parkland in the distance.

Looking at the NLS maps there's some evidence of a SB in the right place for the image.
NLS Side by Side link

I don't know the area in detail enough to be sure but this looks possible.
Cheers,
Mr Toad


Maybe.

For...

+ The concrete pylon gatepost is a good match for the surviving fence posts.

+ There's clearly rising ground in the distance to the left of the road ahead which could fit with Easthamstead Park

Maybe...

? From this angle, could the wires crossing the line here be just visible at the extreme right top? (compare this photo: http://abcrailwayguide.uk/images/crossings/lc_2154.jpg )

Against...

- Looks very much like a single track, unmetalled road which is more suggestive of an occupation crossing. As far as I can tell, the OS Map (1:25000 1937-61 ) gives the road as 'good, metalled' which this doesn't seem to be.
 
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The Reading Chronicle was previously the Reading and Berkshire Chronicle, so perhaps the photograph is somewhere outside the immediate vicinity of Reading.
Could it be somewhere on the Lambourn branch? The Lambourn Valley Railway Info website lists a railtour in October 1969, and has a photo captioned 'the last train approaches Lambourn'. So it appears that the 1968 photo could be of anywhere on the line.
https://www.lambournvalleyrailway.info/bryears.html
In particular, could it be Bockhampton level crossing? The LVR website has photos.
https://www.lambournvalleyrailway.info/bockhampton.html
 

BrianW

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Dates? I think that car's a Riley, built in the 1960s, and its cleanliness esp on a dirt road suggests it's fairly new and being proudly photographed, somewhere 'out of the way'?
The guy is also 1960s 'smart casual' with his turnupless slacks, slip-on shoes and design of tie, showing off for his photograph-taking girlfriend perhaps. The caption relates it as 1968.
The Ascot-Reading line was electrified 3rd rail by 1939- no sign of that in the photo. southernposters.co.uk/Destinations/ascotandreadinge.html
I note the shed/cabin/hut has a tarpaulin over its curved roof and its walls are vertically boarded- must be some company's design? Curtains at the window- normal?
The discs on the crossing gates are larger than Bockhampton.
Can anyone read or guess at the words in the car rear window or on the far gate?
The 'road' is not rutted, nor has it any grass or weeds (except a few at the base of the LSWR looking tapered and chamfered concrete post), so cared for while not much used...
The conundrum continues ...
 

30907

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The Ascot-Reading line was electrified 3rd rail by 1939- no sign of that in the photo. southernposters.co.uk/Destinations/ascotandreadinge.html
I note the shed/cabin/hut has a tarpaulin over its curved roof and its walls are vertically boarded- must be some company's design? Curtains at the window- normal?
The discs on the crossing gates are larger than Bockhampton.
Can anyone read or guess at the words in the car rear window or on the far gate?
The 'road' is not rutted, nor has it any grass or weeds (except a few at the base of the LSWR looking tapered and chamfered concrete post), so cared for while not much used...
The conundrum continues ...
You wouldn't see 3rd rail at a level crossing, and even the cattle guards could be hidden by the car.
The cabin is unusual, having a flat porch/shelter. Its existence is a puzzle, too, for an unstaffed crossing - possibly it was staffed at certain times, or had been previously (wartime?) and the platelayers had appropriated it later.
It is clearly not Bockhampton which had a different style hut and was single track.

I'd be surprised if it was Pond Head Lane. It is and has been level with the railway since at least the late 20's / mid 30's when the current houses were built. The other side of the railway/A3290 is a good 20' lower than the Pond Head Lane side so I doubt a proper level crossing would have been built here. Also before the Southlake development was built in the 70's, the other side was I'm pretty sure mainly woodland and although there are trees in the photo's, they don't look heavy enough for woodland
The levels shown in the 1:2500 map look to be consistent with the photo
As to the woodland, the map shows the area beyond the railway as mainly brushwood, which would be too low to see in the picture.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/104198017

Uncertain, but possible, and the nearest we have so far to an identification.
 

MotCO

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Dates? I think that car's a Riley, built in the 1960s, and its cleanliness esp on a dirt road suggests it's fairly new

It looks to be missing its rear bumper, so maybe not so new or pristine. The number plate dates the car from before 1963 when A -suffix reg plates came in.

Also, what wording appears above the red circle on the opposite gates? Does it normally say something like "Stop and listen", or does it usually give the location? It looks as though there are three words written there, and could start with a P, which strengthens the Pond Head Lane theory.
 
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BrianW

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You wouldn't see 3rd rail at a level crossing,
Agreed.

and even the cattle guards could be hidden by the car.
I'd have expected to see these between the car's right front wing and the left gate post opposite- maybe not?

I would also have hoped to see some signs re danger, electrics, etc?

An 'improved' ex GWR hut on a now disused ex LSWR line, and a car with no rear bumper (well-observed) on an otherwise well cared for car- it's starting to feel rather strange. I'm warming to the notions of earlier postings- a Kray outcast living here with his dad's getaway car and his moll ... nabbed by Knacker of the yard and captured by the Reading Chronicle's own. Imagination working overtime now ...

Or maybe a military site? Arborfield?
 
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