GWR Route: Hatton to Bearley and Alcester Branch

Great Alne Station: gwrga801

The Level Crossing at the Alcester end of the platform in 1949. The road lead down to a ford across the river Alne and then up to the village of Haselor. The level crossing was protected by the standard GWR medium hand gate arrangement; wooden construction with three panels, a mandatory ‘Board of Trade’ red target (for day time visibility) and oil lamps (for night time). When required, the gates at Great Alne were manually operated by the station porter. The porter was also responsible for the maintenance of the level crossing gate lamps and the lamp on the distance signal, which protected the crossing from the Alcester direction.

The level crossing gate bolts (fixed to the large black square gate posts) were released from a three-lever ground frame, which also controlled the interlocked up and down distance signals. Rule 99 of the Railway Clearing House standard rulebook required level crossing gates to ‘be kept closed against the roadway, except when required to be opened to allow the line to be crossed’, but with the increase in road traffic the law was changed in 1933 and upon application to the Minister of Transport level crossing gates could be normally closed across the railway. These crossings were called ‘Rule99 Exempt’.

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