Jump to content

Railway signs.


Dav and Pen

Featured Posts

2 minutes ago, 1st ade said:

And there is the excuse

 

We regularly have 44 tonners dropping off a bag of sugar and thereby "needing access"

"Environmental weight limits" usually have the exception, "real" weight limits, with a weak structure, usually don't, for fear of a repeat of the scene Pluto posted

 

I have specified weight restriction "plugs" that don't have an exception, just a few yards of highway - if you need to get access you can go to one side or the other but not through. Problem is someone needs to enforce it. 

When I was working on the upgrade to the Torpoint Ferries a side effect was they could take heavier lorries, which was a problem in Torpoint. Someone seriously suggested we should put weaker welds in the deck! :o 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's an ongoing problem with the lane, the weight limit isn't enforced at all as that would involve a detour of several miles. 

What really irritates me is that 80% of HGV'S that use it can actually get under the low railway bridge but as that's a slightly longer route it gets used as a rat run.

Local power station ash traffic is the main culprit,  to shave a minute or two off they use the restricted lane from 5 am every day. I asked one of the drivers once if he knew the meaning of "7.5T except for access".

"I'm accessing the other end of the road" was his reply. 

I'd be quite happy to discover a few loose bricks under the listed bridge..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to live near a railway bridge with a weight and a 7ft width limit - the width limit was meant to enforce the weight limit by being too narrow for hgvs. Initially the bridge approaches were flanked by 6 inch diameter steel tubes 7 ft apart. They got squashed within days. Their replacements were heavy steel I beams set in concrete. It wasn't too long before they were leaning back at approaching  45 degrees.  The problem only got solved when the bridge deck was replaced and the weight and width restrictions removed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, noddyboater said:

It's also ironic as the bridge now has to accommodate HGV's over 30 tons on a daily basis. This is despite the road being signed 7.5T except for access on either end as it's an alternative route to avoid a low railway crossing

There's a low railway bridge in Durham, South Carolina, that has it's own YouTube channel.  A while back they jacked the bridge up by 8 inches, but it still catches victims, like this one:

 

  • Haha 1
  • Horror 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 1st ade said:

@magpie patrick and @noddyboater - and there is the nub of the problem - "Don't care" on one side (by the lorry) and "Apathy" on the other (by enforcement)

ANPR is getting cheaper and likely to revolutionise enforcement as it has already for speed, jumping lights and bus lanes- in car parks we're already seeing ANPR on individual spaces whereas it used to be whole car parks - as ANPR is linked back not only to the registered keeper but to vehicle type enforcement becomes easier. Early enforcement required "weigh in motion" because the record with vehicle type couldn't be retrieved, not any more. 

On the "except for access" TRO's are changing (not the legislation, the wording of orders) to make them more readily enforced by cameras

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be honest the main issue with overweight vehicles using Smeath lane isn't the listed bridge over the canal,  it's that the road isn't suitable for them at all.

The 40 mph is ignored,  there's a series of double bends with limited visibility where HGV'S have no option but to straggle the centre line of the road. It's up to anyone going the other way to get out of their way which isn't too bad in a car, but double decker school buses have recently started using the lane. A compounding problem is local hauliers on the power station ash job like to travel in convey,  a meeting with a school bus wouldn't have a pleasant outcome. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, David Mack said:

There's a low railway bridge in Durham, South Carolina, that has it's own YouTube channel.  A while back they jacked the bridge up by 8 inches, but it still catches victims, like this one:

 

Doesn't it peel the lorry's roof neatly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going back to the start, it would appear no one really has a good explnantion for how an LNWR sign ended up on a GWR owned bridge - thinking about it, I'm surprised at how similar the signs are (there may have been an edict about this) so is it possible they were all manufactured by a third party and the GWR ended up with the wrong one? We sometimess end up with Wlsh Language road work signs in Somerset because the same contractors work both sides of the severn estuary.

 

50 minutes ago, Athy said:

Doesn't it peel the lorry's roof neatly?

 Indeed it does - not what I expected to happen! That driver will have some explaining to do back at the depot... :o 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Athy said:

Doesn't it peel the lorry's roof neatly?

I assume (as per the title "Perfect Peel") that the video captured hundreds of vehicles from "shaving the paint" to destroying the vehicle (or the barrier). That particular clip was "perfect"

 

It does show, though, how there is almost zero strength in an empty cube designed to sit on a truck chassis with the design aim of minimum weight / maximum volume.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

<snip> We sometimess end up with Wlsh Language road work signs in Somerset because the same contractors work both sides of the severn estuary.

 

 Indeed it does - not what I expected to happen! That driver will have some explaining to do back at the depot... :o 

Spotted in Stow On The Wold in the Cotswolds!

I also saw a Welsh roadworks sign just outside Evesham last week.

stownwyvan.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.