Oddingley Level Crossing, Worcestershire

Date filmed: 12/10/2021
Videos filmed at: 15:01 | 15:16 | 15:34

Route: Bristol to Birmingham Main Line
Between Worcestershire Parkway and Bromsgrove Stations

Location: Church Lane, Oddingley
Trains:
Lowering 1 (0:00):
Class 220 (Cross Country) - 1:53
Plymouth ➡ Birmingham New Street
-
Lowering 2 (Starts at 2:36):
Class 170 (Cross Country) - 4:46
Cardiff Central ➡ Nottingham
-
Lowering 3 (Starts at 5:32):
1) Class 43 HST (Cross Country) - 7:14
Plymouth ➡ Edinburgh Waverley

2) Class 221 & 220 (Cross Country) - 8:28
Newcastle ➡ Penzance

A rural level crossing with an obstacle detection system dating back to 2016 located near the settlement of Oddingley to the north east of Worcester. The road here is fairly narrow (though at the level crossing it's not quite as narrow as the roads that lead up to it), and two full-road-width barriers, rather than four, completely block the road off for trains to pass, the cages of which are fairly recently-added 'Newgate' barrier cages. These barriers are located opposite each other on the same side of the road, and both accompanying alarms here are very quiet. The road around this level crossing is very quiet as this level crossing only accessed by snaking, narrow country lanes with a fair share of blind bends, and as a result, this level crossing could be expected to see more trains than vehicles or pedestrians at certain points in the day, with the ratio remaining fairly equal most of the time.

Another notable aspect of this level crossing is the twisted long shades on both of the wigwags on one side, and these have been twisted away from a nearby house to prevent light glare becoming a nuisance (which it is especially so when it gets dark). One of the wigwags on the side is thin, and at the time of filming, the alarm located on the supporting mast of this thin wigwag was hidden in amongst a tree just behind it. As the road approaching the level crossing heading west climbs up and is surrounded by hedges, the two wigwags for that side are also higher off the ground than usual.

Three different lowerings are featured in this video, the last of which features an iconic Class 43 'High Speed Train' set of top and tail powercar-hauled carriages. This icon of Britain's railways is now not as widely seen around as it once was (only as recently as a few years ago even), and may not be lasting too many years longer, so it's a bit of luck I saw this one here!

Thanks for watching!