South of Rockhampton inward Queensland , Commonwealth of Australia , are a publish of drawbridge-like crossings that deport 2-feet tracks of the Sugar Cane Railway operated yesteryear mortal saccharide mills over the electrified North Coast Line of the Queensland Railway. When locomotives of the Sugar Cane Railway , likewise known every bit Tramways , require to cross the mainline , the drawbridges are lowered , in addition to afterwards the trains bring passed , the 2 leaves of the bridges are raised upwardly again. Queensland is (possibly) the solely house inward the footing where drawbridges carrying railway tracks over around other twosome of railway tracks are found.
From the technology scientific discipline indicate of sentiment , drawbridges for tracks-over-tracks crossings are non necessary because such crossovers are easily handled yesteryear junctions , sometimes likewise called diamond crossing inward reference to the diamond-shaped center. The 2 tracks require non necessarily hold upwardly of the same gauge.
Photo credit: David Gubler / bahnbilder.ch
In Queensland , yet , the North Coast Line is crossed yesteryear the Sugar Cane Railway inward no less than xv locations. Three of these crossings bring either an underpass or overpass , only inward the remaining 12 crossings drawbridges are used. If regular diamond crossings were implemented inward each of these 12 locations , the high-speed “Tilt Trains” operating the North Coast Line would bring never ran at its desired speeds , since diamond crossings impose speed restrictions.
So , inward lodge to permit the Electric Tilt Trains , which are 1 of the fastest trains inward Commonwealth of Australia having a top speed of 160 km/h , to run at high speed , drawbridges were built instead of score crossings.
The drawbridge is e'er inward the upright position allowing Queensland Railway trains to pass. As a cane prepare approaches the drawbridge , the driver activates the drawbridge yesteryear a remote command inward the locomotive cabin. This changes the Queensland Railway signals to terminate in addition to starts lowering the drawbridge. Once the drawbridge is inward house , the cane prepare tin sack cross the Queensland Railway line. Once the cane prepare has passed , the drawbridge automatically lifts to clear the mainline rails in addition to returns the job signals to proceed. If a Queensland Railway prepare is approaching the drawbridge , the drawbridge volition non lower fifty-fifty if attempted to yesteryear the cane prepare driver. If the cane prepare does non terminate at the cherry signal , a “catch point” volition derail the cane prepare to preclude it from crossing the path of the high speed train.
Photo credit: David Gubler / bahnbilder.ch
Photo credit: David Gubler / bahnbilder.ch
What a normal railway crossing , likewise known every bit diamond crossing , looks like. Photo credit: Emmett Tullos/Flickr
Sources: www.sa-transport.co.za / Wikipedia