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Fixing the Level Crossing

(with thanks to Timmy Mallett)

(4 August 2003)

This weekend the level crossing at Cookham station was closed for major repairs. The track has been lifted 6 inches and 23 tons of ballast used to bring the track up. These bags each contain a ton of ballast and they had two bags left over on the site of the old signal box. It was a major job with a gang of up to 20 men involved and the head of engineering on the job said he hoped it would last longer than the last repair - a mere 18 months!

Railway Work in Progress

Work finished on time on Sunday afternoon and the tarmac was still warm in the late afternoon sun.

The sound of the barrier and the train

We think the half hourly sound of the level crossing going down is one of those reassuring sounds of Cookham  Rise. And our level crossing takes quite a pounding. As well as all that traffic the train  runs over our level crossing approximately 40 times a day. It's a busy little branch line, and we welcome the repair work.....

Billy on the Line

For the record, there were no trains on the branch line throughout Sunday when this picture was taken of Billy on the line!

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