Fallodon Level Crossing, Northumberland

Date filmed: Tuesday the 14th of May 2024
Videos filmed between 17:49 and 18:18
Route: East Coast Main Line (ECML)
- Between Alnmouth (ALM) and Chathill (CHT) Stations
Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barrier crossing with CCTV (MCB-CCTV)
Filming location: Christon Bank, Alnwick (NE66 3HE)
A level crossing located on a skew angle near the village of Christon Bank right near the Northumberland Coast. It's quite a long crossing for one with just two tracks - not only because of the skew angle but also the fact that the road across it isn't particularly straight at the crossing. Trains pass this location very quickly even though they have to slow slightly to 110mph for a bend in the railway right near this crossing, and for north-bound trains there's a whistle board instructing them to sound the horn for a nearby user-worked / footpath crossing - resulting in a brilliant 'doppler effect' off of one of the featured trains. A small, private station existed here until 1934, and trains would stop if they were requested to in advance. This video features about half an hour's railway action here at this level crossing with fairly loud alarms, both of which are rather new and one of which has a very fast tone.
Being within two hours of Edinburgh City Centre by road and within only about 30 miles of the Eastern side of the England / Scotland border, this level crossing, at the time of filming and publishing, was the most northerly level crossing I've visited, and the furthest out from where I'm based - a good nearly six hours and 350 miles by road down south if you have a clear run and don't stop! I know, don't laugh if you're in a much larger country - it's quite a way for us on this little island! However, this may have since been elapsed by quite a bit, and it wasn't my most northerly / furthest out for a particularly long time...
What's also unique about this crossing is its skirtless barriers - despite having a fairly recent barrier renewal, barrier skirts to stop things going under them were never added as pedestrian usage is infrequent and risk fairly low, and as such it still has the longest skirtless barriers of any full-barrier crossing anywhere. Please excuse the annoying drop of rain on the lens in the last clip, but I hope the inventive shot of the Northbound Lumo (the thumbnail of this video) makes up for it!
Trains featured:
Lowering 1 (0:00):
Class 801/2 (LNER Azuma) - 1:43
1E24 Edinburgh Waverley ➡ London Kings Cross | 2 minutes early
-
Lowering 2 (2:17):
220 030 (Cross Country) - 3:45
1V71 Edinburgh Waverley ➡ Bristol Temple Meads | On-time
-
Lowering 3 (4:19):
221 137 (Cross Country) - 5:11
1S47 Penzance ➡ Edinburgh Waverley | On-time
-
Lowering 4 (5:48):
70 815 (Colas Rail) - 6:55
6E36 Millerhill Sorting Sidings ➡ Doncaster Up Decoy | 4 minutes early
Also passed:
Class 80x (LNER Azuma)
1S21 London Kings Cross ➡ Edinburgh Waverley | On-time
-
Lowering 5 (7:41):
803 305 (Lumo) - 8:48
1S97 London Kings Cross ➡ Edinburgh Waverley | On-time
-
End-of-video picture showcase: 9:33
Train details sourced from:
Real Time Trains: www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...
Open Train Times: www.opentraintimes.com/maps
Traksy: traksy.uk/live
Filmed on: Panasonic HC-VX1 in 4K 25fps
Thanks for watching!

[@berks-southeast-lc-cjr]

I always thought of a crossing exactly like this and thought there’s none like it but this proves me wrong

[@NWLevelCrossings]

Brilliant Videos! Like this skirtless, long barrier crossing! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Many thanks! I love it

[@Tyler3231f]

I like that the barriers have no skirting on them and also great videos! Keep up the great work SELC & TC

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thanks very much! I've always found these skirtless ones quite cool too, especially these ones as they're quite long, new, and still skirtless

[@Tyler3231f]

​@@SouthEastLevelCrossings What are you favourite types of level crossings?

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

@@Tyler3231f I quite like these full-barrier ones personally.

[@NorthWestLevelCrossingsChannel]

Excellent video and crossing 👍

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thank you very much!

[@WelshTrainspottingYT]

Been waiting for this crossing! Outstanding shots :)

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thank you very much! I really wanted to make here in the time I had, and I did.

[@SouthWestCrossingsUK]

Nice video! Awesome double pass! Those alarms are buzzing, they also sound like they are starting and stopping at different times but it is probably just the echo

[@levelcrossingcreations3731]

It's because they are so far away it takes longer for the sound to travel

[@SouthWestCrossingsUK]

@@levelcrossingcreations3731 i know

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thank you! I really like the fast one tbh. The crossing's length would make it seem that way as the sound needs a little time to travel.

[@freebrickproductions]

Great video and crossing! That distance to that crossing from where ya live ain't bad, it's about 355 miles/5 hours (right now) from my house to Mobile, AL, if I were to follow I-65 the whole way down. I could save 20 miles if I were to take a slightly more direct way (and avoid Montgomery as a result), but it'd add about half an hour onto the trip. Of course, Alabama is only about 2,000 square miles larger than England itself is, so... I think the furthest I've gone on a daytrip is all the way to Americus, GA, which is a good 270-ish miles/5 hours by road, the only reason it'd take about as long as it would for me to get to Mobile is due to the lack of a direct freeway connection between my area in Americus. Of course, on that day trip I only passed through, I didn't stop anywhere within the city. The furthest place I've stopped on a day trip is Plains, GA, just west of Americus, which is about a 260 mile/5 hour drive on the most direct route. I usually try to contain my typical day trip distances within about a 2.5-3 hour one-way drive (roughly 200 or so miles, if I had to guess). Beyond that gets a bit annoying, especially for railfanning purposes. What's probably the furthest crossing away from my house that I've ever filmed is easily Holgate Street Number 3 in Seattle, WA: a 2,508 mile/38 hour drive from my house on the most direct route!

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thank you! I have been further than from where I live to this crossing as of now. The furthest you've filmed from home being that far really puts it into perspective how small the UK is to the USA.

[@EastAngliaLevelCrossingsUK]

Some stunning shots here! This is one of my favourites in Northumberland. Gotta bring up how good that angle on the thumbnail is, really creative use of the skirt-less barriers to your advantage Is this the end to the north trip? :(

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thank you very much! I'm so glad you liked that shot :) There's quite a bit from this trip I've not released or scheduled; future videos. I'm also planning to go quite a long way up north in the near future too. I have one more from this trip up in the North East going up tomorrow, and I think I've saved the best till last :)

[@EastAngliaLevelCrossingsUK]

@@SouthEastLevelCrossings ok. I will be sure to check it out as soon as the clock says 15:45

[@TheRealTrains806UK]

Nice!

[@SouthEastLevelCrossings]

Thanks!

[@Tyler3231f]

where are you off to for the next video?

[@Newtownabbeyist208]

“Wait a minute, something’s not right” 👴🏻