Railway Herald
Times are a changing at Warrington.
Over a distance of just 68 chains (0.85 of a mile) from Arpley Junction to Monks Sidings four signal boxes controlled trains on the Low Level line from Arpley Junction to Ditton East Junction.
Four absolute block boxes, Arpley Junction, Crosfields Crossing, Littons Mill and Monks Siding provided a taste of railways of old. Leaving Arpley Junction the line passes under the WCML and Warrington Bank Quay station before emerging surrounded by industry in the midst of Lever Brothers massive soap powder works. Crosfields Crossing is just 726 yards from Arpley but then only a further 220 yards, an eighth of a mile no less, is Littons Mill, another crossing box, a further 550 yards beyond that is Monks Crossing, again a crossing box and once access to a former British Steel works site.
This short section of track is being re-signalled and this is actually happened last week.
The new signalling will utilise track circuit block between Arpley Junction and Monks Siding using axle counters.
Class 60 No. 60015 passes Crosfields Crossing box and semaphores on the boxes penultimate day as a block post, with 6F84 the 16.56 Liverpool Bulk Terminal to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on Thursday 5th July 2012.
John Illingworth
