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 to be 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. With one more full operational day for the semaphores, Class 66/5 No. 66518 approaches Monks Siding box on 5th July 2012 working the 04:38 Killoch to Fiddlers Ferry loaded coal.
John Illingworth
