'Peterborough'
'BR 1970-1999'
Walton Crossing
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Walton signal box
Walton Great Northern signal box
(This Photo was taken just be for the box was removed)
This GNR brick signal box was at Walton crossing to the north of Peterborough. There were were two boxes here the GN crossing box and a standard wooden Midland box in the space between the GN lines and the Midland line. There was also a station on the Midland line here which closed in the early 1950s.
This GN boxes days were numbered when I took the photo. The photo came out rather dark when the photo came back, so I returned to take a better shot, but the signal box had gone.
The two signal boxes here each had there own level crossing gates and shut then independent of each other.
There was a small space between the gates were cows which were on the way to and from milking at Browns farm just up the road were sometimes trapped in between the two sets of gates together with one or two cars that were already waiting for the other set of gates to open.
In the 1950s and 1960s long trains with 9Fs and ex LNER 01s and WD 2-8-0s pulled long trains of wagons slowly over this crossing waiting to get into Westwood yard.
Road traffic tailed back at peak times in the late 1960s even be for the 100s of new houses which were put up for the new townships. When the new A47 Parkway road bridge opened, this crossing was closed making for a 2 mile diversion for cars but a foot bridge was made here cycles and walkers.
The foot bridge that is here today has had to be encased after things were thrown at trains from it.
This was the gate box here that was placed on a relay room, just to work the barriers here at Walton. The barriers and road had already been removed when this photo was taken. This box was aready out of use. The top of the box was later removed.
A class 25 at Walton level crossing when it was open.
This photo from a slide like was taken when the crossing was still open. The footbridge had not yet been built.
There were long lines of cars even be for Peterborough was made bigger. There were open fields to the left of this photo. today this is the Peterborough township of Bretton. A new road bridge was built were the M&GNJR bridge was for The Soke Parkway (A47) and this crossing closed and it road across was closed.
This Midland railway railway line had its own signal box and level crossing here. The GNR having a Level crossing and a gate box. both were this side of the road part of which is still near to the box to the right of the Deltic.
Class 31 past the site of Walton station on the Peterborough to Leicester line
The tracks which the class 31 is on to the right of the closed gate box are the line to Stamford and Birmingham These run along side the ECML line till Helpston.
There was a small station at Walton with platforms on the Midland lines only ,about were the class 31s train is. Walton was on the edge of Peterborough then. This station closed in the early 1950s. To-day it would be very useful. There were two signal boxes and two sets of gates at Walton, One Midland box and a small GNR box for the ECML. The crossing has been closed and part of the road is still left at the time when the above photo was taken. Both the signal boxes had been replaced with the gate box above. When the road closed the gate box was also closed leaving just the foot bridge.
A class 31 on the Stamford line with a freight of open wagons. near to the site of Walton station.
Note the headcode which had stopped being used.
A class 47 on a fly-ash Train on the Stamford line at the site of Walton Crossing
Class 37022 on a parcels train on the up slow at the site of the Walton crossing taken from the foot bridge.
The tracks in the background are the line to Stamford which runs along side the ECML line till Helpston crossing.
A class 47 on the up fast also taken from the same spot at Walton.Note the Three Pullman coachs.
A DMU on the down slow at Walton on a train from Spalding.
The footbridge here was used to throw stones and other things at the trains and as now been fenced in which stops photos like this.
A 2 car DMU from Stamford to Peterborough at Walton
Page updated 13/5/2020