Nexus, the public body which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has donated a set of level crossing stop lights to one of the North’s most well-known heritage railways.
The Wensleydale Railway in North Yorkshire, which is run by volunteers, has been given a used set of red stop lights from the Kingston Park level crossing in Newcastle.
The equipment was donated by Nexus after it replaced all of its level crossing warning lights at the end of last year, as part of the £389m Metro: all change modernisation programme.
The volunteers who operate the Wensleydale Railway will use the equipment to replace the warning lights at the Yafforth level crossing, which is believed to be the first ever automatic open level crossing to be installed in the country.
This will help with the Wensleydale Railway’s plans to utilise a new platform in Northallerton that will be officially opened next May.
Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, Raymond Johnstone, said: “These level crossing lights are going to come in extremely useful for our colleagues at the Wensleydale Railway. I’m delighted we have found a use for them.
“Metro is very much part of the Britain’s railway fraternity and we will always try to support other systems when we are able to.
“This is not the first heritage railway to benefit from Metro renewal work. We have made similar donations in the past, including sections of used rail and railway sleepers, which have been used to for a whole host of things including footpath conservation work.”
The Wensleydale Railway’s General Manager, Nigel Park, said: “The Wensleydale Railway is very grateful to Nexus for this donation which will help to maintain the level crossing at Yafforth and help the Railway to reach its goal of running trains to the new platform at Northallerton West, 51 years since the last regular passenger service ran between Northallerton and Leeming Bar. It is donations such as these by Nexus that help to preserve heritage railways for future generations.”
Nexus has previously donated a used set of level crossing signals to the Middleton Heritage Railway in Leeds.
In 2012 Nexus donated used railway sleepers for the renovation of rural footpaths in North Tyneside. Sections of used Metro rail have also been donated to the North East Land, Sea and Air Museum in Sunderland.