Southport (Portland Street) Level Crossing, Merseyside

Date filmed: 20/01/2023 Videos filmed between 09:11 and 09:45 Route: Merseyrail Northern Line Between Birkdale and Southport Stations Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barriers crossing with CCTV (MCB-CCTV) Location: Portland Street, Southport Trains featured: 2 Class 508s (Merseyrail) - 0:00 Hunts Cross ➡ Southport - Lowering 1 (Starts at 0:37): Class 507 (Merseyrail) - 1:41 Southport ➡ Hunts Cross - Lowering 2 (Starts at 2:13): 1) Class 507 & Class 508 (Merseyrail) - 3:53 Hunts Cross ➡ Southport 2) Class 508 (Merseyrail) - 4:15 Southport ➡ Hunts Cross - Lowering 3 (Starts at 4:55): Class 508 (Merseyrail) - 5:54 Southport ➡ Hunts Cross A few retro Merseyrail units are seen passing this suburban level crossing in the Irish Sea coastal town of Southport in Merseyside. This is one of a total of 5 public highway level crossings within a mile and a half of each other on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network around Southport and Birkdale, and in one corner is quite a unique and retro supporting mast and bracket holding up the wigwag / warning lights there. In that same corner, the extra set of lights for a side road is directly connected to the building there. The audible alarm here is reasonably loud and sounds rather retro. These 40-year-old trains, at the time of filming seen in abundance on the Merseyrail network, have their days numbered, as within just a few days of filming the first of Merseyrail's brand new 'Class 777' trains entered passenger service (on the 23rd of January 2023). The retro units will still be seen around whilst the new trains are phased in, but they will still be gone before too long. Thanks for watching!