There has been a level crossing by the halt since the beginning of the railway:
The gates could (just) be moved manually, but it was very difficult to keep the track across the crossing clean.
When the track was relaid in 2017, I made provision for a new crossing with a large hole cut in the baseboard:
Tracks were soldered on a large piece of copperclad board, with the whole assembly fixed to the layout with bolts:
The new track was laid to match the crossing tracks. Temporary covers were put on the crossing:
Fast forward to 2019, with the first attempt at automating the gates:
This never worked particularly well, so didn’t move past the prototype stage.
Occasional attempts were made to improve things using a variety of different approaches. Finally, in early 2022, a reasonably successful implementation was made, using a variety of 3D printed gears and brackets:
This used the same Peco gates as the original crossing, but with an operating wire carefully inserted into the post of each gate. The lead on the left connects track power and servo control signals to the main layout.
This was then installed on the layout, with some of the top covers reprinted for more reliable operation:
Here is a short video showing the crossing in operation:
The roads and associated scenery will need some tidying up at some stage!