Park Street Level Crossing

 

Park Street level crossing, Moonee Ponds, 2021.

In this followup article to Gatekeepers at the Park Street Crossing, Marilyn Kenny outlines just how difficult it was to get a staffed level crossing.   Without a railways staff member to open and close the gates, the gates remained closed to vehicular traffic.   

Lobbying from Council went on  for years before the Railways decided to build a Gatekeepers' Cottage at Park St and provide a gatekeeper to open and close the gates, the subject of the previous article.

Park Street, Moonee Ponds Gatekeeper's Cottage

 

Once upon a time you would often pass a gatekeeper's cottage or cabin at level crossings, but they have been largely swept away with the advent of boom gates, and even boom gates are disappearing these days. Marilyn Kenny has done a wonderful study on the Moonee Ponds Gatekeeper's Cottage, which disappeared 50 years ago, and what the work and conditions were like for these men and women who manned the gates. I can assure you they were not good conditions, and the pay was lousy, so if you have a relative who worked as a gatekeeper, this will be of considerable interest to you. It is followed up by a personal reminiscence from Rod Berry, who will tell you what it was like to grow up in a house two feet from a railway line. See the full story here: