It was on this day in 1961 that the first automatic level railway crossing was introduced in Britain at the rural Staffordshire village of Spath.

Prior to this, the system either involved lifting barriers at a manned crossing or even, in some cases, heavy wooden gates which needed to be swung 90 degrees.

In an effort to reduce road traffic delays and to save labour costs, the Ministry of Transport had been planning to install automatic crossings from as early as 1957.

The railway at Spath which saw history made has since been dismantled with no remaining visible sign of the crossing.

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