*originally recorded on 2-28-22*
Signal on the left: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a RACO mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of RACO 8 inch lights, 1.5 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, 1.5 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, an NEG electronic bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
After stopping for a minute just before the crossing (think the conductor got off and lined a few switches), CSX F785 pulled across the crossing to begin interchanging with the Carolina Piedmont Railroad.
This crossing is a very nice one and also certainly a rather interesting-looking one, as there was one originally at least four tracks here. The signals here were installed by the SCL back in the early 70s, and have had quite a few upgrades over the years. It appears that in either the 80s (under SBD) or early 90s (under CSX), the front left overhead light on the closer signal was replaced with the current Safetran 12x24. Then, in the 2000s, the fourth track on the far side had long been dead, so CSX decided to replace the gate mast on that signal with the current one much closer to the active tracks, though they re-used the original RACO mechanical bell onto the newer gate mast. At around this same time, it appears that CSX also replaced all of the mast lights on the cantilever with the current Safetran 12x24s, with at least one of these being a re-used Safetran head from the mid-90s. The crossing then remained largely unchanged for several more years, until sometime between 2018 and 2021, when CSX chose to replace the original gate mast on the closer signal (which still had its original early-70s Safetran gate mech and RACO mechanical bell) with a new one. Unfortunately, this time around, CSX didn't re-use the RACO mechanical bell from the previous gate mast, putting up a new NEG e-bell instead. They did, however, re-use a pair of incandescent Safetran 12x24 inch lights on the new mast, giving the closer signal an extra pair of rear lights. Thankfully as well, the RACO 8 inch lights on the closer signal were left alone by CSX, which is nice to see.
Despite the many upgrades to this crossing, it still retains both of the original Walpar cantilevers in their original locations, as well as a nice amount of older equipment in general. Thanks to both gate masts being replaced, however, there are a few more lights here than you'd probably otherwise expect to find at a crossing like this one. In fact, there are 14 pairs of lights here, which seems to be quite a lot for this crossing given that this is just a two-lane road.
Of course, both signals still retain most of the original 70s Safetran 12x20s on their overheads, and the closer one still retains all of its original RACO 8 inch lights on the cantilever mast. However, probably my favorite thing about this crossing would have to be the RACO mechanical bell on the far signal, which still sounds very healthy. No idea why CSX chose to re-use that bell, but I'm certainly glad they did. Due to the fact that the far signal's cantilever was never moved, there's now a rather large gap between it and its gate mast, which certainly looks a bit unusual. I guess the extra lights on that mast help with that, lol. Hopefully this crossing remains unchanged for many more years to come, but either way, I'm glad I was able to get this one.
This crossing is also located right next to the headquarters and yard for the Carolina Piedmont Railroad.
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