*originally recorded on 6-26-22*
Signal on the left: 7 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights, a WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Median signal: 4 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights, a Siemens gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 4 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights, a WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
After about an hour of sitting and waiting (I'm guessing for some traffic further north on the S&NA South to clear-up), CSX M521 came south along the S&NA South and down Main 1. Once the rear of that train had gone through, B824 was cleared to go north, and I was able to catch it going through this crossing. I will say it was nice being able to get multiple shots of this ethanol train, as I always love seein' 'em.
This crossing is a rather nice one, and one I've been wanting to get for a good while now. The signals here appear to be a 1980s CSX install, but, in the mid to late-90s, it appears that CSX replaced all of the gate masts here with newer ones, though it appears that they thankfully re-used the WCH mechanical bells onto them. The crossing then remained relatively unchanged all the way up until sometime between 2019 and 2022, when CSX once again replaced the gate mast on the median signal here, I'm guessing due to being struck. Thankfully, no other major changes appear to have occurred to this crossing.
This crossing is honestly another great one along the S&NA South, especially since it still features another pair of WCH mechanical bells! Even better, they ring until the gates rise, which is great to see as well. And, despite ringing until the gates rise, both bells still sound very healthy, which I'm quite glad to see.
All in all, this is a great crossing. Hopefully CSX leaves these signals alone for another long while, but either way, I'm quite glad to have finally been able to record this crossing in action. I believe I have now also recorded all of the surviving mechanical bells on the CSX S&NA South Subdivision.
http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Alabaster/Montevallo2/
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