*originally recorded on 3-29-22*
Signal on the left: 4 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a GRS gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 4 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights, a GRS gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
This was the third crossing I caught TA-West at. I didn't intend for it to be my third, as I tried to beat it to a crossing just west of Mt. Pleasant, FL. Unfortunately, TA-West got there right after I drove up, which meant the crossing activated as I was stopping my car. Then, I successfully beat it over to the P&A Sub in Sneads and set-up at Gloster Avenue, but unfortunately TA-West was able to sneak-up on me, so I just threw my camera back into the car and raced over to here, where I was finally able to be the train to and start my camera in time for it.
This crossing is a rather nice one, and was also one I was finally able to get in action after first seeing it in 2016. The signals here appear to be a 1970s L&N install, but in the 1980s/early-90s, CSX replaced all of the original lights here with the current MI 12x24s. The crossing then remained largely unchanged after that, but sometime within the past year, the WRRS bell that had been here must've died so the FGAR went and replaced it with the current GS Type 3. Apparently they didn't have a proper cap/adapter for the top of the cantilever when they went to replace the bell, so rather than getting one and/or mounting the new bell on the gate mast, they chose to just JB-weld it to the top of the cantilever. Gotta love shortlines, lol.
Even though the WRRS bell here has since been replaced, I'm quite glad I was finally able to record this crossing. The old Federal Signal cantilevers are both still here and look rather nice, and I'm glad to see that they and the GRS gate mechs are all still around. I always do enjoy seeing GRS gate mechs, so I'm glad I was able to record another pair of them in action. The mast lights on the closer signal are unusually close together, but that appears to have been something CSX did when they installed them here decades ago.
Hopefully no major changes occur to this crossing for years to come.
http://www.rxrsignals.com/Florida/Grand_Ridge/Porter/
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