Railroad Crossing Historical Analysis Archive

[Erik-Gorb-Hamilton]

By the design of the Gate and the space between the Signal Lights. It appears that this crossing once came with an A-Frame Gate:https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6202284 ... 312!8i6656

That's actually pretty standard on the BNSF of many of their crossings. I think they were still using those conversion brackets into the early 2000s.

Wait, so the bracket is a conversion? I always thought that the lights were the giveaway. I never knew they made conversion stuff for crossings that had A Frames!

[freebrickproductions]

By the design of the Gate and the space between the Signal Lights. It appears that this crossing once came with an A-Frame Gate:https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6202284 ... 312!8i6656

That's actually pretty standard on the BNSF of many of their crossings. I think they were still using those conversion brackets into the early 2000s.

Wait, so the bracket is a conversion? I always thought that the lights were the giveaway. I never knew they made conversion stuff for crossings that had A Frames!

I'm not entirely sure on the name for the piece that holds the gate arm to the counterweight arms, but I've heard it called a "conversion bracket" many times before. Many of these never held any kind of wooden gate.

[MapsSurfer]

This is one I've been researching for a while now. I've been rereading the book "Speedway to Sunshine" by Seth H. Bramson, who is the corporate historian of the Florida East Coast Railway. Near the end of the book, (which is an amazing book I recommend to anyone interested in the F.E.C. and it's history) there is a photograph depicting an F.E.C. train south of the St. Johns River Drawbridge in Jacksonville. At the crossing with what is today San Marco Boulevard, there used to a US&S "DW" Type Automatic Flagman with a US&S Teardrop Bell.

(FEC) Automatic Flagman.jpg (24.02 KiB) Viewed 21673 times

The Florida East Coast used to use a lot of these Signals on their busier Highway Crossings. Some of their Automatic Flagmen even had Black & White Striping. Here is a video of an Identical Type of Signal in operation at the Illinois Railway Museum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdh6nTlJ8Fk
I would asume that these were replaced sometime in the 1940-50s, the F.E.C. is known for keeping their Crossing Signals modern and up-to-date. Here is where the "Wig-Wag" used to operate:
https://www.google.com/maps/@30.3153732 ... 312!8i6656

[ZachL]

That's really neat to know that wigwags did exist in Florida. Now to find out if the ACL/SAL used 'em or not...

[MapsSurfer]

I found this newsreel reporting on the malfunctioning of the NE 96th Street Grade Crossing in Miami Shores.
In the newsreel, which was taken on April 20th of 1987, a lot of older WRRS equipment can be seen. It's a pretty interesting report.

Go to 11:30 to see the report.
http://www.wolfsonarchives.info/view/?i ... VN0284.mp4

I believe the Crossing was upgraded sometime in the mid-late 1990's. Here is the Crossing now.
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.863946, ... 384!8i8192

To me the Median Signals looked to be the first installed, later to be accompanied by those Gated Signals sometime in the 1970's, when the FEC began to buy those types of signals. However, that's just my hypothesis! :D

[ZachL]

I found this newsreel reporting on the malfunctioning of the NE 96th Street Grade Crossing in Miami Shores.
In the newsreel, which was taken on April 20th of 1987, a lot of older WRRS equipment can be seen. It's a pretty interesting report.

Go to 11:30 to see the report.
http://www.wolfsonarchives.info/view/?i ... VN0284.mp4

I believe the Crossing was upgraded sometime in the mid-late 1990's. Here is the Crossing now.
https://www.google.com/maps/@25.863946, ... 384!8i8192

To me the Median Signals looked to be the first installed, later to be accompanied by those Gated Signals sometime in the 1970's, when the FEC began to buy those types of signals. However, that's just my hypothesis! :D

It was almost dead at that point. The lights are barely flashing, and are very dim.