cabman701 wrote:It's so cool that I've lived here long enough (2.5 years almost) that I have seen all these crossings in person. Now I just need to catch a train at one of them. Not easy to do apparently...
I did catch Amtrak in Ybor City back in January, and I know the CSX tracks are quite active southeast of downtown. I just don't have a lot of time to venture that way.
I know for a fact that CSX sends a train down that line between 6 and 7 a.m. in the morning.
Haha, that's just like how I never have time to go to your side of the bay. Maybe someday we shall meet up.
ZachL wrote:Not a single crossing in particular that I was close to, but these crossings were ones I always saw going to my grandmother's house growing up, and I still pass by them on occasion to this day:
They were removed in the summer of 2012, back when the Nebraska Ave. crossing was upgraded, and that's also when all of the crossings (except the Busch Blvd. crossing) got LEDs.
The Busch Blvd. crossing got LEDs sometime between 2008 and 2011, and the crossing as a whole was upgraded in the late 1990s. It used to have either those older WCH/FS/WRRS cantilevers or Safetran/Griswold "fence" cantilevers before what it looks like now. I only vaguely remember its old layout.
When I first saw the images of the No Right Turn signals I thought it was South Bend, Indiana. At least the signals are still there.
It's tough to get the shot I want of them. You can see how tight it is between the road and the tracks, and there sidewalk is on the other side of the tracks. But the sidewalk is where I've shot it from. Safety first.
This is where I guess you could say it began for me. This is Porter, Indiana. At one time four different railroads converged in this region (Michigan Central/now Amtrak, LS&MS/NYC, PC, CR, now NS, C&O/Chessie/now CSX, and EJ&E -- gone since the mid-80s). These two photos are two different crossings on a single road (Wagner). As a kid I had no idea of any significance to this spot. All I knew was all kinds of trains were coming through day and night. Horns blaring (which they still do). If you crossed these tracks 20 times a day I'd bet you were stopped by a train at least 60% of the time. It's still a very busy area, but a shadow of what it once was.
The signals themselves are fairly plain. I'm thinking they're GRS. I'm told the pinnacles are manufactured by New York Central. The crossbucks might be as well. But they were awesome to stare at as a train lumbered through. In one photo you can make out the cast iron Danger sign that was mounted between the crossbuck and the lights. The tracks signs were mounted below the lights on a lot of masts in the region. Below that used to be a Stop on Red Signal sign. Those signals were replaced circa 1983 with Modern Industry cantilevers and WCH gates, which have since been replaced by Safetran gates. The cantilevers and 8" lights remain in service there today. For now.
WRRS-Chicago wrote:This is where I guess you could say it began for me. This is Porter, Indiana. At one time four different railroads converged in this region (Michigan Central/now Amtrak, LS&MS/NYC, PC, CR, now NS, C&O/Chessie/now CSX, and EJ&E -- gone since the mid-80s). These two photos are two different crossings on a single road (Wagner). As a kid I had no idea of any significance to this spot. All I knew was all kinds of trains were coming through day and night. Horns blaring (which they still do). If you crossed these tracks 20 times a day I'd bet you were stopped by a train at least 60% of the time. It's still a very busy area, but a shadow of what it once was.
The signals themselves are fairly plain. I'm thinking they're GRS. I'm told the pinnacles are manufactured by New York Central. The crossbucks might be as well. But they were awesome to stare at as a train lumbered through. In one photo you can make out the cast iron Danger sign that was mounted between the crossbuck and the lights. The tracks signs were mounted below the lights on a lot of masts in the region. Below that used to be a Stop on Red Signal sign. Those signals were replaced circa 1983 with Modern Industry cantilevers and WCH gates, which have since been replaced by Safetran gates. The cantilevers and 8" lights remain in service there today. For now.
In the second photo, I noticed one of the signals has Safetran or RACO 8 inch lights and the other signal has the bell mounted on the back.
What do you think of the short visors on the signal in the other photo? The oldest photo I have of this crossing is from the 1950s and they were on back then. Strange-looking.
WRRS-Chicago wrote:What do you think of the short visors on the signal in the other photo? The oldest photo I have of this crossing is from the 1950s and they were on back then. Strange-looking.
I guess if I had to pick my childhood crossings, it would be Birch Street and Halleck Street in my hometown of DeMotte, IN.
This is at Birch Street, and this video is from 2010. Thankfully, the crossbuck and gates have been replaced since then. Old Conrail-era equipment, I suspect.
This is at Halleck Street, and this is from 2012. Unfortunately, the WC Hayes mechanical bell has been replaced with a GS e-bell.
Maybe someday we shall meet up. 
This is: