Main Street, Brookside, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 11-11-20*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights and a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights.

The next crossing I chased NS 329 to was this little gateless crossing in the community of Brookside. This crossing features a nice pair of mostly original gateless signals from the Southern Railway, probably dating back to some point in the 1970s. In the 1980s, it appears, on left-hand rear light on the closer signal was probably struck and was replaced with a newer Safetran 12x24 inch light, but that's the only change to the lights I've observed. The rest of the lights here are still all older Safetran 12x24s, which is quite nice to see.
Previously, this crossing had a Safetran mechanical bell, but I ain't sure if that was original or not. A few other SOU installs of this style had WRRS 1203 bells (all long since replaced), but it's possible those were older installs that had their lights upgraded in the 70s. Either way, the Safetran mechanical bell here survived through at least 2013, before being replaced sometime before 2015 (most likely) with the current GS Type 2.
The closer signal here also looks a bit strange with how the lights here are mounted. Not sure why the Southern Railway chose to offset them like that, but it certainly gives the signal a unique appearance. Thankfully, some cloud-cover rolled in a bit before the train arrived, so I was able to set-up on what would otherwise normally be the backlit side here, and get a good shot of this unusual-looking signal.
Also, on the left-hand side of the frame on the other side of the crossing, you can see an old truss bridge that stands near this crossing. I believe this was the original Main Street bridge, but, as you can see, it has been abandoned for a pretty long time. Wouldn't be too surprised if the signals here were installed when that bridge was replaced with the one seen directly opposite my camera.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Brookside/Main/

[freebrickproductions]

Got a recording of this crossing on the other side on 1-27-22:

[freebrickproductions]

No changes here as of 7-8-23: