7th Avenue #1, Birmingham, AL

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7th Avenue #1, Birmingham, AL

Post by freebrickproductions » Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:39 am



*originally recorded on 11-12-20*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights and a Safetran Type 3 electronic bell.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights and a slightly-glitchy General Signals Type 1 e-bell.

On November 12th, I went back down to the Birmingham/Jasper areas to try and finish documenting all of the crossings in Jasper, along with doing another chase of 329 up the NS West End District. Got all of the BNSF crossings from Jasper to Townley, AL, documented, along with the only signalized crossing on the NS Berry Branch, but after that, since it was about time for NS 329 to come through, I made my way back towards Birmingham to begin my chase of it.
I was originally going to start in Graysville, but DPU issues held it up just outside of Irondale, so I was able to head all the way back to this crossing in downtown Birmingham. I had also been considering shooting the BNSF Birmingham Sub (as a southbound was lined through the siding in Townley), but after hearing what NS 329 had on it, I decided to stick with Plan A. After a while of waiting here though, NS 329 came through with one of the best lash-ups I've caught in a while: UP 1943 (Spirit of the Union Pacific, and SD70ACe) leading a vandalized UP SD70M and a UP AC45CCTE as the mid-train DPU! Ain't often that I catch a special UP engine like this, so I'm glad I was able to get this one.
Unfortunately, NS 329 had to stop just north of here (blocking this crossing) and wait on NS 74G to come south. 74G did eventually come through, and had a much more boring lash-up of an NS ES44AC leading an NS Dash-9 and an NS SD70ACe working as the rear DPU. This train too came to a stop for a brief while, waiting for permission to cross the CSX diamonds south of here at 27th Street, but it wasn't stopped for nearly as long as 329 was. However, I didn't want to miss 329 up in Graysville so I was actually in the process of leaving when it began to move again, so I swung my car back around and set back up to record the end of the train passing through this crossing. All in all, this crossing was probably blocked for a good hour or so, at least.

This crossing is a rather nice one though, and I'm glad I was able to get a video of it (even if it ain't the best one out there). It appears this crossing was signalized all the way back in the 1930s or 40s, as the closer signal, amazingly enough, has a Peerless Manufacturing Corp. base on it! There was probably a similar signal on the far side, but it appears that the Southern Railway replaced it in either the 1970s or 80s. The lights on that signal also appear to be from the 80s, though I'm not sure if they're original to the signal or not. The closer signal didn't have its lights upgraded until the 90s though, it appears.
Then, in the late-90s, NS replaced both bells here with General Signals Type 1 e-bells (far signal unconfirmed on what type it was), and the crossing remained largely unchanged until 2019, when I'm guessing the General Signals e-bell on the far side died and was replaced with a Safetran Type 3 e-bell. The Safetran Type 3 apparently didn't last too long either, as it was replaced with an older Type 3 between the shots of the crossing I got back in March and when I made this return trip for a video. Thankfully though, the closer signal still retains its ancient mast, and hopefully will for a long time. This is also probably the single oldest crossing signal left in the Birmingham Metro Area.
As you can see, the crossing also timed-out before the train arrived, likely due to how slow it was moving. The GS Type 1 here also sounds rather glitchy upon start-up and a little while after (especially during the time-out), but seeing as it sounded perfectly fine much later, I suspect it must've had some moisture in it that dried out while it was operating.
All in all, this is rather nice crossing and I'm quite glad to have been able to record it!
The US 280/US 31 freeway section can also be seen on the far side of the crossing.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Birmingham/7_1/
They/Them for me, please.

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Re: 7th Avenue #1, Birmingham, AL

Post by freebrickproductions » Mon Nov 15, 2021 1:58 pm

No major changes here as of 10-10-21, though with a better video from the other side of it:
They/Them for me, please.

Click here if you want to submit crossing photos to the site!

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