Chester Street, Galva, IL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 11-20-23*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell, a US&S Model 95 gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, a US&S Model 95 gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Pedestrian signal on the left: a US&S Model 95 gate mechanism and a RECO LED gate light.

After the California Zephyr came flying through, another eastbound mixed freight was already getting close, so @TommyBNSF and I went over to this crossing to catch it. Here we see the our final train of the day: an eastbound mixed freight with an ES44C4 pulling on the head-end and another ES44C4 working as the train's DPU.
After this, as it was starting to get late and I still had a four hour drive to Indianapolis for the night, Tommy and I went our separate ways and I hit the road for my next and final hotel.

This crossing is easily the most boring one that I recorded all day, but, admittedly, it does have a rather nice set-up and a GS Type 1 at it. Originally, there was a 1920s CB&Q install here, featuring another Federal Signal Co. semaphore-style ped gate. Sometime later, I believe in the 1950s or 60s though maybe the 40s, the CB&Q went through and replaced the signals for the road here with a pair of gated WRRS signals, which later had the lights on them replaced with some Federal Signal 12x20s in the 1970s by the Burlington Northern. The crossing then remained relatively unchanged for quite a while after, when the crossing was given an LED upgrade by BNSF, had one of the side lights replaced with a Safetran 12x24 at about the same time, and also the bell replaced with a General Signals e-bell at about the same time as well. Then, sometime between 2013 and 2018, BNSF replaced the road signals here once again with the current ones, although originally with a GS Type 2 e-bell (possibly reused from the late-WRRS signals?), though these signals feature some amount of reused equipment on them, such as an MI base on one of the signals.
Amazingly, despite these various upgrades, the old Federal Signal Co. ped signal here managed to hang-on for quite a long time, until it sadly failed in 2020 and was stuck in the lowered position for several months. In 2021, BNSF would replace the failed ped gate here with the current US&S pedestrian signal, featuring a reused US&S Model 95 gate mech to make for a full trio here. Interestingly, despite the older ped gate here lacking a gate light (and the one on the far signal also lacking a gate light), BNSF opted to install a gate light on the new ped signal here. It seems this gate light is hooked-up to a different flasher relay from the rest of the lights as well. Finally, sometime in 2022, BNSF replaced the GS Type 2 e-bell here with the current, reused GS Type 1 e-bell, and thankfully no further changes have occurred to this crossing since.
Even though the signals here are easily the most modern & boring ones I've filmed on both this day and this trip, I do still think this is a pretty alright crossing. The pedestrian signal here is something I always like to see, and I'm glad to get another GS Type 1 e-bell recorded. I believe this is now something like the 140th crossing I've filmed with a GS Type 1 e-bell? Hopefully it remains here for many more years to come, but, either way, this was certainly not a bad crossing to end off my afternoon of railfanning on the Mendota Sub with. Also, the tip gate light on the far signal has recently gone dead, it appears.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Illinois/A-K/Galva/Chester/