Dearborn Street, Indianapolis, IN

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 4-9-24*

Signal on the left: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran Model 85 gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.
Signal on the right: 5 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran Model 85 gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

On April 9th, my friend and I got on up and got checked out of the hotel we stayed at, before getting them dropped-off in downtown Indianapolis while I went out to railfan. I decided to head over to this crossing, where, after about an hour and a half of waiting (including rushing over to the west side of Indianapolis and back to try and get a crossing I thought was going to be used), I was able to catch my first train of the day: CSX I131 with a UP SD70ACe leading a CP ES44AC, a UP AC45CCTE, and another UP SD70ACe for power.

This crossing is another great one, featuring a Conrail install from the early-90s, it appears, that's still entirely original. Strangely, sometime between 2016 and 2017, the Safetran mechanical bell here was moved from the closer signal to the far one, seemingly for no reason. Thankfully, no other major changes appear to have ever occurred to this crossing, and both signals still feature their original Safetran Model 85 gate mechanisms! Always rather nice getting to film more of these in action. The original Safetran mechanical bell here still exists, though the bell is sadly sounding a bit weak and worn-out these days it seems. Hopefully CSX gives it some TLC soon, but, either way, I'm quite glad I was able to record this crossing when I did.