20th Street #2 (Irondale, AL)

MP: 136.720

Updated December 13, 2022

Total Accidents: 2
Crossing DOT #: 727995M
TOTAL DAILY TRAINS: 60 (ESTIMATED)*

Page created by: freebrickproductions

This crossing is located on the NS AGS South District with CSX having trackage rights over it.

*The FRA claims this crossing sees 18 trains a day.

However, based on personal experience and from what I've seen from other railfans, it seems to be a lot busier than just 18 trains a day, so I estimated this based on the train count for Antwerp Avenue #2 in Birmingham.

1	2	3	4
Overviews of the crossing.		The first signal.

5	6	7	8
It has a Safetran base.	This signal has a Safetran gate mechanism.	The emergency information.	A Safetran bracket.

9	10	11	12
This signal has all Safetran 12x24 inch lights.		This signal has a dead General Signals Type 2 e-bell.	This signal uses RECO incandescent gate lights.

13	14	15	16
The second signal.		This signal has another Safetran base.	Another Safetran gate mechanism.

17	18	19	20
The emergency information.	This signal has more Safetran 12x24 inch lights on another Safetran bracket.

21	22	23	24
This signal has a working General Signals Type 2 e-bell.	This signal has RECO LED gate lights.	Looking southwest towards Brussels Avenue #2 in Birmingham.	Looking southwest towards Brussels Avenue #1 in Birmingham.

25	26	27
Looking northeast towards Brownlee Hills Road, Parrish Lane in Roebuck Plaza, and into the NS Norris Yard.		The relay case.

28	29	30	31
Action shots.

39	40	41	42
An old SOU caboose is near the crossing.	Some signs warning about remote control locomotives operating around this crossing.

43	44	45
A return trip to the crossing on 5-19-21 finds a couple of upgrades here to the second signal.

46	47	48
This signal has had its bell replaced with a General Signals Type 3 e-bell.	The signal has also had its middle gate light replaced with a RECO LED gate light. The other two RECO gate lights remain, however.

49	50	51
The crossing activates! The dead GS Type 2 on the first signal here (the closer one in Picture 49) still remains, for some reason.

55	56	57	58
An NS mixed freight pulls out of the yard with an AC44C6M leading a Dash-9 and an SD70ACC for power.

70	71	72	73
Another mixed freight comes through with an SD70ACu leading an ES40DC and a pair of Dash-9s for power!

99	100	101	102
Eventually the first train shoves back out of the crossing and back into the yard...

103	104	105	106
...and the gates rise.

107	108	109	110
The crossing activates again!

111

112

113

114	115	116	117
An NS yard job with a pair of SD40-2s surrounding an RPU6 yard slug and a KCS/KCSM ES44AC pair both pull-up near the crossing, but stop just before it. Not entirely sure which train activated the crossing, TBH. The crossing then times-out shortly after, and the yard job shoves back into the yard.