Sterling Ave. (Independence, MO)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>	*Northern Signal*	*Southern Signal*
Bell:	NEG E-Bell	WCH E-Bell (Mast Signal) Disconnected Safetran Mechanical Bell (Cantilever)
Cantilever:	Harmon	Harmon
Base:	Safetran 5" Single Sided	Safetran 5" Single Sided
Light Brackets:	2 - Harmon 1 - Safetran	2 - Harmon 1 - Safetran
Lights:	8 - 12"x20" WCH w/ Electro-Tech LEDs	7 - 12"x20" WCH w/ Electro-Tech LEDs 1 - 12"x20" WCH w/ GE Pixelated Look LEDs
Gate Lights:	3 - Electro-Tech 4" LEDs	3 - Electro-Tech 4" LEDs
Gate Mechanism:	Safetran Late 1970s	Safetran Late 1970s
Gate Striping:	Vertical Striping	Vertical Striping

The 1st video was originally taken on June 2, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 2nd video was originally taken on June 26, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 3rd video was originally taken on June 29, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 4th video was originally taken on July 7, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
Videos 5-6 Originally taken on July 9, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 7th video was originally taken on July 10, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 8th video was originally taken on July 13, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 9th video was originally taken on July 22, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 10th video was originally taken on January 28, 2015, by KCMO Railfan.
The 11th video was taken on October 4, 2019, by The Central Texas Railfan.
The 12th video was taken on March 11, 2020, by KCMO Railfan.
The 13th video was taken on March 29, 2020, by KCMO Railfan.
The 14th video was taken on August 8, 2020, by Independence Railfanning.
Pictures 1-54 and the 15th video were taken on November 5, 2023, by KCMO Railfan.
The 16th video was taken on November 7, 2023, by KCMO Railfan.
The 17th video was taken on June 23, 2024, by KCMO Railfan.
Pictures 55-65 and the 18th video were taken on June 8, 2025, by KCMO Railfan.
This crossing is located on the UP Sedalia Subdivision with Amtrak, and MNA having trackage rights.
Page created, by KCMO Railfan (using HopenRXRTools 1.0.3).

Crossing History:
The cantilevers were installed by the Missouri Pacific (MoPac) sometime in the early 1970s. Originally this crossing was gateless until sometime in the late 70s when the MoPac decided to install gates here. The Safetran Mechanical Bell seen in picture 14 was the original bell this crossing had when it was gateless. It was disconnected after the gated signals were installed, and the mast lights were transferred as a result, before then they were mounted at 24, and 49 (as noted, by the holes). The bells this crossing had before 2011 were a Safetran Mechanical Bell, and a WCH Mechanical Bell. Like many crossings along the Sedalia Sub, this crossing originally had the MoPac bell sequence until it was changed in 2011 to have the bells ring the entire time. Around that time, the original gate lights were replaced to Electro-Tech LEDs, while the WCH light frames on both the gated signals, and the cantilevers were retrofitted to Electro-Tech LEDs. The Safetran Mechanical Bell on the southern signal remained untouched until it was replaced with the current NEG Electronic Bell (seen in picture 43) around late May of 2018. the LEDs (seen in picture 6) used to be an Electro-Tech LEDs until it was replaced to GE Pixelated Look LEDs sometime in the late 2010s. In April of 2020, UP replaced the gates on both signals with newer longer ones which feature vertical striping, and newer Electro-Tech gate lights. The counterweights were also readjusted to accommodate the new gates. The grade surface has been redone a couple of times as it used to be very rough here. Very recently it was redone again as it was getting a bit rough to drive on. Recently in mid 2024, UP replaced one of the Electro-Tech LEDs on one of the front mast lights on the southern signal with GE Pixelated Look LEDs as seen in the very last video below.

9	10	11	12
The light bracket on the gated signal is also from Safetran.	The bell on the gated signal is a WCH Electronic Bell which used to be a WCH Mechanical Bell until it was replaced in 2011 when UP did their LED upgrades along the Sedalia Sub.	The gate on the southern signal features the newer vertical striping while the gate lights are from Electro-Tech.	A look at both bells on the southern signal. More on the top one below.

21	22	23	24
The front mast lights on the gated signal are also from WCH.	Close up at one of the WCH lights on one of the front lights on the gated signal.	The ENS sign on the southern signal was originally mounted on the cantilever at the time of these photos. A few days after I took these pics, UP moved the ENS signs to the gated signals, and reposition them to be more visible to oncoming traffic.	The hole seen in picture 24 on the cantilever, there used to be where the mast lights used to be mounted at The cantilever on the other side also has a hole where lights used to be mounted seen in picture 49. More on that in the crossing history above.

25	26	27	28
Back view of the southern signal as a whole.	Back view of the first set of overhead lights on the cantilever. Sorry for the back lit picture.	Back view of the second set of overhead lights on the cantilever. Again sorry for the backlit picture.	Another look at the WCH Electronic, and Safetran Mechanical Bells on the southern signal.

29	30	31
Front view of the northern signal.	The signal base on the gated signal is from Safetran.	The front lights on the gated signal are once again a pair of 12x20 lights with Electro-Tech LEDs retrofitted in the light frames.

32	33	34
The gate on the northern signal also features the newer vertical striping with Electro-Tech LEDs. The gates on both signals were replaced around April of 2020.	The gate mechanism on the northern signal is from Safetran.	The bell on the northern signal is an NEG Electronic Bell. This used to be a Safetran Mechanical Bell up until late May of 2018 when UP replaced it.

1	2
Overview facing north of this 70s MoPac era cantilever gated setup. This side features two bells on the same side.	Overview facing south with identical equipment as the southern signal, with the exception of having one bell instead of two.

3	4	5
Front view of the southern signal.	The signal base on the gated signal is from Safetran.	A look at the front lights on the gated signal which feature a pair of 12x20 lights with a mixture of GE Pixelated Look, and Electro-Tech LEDs in the light frames.

6	7	8
Close up at the GE Pixelated Look LEDs in one of the light frames on the gated signal.	Close up at the Electro-Tech LEDs in one of the light frames on the gated signal.	The gate mechanism on the southern signal is from Safetran.

13	14	15	16
The cantilever on this side is an older Harmon cantilever.	The bell on the cantilever is a Safetran Mechanical bell. This was the original bell to this crossing before it was disconnected when the gated signals were installed sometime in the late 70s or early 80s before UP took over the MoPac.	Back view of the Safetran Mechanical bell.	The first set of overhead lights on the northern signal are a pair of 12x20 lights with Electro-Tech LEDs retrofitted in the light frames.

17	18	19	20
The light bracket for the first set of overhead lights is from Harmon.	Front view of the second set of overhead lights on the northern signal are this time two pairs of 12x20 lights which also feature Electro-Tech LEDs retrofitted in the light frames.	Both sets of overhead lights on the cantilever are all from WCH.	A look at both sets of overhead lights on the cantilever.

35	36	37	38
The light bracket for the front lights is also from Safetran.	Like the cantilever on the other side, the cantilever on this side also features two sets of overhead lights with the first set featuring a pair of 12x20 lights with Electro-Tech LEDs in the light frames.	The light bracket for the first set of overhead lights is from Harmon. The second set of overhead lights are also mounted on a Harmon light bracket, but I forgot to get pics of the light brackets on both signals as this road is pretty busy.	The second set of overhead lights once again feature two pairs of 12x20 lights with Electro-Tech LEDs in the light frames similar to the northern signal.

39	40	41	42
The cantilever on this side is an older Harmon cantilever.	Like the southern signal, the ENS sign on the northern signal was originally mounted on the cantilever at the time of these photos. A few days after I took these pics, UP moved the ENS signs to the gated signals, and reposition them to be more visible to oncoming traffic.	The front lights on the gated signal are from WCH.	Close up at one of the WCH lights on the front lights on the gated signal.

43	44	45	46
Another look at the NEG Electronic Bell on the southern signal which was the only NEG in Independence for the longest time until UP replaced the WCH Mechanical Bell at Courtney Atherton Rd on the River Sub with one at around the time these pictures were taken.	The extra gate lights on the northern signal's cantilever are NEG 4 inch incandescent gate lights. I suspect these were what UP used before the big LED upgrade occurred in 2011.	We find an extra gate attached to the northern signal's cantilever. No idea why there's an extra gate attached to the southern signal's cantilever for as it's been here for decades now. The extra gate even features the older diagonal striping too.	Back view of the northern signal as a whole.

47	48	49	50
Back view of the first set of overhead lights on the cantilever. Both sets of overhead lights are once again from WCH.	Back view of the second set of overhead lights on the cantilever.	the cantilever on this side also features a hole from where a pair of lights used to be mounted at. More on that in the crossing history above as well.

51	52	53	54
The relay bungalow.	The grade is all concrete. This was redone very recently at the time of these photos.	Track view facing east with Claremont Ave., Vermont Ave., & Scott Ave. #1 in the distance.	Track view facing west with Harvard Ave. #1 in the distance.

58	59	60	61
The gates are fully lowered with the train just about to the crossing.	IDTX SC-44 #4603 leads train 311 west towards Kansas City.	The train is already at Harvard Ave. #1.	A look at the southern signal in action.

The crossing in action!
55	56	57
A look at the signals before activation. The train is at Scott Ave. #1.	The signals activate!	The gates lowering with the train now at Vermont Ave. approaching Claremont Ave. Note the lights on the gated signal were caught in mid flash.

62	63	64	65
Two Viewliner 2 baggage cars make up the rear of the train with the end of it about to pass by.	Last look at the signals in action before the gates begin to rise.	The gates are now rising. Once again the lights on the gated signal were caught in mid flash.	The signals fully deactivated with some cars crossing the tracks.