Saw Mill Road, Guin, AL

[freebrickproductions]

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of RACO 8 inch lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 8 inch lights, 1 pair of RACO 8 inch lights, and a General Signals Type-2 electronic bell.

This is one of the last few 8 inch crossings on the BNSF Birmingham Sub.

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 9-20-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs and a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell.

Last Friday, I went out to the BNSF Birmingham Sub in another attempt to railfan it. As soon as I got out to Sulligent, I saw the end of an eastbound military train roll through town, so I quickly chased him on over to this crossing, where I was able to catch him flying through with an H3 ES44DC leading an H2 Dash-9 and a Fakebonnet!

Since I was last here in 2016, the classic 8 inch signals from the Frisco have sadly been replaced. Looks like this was done sometime within the past year or so though, based on several other upgrades along the line. Unlike the other upgrades, this one appears to only have brand new masts (and possibly signage and LEDs). The lightheads and bell appear to have been re-used from other crossings. In fact, I believe the bell may have come from Cordova, based on how faded it is. At the end of the video, you can also hear the new GS Type 3 at US 278, which sadly replaced the only Safetran Type 1 in Alabama.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Guin/Sawmill/

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 4-23-24*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs and a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs and a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell.

After I shot the southbound loaded coal train in Crews, I continued back over to Beaverton to get the new signals documented, when I saw that I had caught-up with the train. As such, I decided to continue east and see where I could chase it to. Thankfully, I was able to beat it to this crossing in Guin, which I'd been needing to rerecord for a while. Here we see the southbound loaded coal train once again.

Back in 2021, this crossing got another upgrade at it as part of the upgrades to the BNSF Birmingham Sub that year. Thankfully, the upgrade here wasn't too major, the relay case here was replaced and the far signal had a GS Type 3 e-bell added to it. No other major changes appear to have occurred to this crossing, thankfully, and I'm quite glad to see the reused GS Type 1 e-bell here continues to sound very healthy. The GS Type 1/Type 3 pair here now honestly sounds pretty nice as well.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Guin/Saw_Mill/