7th Street (US 41/GA 7) #1 & 18th Avenue, Cordele, GA

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7th Street (US 41/GA 7) #1 & 18th Avenue, Cordele, GA

Post by freebrickproductions » Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:18 am



*originally recorded on 7-31-21*

Signal on the far left: 2 pairs of RACO 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the near left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs.
Signal on the far right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs.
Signal on the near right: 2 pairs of RACO 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

After catching CSX Q646, I went over to the NS Macon District to see if I could get anything at this crossing, as it sounded like something was in the area. Sure enough, NS 151 (IIRC) soon came rolling south through this crossing with an AC44C6M leading an SD70ACe.

This crossing is also a rather nice one, and is easily one of the two best crossings left on the NS Macon District in Cordele (the other I'd recorded back at the end of June). This crossing features a nice set of older RACO signals from about the late-60s or early-70s, if I had to guess. It appears that the first major upgrades to this crossing came in the mid-90s, when both cantilevers had their mast lights and gate mechs replaced with the current ones (though they were incandescent at the time). Then, in the 2000s, the bell on the far cantilever died and was replaced with the current GS Type 2. The crossing's next upgrades would come sometime between 2007 and 2013, when NS replaced the (RACO?) 8 inch lights on the gateless signals for 18th Avenue with the current Safetran 12x20s (which, again, were incandescent at the time). The remaining RACO mechanical bell on the closer cantilever here would manage to hang-on for several more years until sometime in 2015 or thereafter, when it would finally be replaced by the current GS Type 3 e-bell. Most recently, it appears that the final major change to this crossing (probably for the time being) was that the lights here were all upgraded to LED, though the incandescent NEG gate lights were left in place.
Thankfully though, the old RACO signals (including these old RACO cantilevers) were left in place, along with the cantilevers even retaining their original overhead light heads! These RACO cantilevers are also certainly neat to see, as I hadn't been aware that RACO made cantilevers of this design. I recall seeing at least pictures of some RACO-branded cantilevers that looked a lot like some older Safetran ones (like the ones that Church Street in Huntsville used to have), so I suppose it ain't too surprising that these existed as well.
These are almost certainly the predecessors to the Safetran cantilevers of a similar design, though the RACO ones only have one mast while the Safetran ones have two masts holding up the overhead arm. Not sure why that change was made, but I guess Safetran felt it supported the arm better.
As you can see as well, the gate arm on my side failed to lower all the way, so after the train passed, I called it into NS. Not sure if the bells remaining on while the gates were down was due to this issue, or if they're set that way due to the fact that 18th Avenue is only protected by gateless signals. I'd imagine if anyone comes down here now though, that the gate arm on my side lower all the way as it's supposed to.
Hopefully these older cantilevers remain here for a good while longer though, as this is quite a nice crossing all things considered and I'm glad to have been able to record it. The tracks here also cut across the intersection at a rather sharp angle which leads to a fairly unique warning sign for the crossing. Given the way the train was heading, it probably would've been better to record on the opposite side, but I'm still quite happy with the video that I got, especially since I recorded on the side with a broken gate mech, lol.
They/Them for me, please.

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