Park Boulevard, Glen Ellyn, IL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 6-5-22*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, an ASC electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, a WCH Type 3 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Pedestrian signal on the far left: a Safetran gate mechanism and a "Danger Another Train Coming" blank-out sign.
Pedestrian signal on the near left: a WCH gate mechanism and a "Danger Another Train Coming" blank-out sign.
Pedestrian signal on the far right: a Safetran gate mechanism and a "Danger Another Train Coming" blank-out sign.
Pedestrian signal on the near right: a WCH gate mechanism and a "Danger Another Train Coming" blank-out sign.
This crossing is in a quiet zone.

After catching three trains in Wheaton, I continued on east over to Glen Ellyn to get the remaining ASC e-bell there recorded. After a little bit of waiting, this eastbound mixed freight came rolling through with this AC45CCTE pair leading.

This crossing is another pretty nice one, featuring what appears to have been a 90s C&NW install. Sometime in the 2000s/early-2010s, UP gave the crossing an LED upgrade. Then, in the early 2010s it appears, UP replaced the gate mechanism on the closer signal and installed all of the pedestrian signals here. Interestingly enough, the two Safetran gate mechs on the far side appear to have been re-used, with the left-hand one being another mid-90s one and the right-hand one being a 1980s Safetran gate mech. At around this same time, it appears that the closer signal got its current WCH e-bell, though I'm not sure if there had been a bell on that signal previously or not. Since at least 2012, the crossing hasn't seen any major changes to it, which is rather neat.
Of course, the star of the show here is the ASC e-bell on the far side, which is rather nice to see is still around. The WCH e-bell here is also very quiet and seems to be somewhat scratchy, so I suspect it's on its way out. When @TommyBNSF filmed the crossing back in 2020, he thought this bell was dead, as he was on the side with the much louder (and thankfully healthier sounding) ASC e-bell, though I think I can just barely make-out the WCH e-bell in that video too. Either way, hopefully at least the ASC e-bell gets to remain around here for many more years to come, but either way, I'm glad I got to record this one.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Illinois/A-K/Glen_Ellyn/Park/