Exchange Street (US 34/IL 17), Galva, IL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 11-20-23*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, 1 pair of WCH 12x20 inch lights, a WCH gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Pedestrian signal on the left: a Federal Signal Co. semaphore-style gate mechanism.

On November 20th, the day after Ponyville Ciderfest, I packed-up my stuff and hit the road to begin heading back to Alabama, though via the scenic route. Once I got on the highway, I made my way southwest to the town of Galva, IL, to meet-up with TommyBNSF and shoot some crossings on the BNSF Mendota Subdivision. Shortly after we got here and I got set-up, this eastbound California Zephyr came through with a pair of P42DCs for power. Unfortunately, an 18-wheeler pulled-up to the crossing and blocked most of the shot, but this wouldn't be the only video I'd get of this crossing, thankfully...

After the California Zephyr came through, AMTK 4, the Amtrak Southwest Chief, was running not too far behind, so I left my main camera set-up to record the crossing again, in the hopes that I wouldn't have another truck blocking the shot. Thankfully, this time around, we're able to see a clear view of the Southwest Chief heading towards Chicago, with another pair of P42DCs for power.

This crossing is a rather interesting one, and easily the oldest install I've ever recorded. The signals here were originally installed by the CB&Q back in the 1920s, but, in the 1980s, the Burlington Northern replaced both of the road mast signals here with the current ones. Then, in the mid-90s, the BN installed the current Safetran cantilever here, though I don't know if this was a replacement for an older one or note, and replaced the lights on the closer signal with the current Safetran 12x20s. Finally, sometime in the 2000s, BNSF replaced the bell here with the current GS Type 2 e-bell, and the crossing has remained largely unchanged since.
For some unknown reason, unlike literally almost every other public mainline BNSF crossing in Illinois, this crossing has remained fully incandescent despite a near-state-wide LED upgrade in the early 2010s. It's even weirder, considering the fact that, according to Tommy, the ones on state-maintained highways got upgraded to LED even earlier, back in the 2000s, but this one did not. Thinking on it some, I personally suspect that BNSF forgot to upgrade this one to LED (or funding for the LED upgrades ran-out before BNSF could get to it) back when the state-maintained highways were getting LED upgrades. Then, in the early-2010s, BNSF figured this crossing was already LED and didn't go to upgrade it as a result, causing it to remain incandescent to this day. You'd think they'd've already noticed by now, but apparently they haven't.
Of course, while the older BN equipment and the incandescent lights are rather neat, the real star of the show is the old pedestrian signal with the semaphore-style gate mech on it. The company that made it was the Federal Signal Co., not to be confused with the still-extant Federal Signal Corp. that makes outdoor warning sirens and sold crossing equipment under the Western Cullen Division between 1968 and 1977. This Federal Signal is a long-dead company, as GRS absorbed them back in 1923, mainly to get some searchlight patents. As such, that makes this gate mechanism most likely quite literally 100 years-old at the youngest as of this year, and it's easily the single oldest piece of crossing equipment left in service in the US that isn't just a signal mast, so I'm quite glad I've been able to record it. The gate mechanism seems to be holding-up rather well, despite its age and how busy the Mendota Sub usually is, which is definitely rather nice. Hopefully this classic equipment is able to remain in service for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm certainly glad I was able to record it when I did.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Illinois/A-K/Galva/Exchange/