Cabe Avenue, Malvern, AR

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 2-5-24*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, a dead General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and Alstom LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 1 pair of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, 1.5 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Dotted LEDs, 1 Safetran 12x24 inch light with a WCH 2nd Generation LED, a WCH Type 2 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and Alstom LED gate lights.

After catching the northbound intermodal in Arkadelphia, I decided to continue on up to Malvern to see if any mechanical bells survived there (the answer to that is no, BTW, or this video would most likely show one of them). On the way up, we heard a nearby detector readout the entry message, and I happened to spot an old MoPac wayside signal in Donaldson. Quickly swinging off of the highway to document it, I found-out that the detector was going off for a northbound that was hot on the heels of the intermodal. As such, I quickly snagged a few photos of the signal and then hopped back in my car, racing it up to Malvern. Thankfully, we were able to beat it here with no more than a minute to spare, and were able to catch our fourth and final train of the day: a northbound mixed freight with an AC44CW leading an AC45CCTE on the head-end, and another AC44CW as the DPU. Certainly a nice train to end the day off with.

This crossing is another nice one, featuring a pair of UP signals installed back in the mid-90s. In the 2000s, it seems, the lights here were upgraded to LED. Then, in 2013, UP replaced the original WCH mechanical bell on the closer signal with the current WCH e-bell. Then, at about the same time, most of the lights on the closer signal were also replaced by the current Safetran 12x24s, seemingly with the mix of LEDs in them being original. Then, sometime between 2015 and 2019, the remaining WCH mechanical bell here was replaced with the current GS Type 3 e-bell. Strangely, by December of 2022, this bell was already dead, so I suspect it was probably installed closer to/in 2015. Thankfully, these signals do still retain most of their original light heads and both of their original older WCH gate mechs, which are always nice to see. Hopefully they remain unchanged for many more years to come.
Also, here's a video showing the GS Type 3 when it was still working in 2019:

And here's one showing it was dead by December of 2022: