Wauhatchie Pike #2, Wauhatchie, TN

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 1-24-25*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, an NEG electronic bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

After catching 288 in Hollywood, I continued east to Wauhatchie to see about getting the northernmost-two crossings on the NS AGS North District recorded. When I got up there, I found a combined 108/55Z was already rolling through on the AGS, meeting a 42Z at the control point just north of here. As such, I set-up and, once I saw 42Z was about to be leaving, I started my camera rolling. Soon after, the crossing here activated, but, much to my surprise, the first train that came rolling through was CSX G438 heading north up the CSX Chattanooga Subdivision with an ES44AH leading an ET44AH for power! Not to long after, NS 42Z was able to come through with a pair of AC44C6Ms leading an SD70ACe for power, meaning I was able to get my second and third trains of the day here! Admittedly, even if the power on both trains weren't exactly the most interesting, it was great being able to get another pair of trains "racing" each other like this! Think this is the fourth or fifth time I've ever caught two trains "racing", all of which were years ago (and the most recent one being back in June of 2022 when I was up in Chicago)!

This crossing is honestly a pretty neat one. Due to both the CSX Chattanooga Subdivision and the NS AGS North District passing through this crossing, each half is maintained by the respective railroads. The farthest track is the CSX Chattanooga Subdivision, so CSX maintains the signal on that side of the crossing. The closest track is the NS AGS North District, so NS maintains the signal on this side of the crossing. The third track between the two is a connector between the two lines, which NS trains going to/from the Memphis East use.
This crossing has also had a good few changes to it over the years as well. It appears that, originally, there was an old gated L&N install here on the far side of the crossing, presumably from the 70s or before, with the closer signal being an SOU install from the same time. In the 1980s, however, NS replaced the signal on this side of the crossing with a newer signal. In the late-90s, the bell on NS's signal here was replaced with the current GS Type 1 e-bell. In the early-2000s, CSX replaced their signal entirely with a newer one. At about the same time of both upgrades, it appears NS replaced the gate mech on their signal with the current one as well.
The crossing remained unchanged for several years after, but, sometime between 2007 and 2011, NS replaced the mast and the lights on their signal with the current ones from WCH, strangely. I'm guessing this must've been some kind of trial, as this was long before the more recent WCH installs started cropping-up on parts of NS.
Then, sometime between 2011 and 2018, CSX upgraded the lights on their signal to WCH 2nd Gen LEDs. After that, sometime between 2018 and 2019, NS upgraded their signal with the current GE Uniform Look LEDs. Finally, sometime between 2019 and 2021, CSX replaced their signal here once again.
Thankfully, since then, nothing else too major appears to have changed to this neat crossing. I'm especially glad to see that NS's signal here still retains a GS Type 1 on it, along with the (rare for NS) WCH 12x20 heads. Hopefully they remain around here for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm glad to have been able to film them when I did. Definitely ain't too often you find a crossing NS operates through with all WCH light heads like this either, especially down here in the south!

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Tennessee/R-Z ... uhatchie2/