15th Street, Bessemer, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 6-27-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, RECO gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.

This crossing is a fairly decent one. It's a 1990s NS install and like most other older installs along the NS AGS South District, NS has replaced the original mechanical bell here with a newer e-bell, this time a Safetran Type 3 that was most likely installed in the mid-to-late 2000s (along with just about every other Safetran Type 3 in the Bessemer area). All of the gate lights here are incandescent as well, save for the tip gate light on the closer signal which has an NEG LED gate light.
In the background is an old abandoned bridge for the ACL line that ran through Bessemer, part of which is still used by CSX as part of their Mineral Subdivision to the north of 22nd Street in Bessemer. It appears that originally, the line continued SW through Bessemer, paralleling the present-day NS AGS South District until it got up onto a viaduct around 17th Street. From there, it curved southeastwards over the AGS South District (with the curve appearing to have started between 15th and 16th Streets) and ran SE to Hoover, where it likely connected to what's now the northern end of the CSX Lineville Subdivision.