Evans Pond Road, Greenwood, SC

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 2-28-22*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 8 inch lights, an NEG electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 1.5 pairs of Safetran 8 inch lights, 1 RACO 8 inch light, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

On February 28th, I got on up and checked out of the hotel here in Greenwood, and then waited at Parke Junction to see if I could get anything heading up the CSX Spartanburg Sub. While waiting, the signal there upgraded to Approach Slow for a northbound going into the siding just beyond the junction, so I went over to this crossing and waited. While waiting, this signal maintainer showed-up to do the monthly test of the crossing. Apparently, CSX had had a train tied down in the siding here blocking the two crossings in it over the past few days, so he wasn't able to get these tested and was trying to do so before the train arrived. As such, I just turned-on my camera and recorded him testing the crossing and making sure everything was good.

When the maintainer finished testing the crossing, he checked to see where the train was at and we saw it was getting close, so he drove on over to the next crossing to get it tested while I remained here to film the train. After the crossing times-out, we see this northbound mixed freight pulling into the siding with a CM44AC leading an ES44AH with another CM44AC working as the mid-train DPU. Unfortunately, this train wound-up tying down here in the siding, so I wasn't able to get the end of it. However, I had already recorded the crossing in full (with both the tests shown in the previous video and the time-out in this one), so I don't mind too much, TBH.

This crossing is a nice one, featuring a late-70s Safetran install from the SCL that's still largely original. It appears that at some point, either in the 80s under the SBD or the 90s under CSX, if I had to hazard a guess, the closer signal was struck by something. As a result, the front counterweight arm on the closer signal got replaced, along with the front-left light being replaced with a re-used RACO 8 inch light. Then, sometime between 2012 and 2019, CSX replaced the original Safetran mechanical bell on the far signal with the current NEG e-bell, and since then, no major change have occurred here, thankfully.
I'm glad to see that this crossing is still fully 8 inch (while retaining most of the original lights). The remaining Safetran mechanical bell here still sounds fairly loud and healthy as well, which is great to see. Hopefully the lights and bell here remain around for a good while to come, which they probably will (based on what the maintainer told me).