Vermont Avenue, Independence, MO

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 9-1-22*

Signal on the left: 1 pair of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, a WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and Electro-tech LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 1 pair of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with GE Dotted LEDs, a dying WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and Electro-tech LED gate lights.

After catching the MNA at Cottage Street, I went on over to this crossing to see what would come next. After about two hours of waiting, this westbound empty TVA (per the reporting marks on the hoppers) coal train came through with an AC44CW leading an ES44AH with an AC45CCTE as the rear-DPU.

This is another rather nice crossing, and I'm glad I was able to record it. The signals here are another early-80s MoPac install, though the closer signal features a mid-70s Safetran gate mech, a bit unusually. In the 1990s, UP replaced the bell on the far signal with the current WCH mechanical bell. Then, in the late-2000s, UP upgraded all of the lights here with Electro-tech LEDs. The crossing has since remained mostly unchanged since, outside of about half of the Electro-techs LEDs here being replaced with newer WCH 2nd Gen and GE Dotted LEDs.
Thankfully, this crossing still retains a full mechanical bell pair, and the closer signal even still retains its original WCH mechanical bell, though sadly it is very much dying. The bells here also still retain the old MoPac bell sequence, with the bells here ringing as the gates rise. Hopefully UP gives the closer signal's bell some TLC and these signals are allowed to remain unchanged for many more years to come, but either way, I'm glad to have been able to record this one as well.