Ward Street, Haleyville, AL

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*originally recorded on 8-5-20*

Signal on the left: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

This was the third crossing I chased 320 to on August 5th. It's another nice one, featuring another late-90s NS install with a few upgrades to it. Like with the one in Russellville, the only major change here is that the original bell on the closer signal was replaced at some point. However, unlike Russellville, the bell here was replaced sometime within the past few years with a GS Type 3, certainly making for an unusual bell combo.
The bells here also ring when the gates rise, which is nice to see again, though a bit unusual for a late-90s NS install.
Years ago, there was a junction here in Haleyville between the ICG's mainline from Corinth, MS, to Birmingham, AL, and this Southern Railway line (present day NS NA District). In fact, the junction between the two was located just north of this crossing, and where it used to be is now just a random absolute signal located along the line. I'm not sure if the ICG utilized trackage rights over this SOU line to get to Birmingham, or if they had their own line built elsewhere, but a junction between two railroads here did exist at one point. Of course, the NS NA and West End Districts were both much more major originally, with both being full CTC with loads of sidings, only two of which really see any regular use these days for anything other than car storage.

[freebrickproductions]

Filmed the side with the GS Type 1 on 7-8-23:


http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Haleyville/Ward/