CR 68, Marbury, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 5-16-24*

Signal on the left: 1.5 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights and 1 Safetran 12x24 inch light.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Modern Industries 12x24 inch lights and an NEG electronic bell.

After I caught M521 in Thorsby, I chased them on south to this crossing in Marbury, a bit afraid I was going to miss them due to a bunch of extra traffic on US 31 due to a massive back-up on I-65. Thankfully, I was still able to beat them here with a few minutes to spare. Here we see CSX M521 for one final time before I let them go. You can also hear the defect detector just south of this crossing reading-out after the train passes.

This crossing is a very nice one, featuring a classic L&N install from the 50s or so (due to having TPC masts). In the 1980s, it appears, CSX replaced the lights here with the current MI 12x24s. Then, in the mid-90s, the left-rear light on the far signal was replaced with the current Safetran 12x24, I assume due to the MI light it replaced being struck. In the late-90s or early-2000s, CSX then replaced the bell here with a General Signals e-bell, I believe being a Type 1. The crossing then remained unchanged for a few years after, but, sometime between 2013 and 2019, CSX replaced the bell here again, this time with the current NEG e-bell. Thankfully, since then, no major changes have occurred here.
I'm glad to see some more 3rd Gen MI 12x24s in use here, I do love how CSX modernized a few of their crossings with them back in the 80s (and maybe early-90s). They honestly just look so nice on older signals like this. Sadly, unlike the signals that used to stand at CR 20, these ones lack the mounts for the split crossbucks they almost certainly originally had, but it's great to see these classic signals still stand regardless. Hopefully they remain here for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm glad I got to film them when I did.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Marbury/CR68/