Rauschenberg Road #1, near Varnell, GA

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 10-26-24*

Signal on the left: 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

After I caught 371, I went back up to this crossing just south of Varnell for hopefully at least one more train before it got too dark. Thankfully, after less than half an hour of waiting and right about sunset, this NS 369 (IIRC) came rolling through with an AC44C6M leading an SD70ACe for power.

This crossing is another nice one, featuring another nice old mid-70s SOU install. In the 1980s, it appears, the lights on the closer signal along with the main lights on the far signal were all replaced with the current Safetran 12x24 inch lights. Then, in the late-90s, NS replaced the original 1st Gen Safetran mechanical bell here with the current GS Type 1 e-bell, followed by the side lights on the far signal being replaced by the current Safetran 12x20s in the 2000s. Finally, sometime between 2007 and 2019, it appears NS replaced the main lights on the far signal with the current Safetran lights, and the far signal had the front half of its base replaced with a newer Safetran one. Since then, thankfully, nothing else too major seems to have changed to this crossing. Despite all of these modernizations, in fact, both signals still retain their original mid-70s Safetran gate mechs, which are great to see. I'm also glad to see the closer signal still retains its GS Type 1 e-bell, as I always do enjoy recording these bells.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Georgia/R-Z/V ... chenberg1/