Bishop Road, Middleton, TN

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 3-22-25*

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

After catching 733, @madisoncountysirens4295 and I hopped on over to this crossing just west of Middleton to wait for our next train, thinking we might see the 72Z that 733 was meeting at the next siding to our west. However, 72Z wound-up getting held there for 285, which was a bit annoying at first. Thankfully, after a while of waiting and almost before sunset, we were able to catch our fifth, and best, train of the day: NS 285 with a UP AC4460CW leading a UP C44ACM and a UP SD70M for power! Definitely nice being able to get another of those UP AC4460CWs leading, as the last one I caught was in Dallas, TX, over a year ago!

This crossing is honestly a great one, though a bit of a strange one at the same time. The signals here appear to be a fully original late-90s NS install, but, strangely, based on the equipment here being of the mid-90s style, they appear to predate the ones at Main Street, which originally had a Safetran mechanical bell. It appears the Tennessee Division NS used to have (parts of which got combined with the Kentucky Division to form the Central Division, while others, like the Memphis East and West, got rolled into the Alabama Division) used mechanical bells on new installs a bit longer than NS's other divisions did (including the Alabama Division), using them into the late-90s based on what I've seen. As such, I'm not sure if the GS Type 1 here is original or not, and, if not, when it would've been installed, as there's no street view to go off of here. As such, all that I know is that these signals were either a mid-90s NS install with the bell here being replaced with the current (reused?) GS Type 1 prior to @EthantheRailfanner documenting this crossing back in 2020, or the bell here is indeed original and these signals were a late-90s NS install, and one of the first new installs on the former Tennessee Division to have an e-bell. It's definitely nice to have been able to record another GS Type 1 though, and the one at this crossing also has a nice, faded appearance to it too.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Tennessee/G-Q ... on/Bishop/