17th Avenue, Lanette, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 8-9-25*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.

After catching M606 in Cannonville, I hopped on down to this crossing in Lanett to try and finally get it filmed, as I've been meaning to film this guy for several years now (and even attempted it back in 2022 to no success, sadly). Thankfully, after a few hours of waiting, I was able to get my second train of the day here: a northbound CSX M602 with a pair of ES40DCs leading an AC44CW on the head-end, and another ES40DC working as the mid-train DPU. This train was also carrying a bunch of brand new freight cars for US Sugar in Florida, guess the old modified freight cars they'd been using are now on the way out.

This crossing is another great one, featuring a mid-90s CSX install that's almost entirely unchanged from when it was originally installed! It seems that the only notable change here since the signals here were installed was that the gate arms and gate lights were all replaced some point within the past decade and a half or so. Thankfully, the rest of the equipment here is still fully original, including the lights, gate mechs, and especially the WCH mechanical bell! The bell here still sounds fairly healthy, which is nice to see, and the backgrounds on the lights have actually gotten pretty decently faded over the years. Hopefully these nice older CSX signals remain around here unchanged for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm glad I got to record this crossing when I did.

https://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Lanett/17/