First time ever owning a bell and the story of how I got it is quite interesting. First off, it is a WCH Type 1.5 Generation 2 Electronic Bell and yes, I know that the "type" system is outdated but TBH I could care less. Anyways, this bell was located at 7th St in DeKalb, IL on the top of the Southern Signal. It replaced a Safetran Mechanical Bell in April 2004. It would then be in service until November 23, 2025 where it would be replaced by an NEG E Bell. I called it in on November 22, 2025 because it became extremely quiet around September of 2025. It would be replaced without me there on November 23rd but then on November 24th, I ran into the maintainer and I asked him if I could have it. He then gave it to me and thats how I acquired this bell. And fun fact, I have nearly 400 videos of this bell in service. It works fine besides the fact the speaker is worn out. I did clean it which was an hour task. For some reason, this bell does the long ring at the beginning even though it has a protected board.
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BilUV7sMOzk
Mikes Crossing Page for 7th St:
https://www.rxrsignals.com/Illinois/A-K/DeKalb/7_1/
Here is a picture of the bell itself:
- IMG_9881.jpg (239.63 KiB) Viewed 2001 times
Here is a before the cleaning Picture:
- IMG_9874.jpg (249.95 KiB) Viewed 2001 times
And here is an after the cleaning Picture:
- IMG_9875.jpg (237.25 KiB) Viewed 2001 times
Known as SignalMan9292 on Youtube.
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I make games on Roblox if you want to check those out.
