Navy Road (TN 205), Millington, TN

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 4-1-26*

Signal on the left: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Harmon Fading LEDs, a Safetran Type 3 electronic bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Harmon Fading LEDs, a Safetran Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

After catching the southbound coal train in Clanton, vtgrxrman and I continued on up to Memphis and got their weekly siren test. After successfully getting that test, we decided to hop on up to the CN Fulton Subdivision to see if we could get some more trains and crossings on this day. Thankfully, we got here just before a northbound train was about to come through, and we got set-up just as the crossing at Church Street was activating. Here we get to see our third, and easily our best, catch of the day: a northbound CN potash train with an IC SD70, still in its original "deathstar" paint, leading a CN SD70M-2 for power! Definitely nice being able to get another IC SD70 leading, especially in its original paint!

This crossing is a pretty nice one, featuring a fairly modernized mid-1970s ICG install at it. Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure if this originally had Safetran 8 inch lights or if they were originally L&W 8 inch lights that were replaced later-on by 8 inch Safetrans, but, either way, by the time street view first came through here in the late-2000s all of the lights here were Safetran 8 inch lights. At some point in the 2000s, CN upgraded the overhead lights here to LED, but left the crossing fully 8 inch. It appears that about the same time, the far signal had its gate mast and gate mech all replaced as well with newer Safetran equipment. Then, sometime between 2008 and 2012, CN replaced all of the lights here with Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Harmon Fading LEDs, and also replaced the original Safetran mechanical bell here with a pair of Safetran Type 3 e-bells. Finally, sometime between when EthantheRailfanner first visited here in 2020 and when street view came through next in 2021 was replaced entirely with the current Siemens WT/F cantilever, though the pair of side lights appear to have been reused from the old signal. Since then, nothing else too major appears to have changed to this crossing.
Thankfully, despite all of the upgrades here over the years, the old Walpar cantilever from the ICG days still remains here on the closer side. Even better, the closer signal even still retains its original mid-70s Safetran gate mech! Hopefully these signals remain unchanged for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm glad I was able to get both of the remaining cantilever crossings on the CN Fulton Sub recorded.

https://www.rxrsignals.com/Tennessee/G- ... gton/Navy/