Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

NS crossing (near side in first video):
Westbound signal: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO gate lights.
Eastbound signal: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights and a Safetran mechanical bell.

CSX & BHRR crossing (near side in second video):
Westbound signal (CSX): 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, 2 pairs of Federal Signal/Western Cullen Division 12x20 inch lights, and a Safetran Type 2 electronic bell.
Eastbound signal (BHRR): 3 pairs of L&W 12x20 inch lights with General Signals LEDs, 1 pair of WCH 12x20 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and Safetran gate lights.

Another nice one! Interesting how the signal with the LED's flashes so much slower than the rest.

cabman701 wrote:Another nice one! Interesting how the signal with the LED's flashes so much slower than the rest.

That's because it has its own relay case (which is also why the bell rings when the gate rises and the gate move much more quickly).
Each of the railroads have their own relay cases here. This is also why the CSX signal has the bell ring the entire time and also why that signal shuts off before the rest do.

*originally recorded on 1-29-22*

Signal on the far left: 3 pairs of L&W 12x20 inch lights with General Signals LEDs, 1 pair of WCH 12x20 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and General Signals gate lights.
Signal on the far right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, 1 pair of Federal Signal 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Low Wattage LEDs, 1 pair of Federal Signal 12x20 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, and a Safetran Type 2 electronic bell.
Signal on the near left: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights and a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell.
Signal on the near right: 4 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

After catching NS 225 at 19th Street, we went up to this crossing as there had been some upgrades I'd been meaning to film for a while. A bit annoyingly, we wound-up getting something of a triple meet here.
The first train that came through this crossing was a southbound NS mixed freight, which had an ES44DC leading a pair of Dash-9s. This train had a friendly crew, which was nice to see, but unfortunately, the train's rear end stopped on the crossing as they had to wait on a northbound before continuing.
The second train we got here was the northbound NS mixed freight they were waiting on, which had an AC44C6M leading another Dash-9. A little bit after this train had passed, the southbound was finally given a signal and began to move.
Unfortunately, just as the first train had cleared the crossing, CSX M730 had finished up their work in Bessemer and began to pull onto the BHRR on their way to Boyles, with a CM44AC for power. As such, we had to wait on them as well.

As you can see, a few different upgrades have occurred here since I last recorded this crossing a few years back. By the summer of 2019, NS's crossing had had a few changes. The relay case here got replaced, and, as a result of this, both Safetran mechanical bells here were sadly replaced as well. Apparently they were working fine, but the manager for the signal maintainers here at the time wanted them gone when the relay case was replaced, so away they went. NS also had their gate lights upgraded to LED, using a set of NEG LEDs.
In the same timeframe, CSX upgraded their overhead lights to LED, using a mix of Dialight Ball and Dialight Low Wattage LEDs. The BHRR left their signal relatively untouched, but by March of 2020, they'd replaced the Safetran gate lights on their signal with a set of General Signals ones.
However, the old 1970s installs here still remain, which is rather nice to see. NS's crossing still retains the original gate mech as well, which is rather neat. Hopefully these old signals remain around for a good while longer.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Bessemer/32/