Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 8 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 8 inch lights, a General Signals Type-1 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

This is actually one of the few remaining 8 inch crossings on the NS Memphis District West End. The others are located near Memphis, TN.

Been a few changes since I last recorded this crossing:


*originally recorded on 3-21-18*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

Since I had last recorded this crossing in action, the GS Type 1 has been replaced with an older Safetran Type 3, and the lights were later upgraded to the Safetran 12x20s seen here, meaning the Memphis West no longer has any 8 inch lights outside of the Memphis, TN area. This is the first signalized crossing east of Garner Lane as well. The wind also didn't like me trying to record this crossing, as it tried to blow my tripod over and knocked it slightly out of alignment at least once. May see about rerecording this crossing in the near future to get a better video along with the other crossing videos that were messed-up due to the wind...

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/Barto ... eam_Plant/

Finally got a better video of the upgrades here yesterday. No changes since the above video though.

*originally recorded on 3-22-25*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a Siemens gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

On March 22nd, madisoncountysirens4295 and I hit the road for Brownsville, TN, to record their weekly siren test. As we were heading-out through the Shoals, however, we saw that there was a westbound coming out of Sheffield so I decided to stop here to record it. After a bit of waiting, we were able to catch our first train of the day: NS 283 with an ES44AC leading an AC44C6M for power.

This crossing definitely looks quite a bit different from when I last filmed it. Sometime last year, IIRC, NS sadly replaced both of the old Southern Railway signals that were from the mid-70s here with a pair of brand new signals. Thankfully, they did leave the old SOU relay case in place, but it's definitely a bit of a shame to see that the older gate mechs that were here are now gone.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/B ... eam_Plant/