I'm wondering which crossings have been childhood favourites for members of the site?
One childhood favourite of mine is McGregor Road, Pakenham. I frequently crossed the rail line at this location and I've been stopped at this location several times over the years. Although it doesn't have the Hybrid bells that it had from when the signals were originally installed in 1986. It's still a favourite of mine.
The blue house across the tracks on the right was my grandmothers. Spent a lot of time there, especially during the summer growing up. The tracks don't see much use these days, but they are still active.
My brother and I caught the crossing in action back in 2009. Sorry for the shaky camera... it was freezing out and I forgot my tripod.
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:49 pm
by freebrickproductions
For me, it'd undoubtedly be Lily Flagg Road here in Huntsville, AL. Got to see the HMCR running for the first time (in person, that is) there when I was really young. We knew they'd be coming as my Nana (grandmother on my fathers side) lived in a condo near the crossing at the time.
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 3:26 pm
by TrickyMario7654
freebrickproductions wrote:For me, it'd undoubtedly be Lily Flagg Road here in Huntsville, AL. Got to see the HMCR running for the first time (in person, that is) there when I was really young. We knew they'd be coming as my Nana (grandmother on my fathers side) lived in a condo near the crossing at the time.
The bell was still probably ringing super fast back then!
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 3:35 pm
by freebrickproductions
TrickyMario7654 wrote:
freebrickproductions wrote:For me, it'd undoubtedly be Lily Flagg Road here in Huntsville, AL. Got to see the HMCR running for the first time (in person, that is) there when I was really young. We knew they'd be coming as my Nana (grandmother on my fathers side) lived in a condo near the crossing at the time.
The bell was still probably ringing super fast back then!
I seem to recall it was a slower bell, but then again, the bell may have still been the original WRRS mechanical bell back then.
This one wasn't far from where I grew up. Back in the early days of my memory, I barely recall one approach having the old cast-iron PRR crossbuck and the other approach having a standard crossbuck, I think on a metal post.
Then one day, standard crossbucks on wood posts came about (with a bonus error).
Sometime in 1988 or 1989 it was upgraded with gates and lights. I followed the process on that closely, trying to get my parents to drive across it whenever they could. Later on I found out that my dad had asked for and received the crossbuck opposite the error one, but for whatever reason it stayed in the garage for a few years before I found it.
busman_49 wrote:Then one day, standard crossbucks on wood posts came about (with a bonus error).
Rail Rail Crossing.
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:12 pm
by ZachL
Not a single crossing in particular that I was close to, but these crossings were ones I always saw going to my grandmother's house growing up, and I still pass by them on occasion to this day:
They were removed in the summer of 2012, back when the Nebraska Ave. crossing was upgraded, and that's also when all of the crossings (except the Busch Blvd. crossing) got LEDs.
The Busch Blvd. crossing got LEDs sometime between 2008 and 2011, and the crossing as a whole was upgraded in the late 1990s. It used to have either those older WCH/FS/WRRS cantilevers or Safetran/Griswold "fence" cantilevers before what it looks like now. I only vaguely remember its old layout.
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 10:29 pm
by TrickyMario7654
ZachL wrote:The Busch Blvd. crossing got LEDs sometime between 2008 and 2011, and the crossing as a whole was upgraded in the late 1990s. It used to have either those older WCH/FS/WRRS cantilevers or Safetran/Griswold "fence" cantilevers before what it looks like now. I only vaguely remember its old layout.
Luckily, the only thing that's changed on my crossing is the bells. Everything else is the same as it was when I started primary school. (Meaning that I would cross it on a near daily basis )
Re: Childhood Crossings...
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 1:59 pm
by cabman701
ZachL wrote:Not a single crossing in particular that I was close to, but these crossings were ones I always saw going to my grandmother's house growing up, and I still pass by them on occasion to this day:
They were removed in the summer of 2012, back when the Nebraska Ave. crossing was upgraded, and that's also when all of the crossings (except the Busch Blvd. crossing) got LEDs.
The Busch Blvd. crossing got LEDs sometime between 2008 and 2011, and the crossing as a whole was upgraded in the late 1990s. It used to have either those older WCH/FS/WRRS cantilevers or Safetran/Griswold "fence" cantilevers before what it looks like now. I only vaguely remember its old layout.
It's so cool that I've lived here long enough (2.5 years almost) that I have seen all these crossings in person. Now I just need to catch a train at one of them. Not easy to do apparently...
I did catch Amtrak in Ybor City back in January, and I know the CSX tracks are quite active southeast of downtown. I just don't have a lot of time to venture that way.
)