Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 4-2-18*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electro-Tech LEDs.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electro-Tech LEDs and a WRRS mechanical bell.

This crossing is a very (and I mean VERY) nice one, with a pair of old L&N signals dating back to the 50s! It appears that the lights were all upgraded to the WCH 12x20s in either the 1980s by CSX or 1990s by the EARY, with one of the lights later being replaced again by a newer WCH light, with the crossing getting an LED upgrade sometime between 2013 and 2015. The WRRS mechanical bell here sounds to still be in great shape other than the fact that it's a bit slow to start and seems to have missed a few beats at one point when the train was about to reach the crossing. The right-hand signal also has a rather interesting set-up on it due to a curve in the road right next to the crossing. There used to be an old US&S relay case here as well, but the EARY has since removed it. This crossing is also one of only three signalized crossing on the EARY, which is a G&W-owned shortline that operates a portion of the L&N Mineral Branch between Sylacauga, AL and Talladega, AL.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/Talladega/Bemiston/

*originally recorded on 7-7-22*

Southbound signal: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electo-tech LEDs.
Northbound signal: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs and a WCH Type 4 electronic bell.

After catching the EARY outside of Sycamore, I chased them all the way up to this crossing where I got to see them working the interchange with CSX. Here we see them shoving back to pick-up some cars CSX had left after dropping off the train they brought-up.
Also got to chat with the crew here a bit, which was nice.

After catching the EARY shoving through the crossing, I decided to set-up and film the other side of it in action, since the lighting would allow for it as well. After a bit of waiting, the EARY began their journey back to Sylacauga, this time with one of the GP38-2s in the lead.

Since I last recorded this crossing in action, the EARY has sadly replaced the WRRS mechanical bell here with the current WCH Type 4 e-bell. I actually discovered this upgrade here back in January of 2019, and even got a video of it, but it wasn't a proper crossing video as I wasn't able to get my camera set-up for it.
However, on this day, I was finally able to get a proper crossing video of it. As you can see, thankfully these older gateless L&N signals still remain otherwise unchanged.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/R-Z/T ... /Bemiston/