Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 4-3-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 1 pair of US&S 8 inch lights, 1 pair of WABCO 8 inch lights, a US&S Teardrop Bell, a WRRS gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

This crossing is one of my favorites along the ATN, and one I had been trying to get for literal years (well, since 2016, at least). For a long time, the ATN had only been running at night (for the most part) on this section of their line, making it practically impossible for me to get, though my want to record this crossing should be pretty obvious. The left-hand signal isn't the most interesting signal out there, as it's a standard early to mid-2000s CSX signal, though the GS Type 2 on it is pretty faded. It also appears to be a knock-down replacement, given how unusually short it is.
However, the star of the show is easily the signal on the right, with it being an almost entirely original SAL signal! The signal itself appears to have been originally installed in the 1950s at the latest, and, aside from the crossbuck, gate arm, gate lights, and rear pair of lights, is pretty much unchanged from when the SAL first installed it.
The signal itself is pretty unique, with the mast splitting in two right above the gate mechanism. This was spec'd by the SAL to accommodate for the wooden "wishbone" gate arms these signals would've originally had. (Other railroads found varying ways to get around this as well, with the L&N, most notably, having the gate mechanism mounted on a seperate mast from the lights while Transport Products Corp. made special extensions that the junction boxes between the lights could be mounted on.) However, with the transition to thinner aluminum and fiberglass gate arms, the lights didn't need to be spread as far apart, so railroads and equipment manufacturers cut costs and moved to having everything on just one mast. As such, signals of this style have become quite rare with the various upgrades done to the SAL's crossings over the years. In fact, I believe this may be the only signal of this style left in Alabama.
And the mast isn't just the only thing about the signal that's great. Most of the equipment on the signal hasn't been changed since it was installed. The front lights are still the original US&S 8 inch lights, though the rear lights were replaced with WABCO 8 inch lights, and it appears to have been done so by the SCL or SBD. The crossing also features an aging WRRS gate mechanism, which is a bit slow to start lowering and then appears to struggle to raise the gate arm while deactivating.
However, the most notable thing about this signal is easily the bell: which is the last working US&S Teardrop bell in the state of Alabama! The bell is a 3rd Generation Teardrop bell, and still sounds extremely healthy. In fact, IMHO, I kinda like that the WRRS gate mech is a bit slow to lower, as it let me hear the Teardrop for a while longer. Mobile also has a Teardrop bell down at the state docks, but unfortunately, the bell doesn't work due to the crossing having been downgraded from active protection years ago. The lights here also start about a second before the bells do, which is a bit interesting.

I also met a young railfan while I was out here, whose mom had taken him out here to watch the train pass after it had passed by their house. It was certainly nice meeting him, and I hope he enjoys this hobby as much as I have.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/O ... e/Alabama/

No major changes to the crossing as of 6-28-19, though the WRRS gate mech was given a bit of a tune-up and no longer has a huge delay after the other gate mech when lowering (though still seems to struggle a bit when raising):

*originally recorded on 10-10-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a WCH Type 4 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

On October 10th, I went out with FanFan61618 to chase ATN Z390 from Odenville to as far south as we felt. We arrived into Odenville without incident, but the train didn't show for a few hours after that. However, it eventually showed up, running at 10 MPH with the ex-BN SD40-2 leading the Omnitrax-painted GP40-2LW!

As you can see, there's been quite a sad upgrade to this crossing within the past few months. The ATN has chosen to replace the old SAL signal on the far side of the crossing, meaning that there are no more active US&S Teardrop bells in the state. At around the same time, the newer CSX signal was upgraded to LED.
I'm not entirely sure as to why the ATN chose to replace the signal, as the old foundation was laying nearby and looked to be in good shape, so I doubt it was struck by a car.
However, as when I was last out here with Chuttlely, the ATN had the train's conductor out flagging the crossing due to a recent signal malfunction. As such, I strongly suspect the old SAL signal had sadly just aged a bit too much, and was no longer working as reliably anymore.
Either way, for whatever the reason, it's a huge shame that the old signal is now gone, especially since it had the last working US&S Teardrop bell in the state. On the other hand, I'm glad I made two successful trips out to this crossing to record it before it was removed, though. And as they say, "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".
Also, interestingly enough, based on just how faded the GS Type 2 here is, and the fact that it appears to have the older "GS Type 1" design, I suspect this crossing may have one of the earliest surviving examples of a GS Type 2 in service. A bit of a lame claim to fame, but still a bit of a neat thing to note, IMHO.
The bells here also now ring until the signals shut off, which is a bit of an interesting change (especially considering the fact that the old relay case is still being used). The gate mech on the right-hand signal also bumps the mast when the gate is lowered.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/O ... e/Alabama/

*originally recorded on 7-12-23*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a WCH Type 4 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

On July 12th, I went down to the ATN's Birmingham Sub to see about chasing Z390, as I heard both of the ATN's "new" ex-CSX/Conrail SD60s were on the train, and I had wanted to shoot those leading (and hadn't shot the ATN in a while either, for that matter). Got down to Odenville in the morning and, after a couple hours of waiting here, was able to catch Z390 with the ex-CSX SD60I leading the ex-BN SD40-2 and the ex-CSX SD60 for power!

Since I was last here, the ATN has replaced the NEG gate lights on the closer signal with a set of RECO LED gate lights. Shame to see those are gone now as well, but this crossing otherwise remains unchanged from when I last filmed it in 2019. Also kind of amusingly, I wound-up seeing the same railfan that I'd met here back when I first filmed this crossing in 2019, along with his friend, which was nice.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/O ... e/Alabama/