Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 6-18-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights and a Federal Signal mechanical bell.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights.

This crossing is a rather nice one as well. The left-hand signal is an old L&N-era signal with a somewhat healthy-sounding Federal Signal mechanical bell on it, while the right-hand signal was installed by CSX in the 1990s, replacing the previous signal at this crossing. Originally, this crossing was all 8 inch, with the right-hand signal having two pairs of WRRS 8 inch lights. However, for some reason, the right-hand signal was replaced by CSX in the mid-1990s, and the left-hand signal appears to have been upgraded to 12x24 inch lights in the early 2000s. Not sure what the left-hand signal originally had, though I suspect it may have had WRRS 8 inch lights as well. The signal that used to be on the right is now on display at the NC&StL depot museum located next to the crossing (which is also seen on the right).

This CSX line is a pretty interesting line, primarily due to the fact that it's almost completely isolated from the rest of the CSX system. Originally, this line was part of the NC&StL's mainline from Nashville to Memphis. However, sometime after the NC&StL was taken over by the L&N, the section of the line between Jackson and Hollow Rock, TN, along with the section between Jackson and Memphis, TN, were abandoned and torn up, just leaving this 8 mile stretch of isolated track that CSX still uses.
Not sure why CSX hasn't just sold off this line to the WTNN yet, but if I had to guess, it's due to the fact that there's still a fair amount of industry along it, and CSX already operates a local freight over the WTNN from Milan to Jackson to interchange with this operating and the WTNN. However, due to the fact that the line is pretty much completely isolated from the rest of CSX's trackage, and only sees this local going from the east side of town to the west and back again, CSX hasn't done too much upgrading here over the past few years. As a result, the newest signals to be installed along the line are literally from the early to mid 2000s, though the newest crossing equipment CSX has put up has been some NEG LED gate lights and an NEG e-bell at the easternmost crossing (which appears to have sadly replaced a WRRS mechanical bell).