Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

Later today (7-21-19), once I've gotten some rest, I'll be setting out on a two-week trip to the Dothan Sub from Montgomery, AL to Cairo, GA. As I'm taking my laptop with me, I'll try to keep y'all updated with information about the various crossings I plan on visiting, which can be seen here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tnKgK ... sp=sharing

I've already documented every crossing, save for one, along the line from Troy to Cowarts, as well as all of the BAYL crossings in the Dothan area (save for the branch running out of Grimes) last summer, barring any recent changes. The line is full of old ACL/SCL/SBD/early CSX equipment, so hopefully I'll be able to record a lot of it. The line from Montgomery to Dothan was upgraded to 40 MPH earlier this year, while the rest of the line is still 25 MPH. Unfortunately, this part of the line is also hard to catch trains in the daylight on it appears, as of the two daily trains: A723 and A724, A723 usually is past Dothan before sunrise and A724 usually doesn't leave Thomasville, GA until about mid-afternoon.
However, A723 doesn't always run that early and there are the occasional grain trains that will go as far south as Pinckard, what looks to possibly be the occasional autorack at the north end of the line in Montgomery, as well as a few NS run-throughs to the BAYL in Dothan (such as coal trains to a paper mill in the Panama City area and rock trains to a place called "Hilton" along their line), so I might get lucky and get a fair amount of those. Plus, the BAYL tends to be pretty busy M-F in the Dothan area while the other shortlines along the line only get used as needed.

As mentioned and shown above, I'll also be visiting the shortlines in the area, along with parts of the CSX S&NA South and CSX Bainbridge Subs, so I'll be posting about those as well.

Okay, I've made it down to my hotel in Troy and have a few things of note.

First off, I was able to document every single signalized crossing on the S&NA South Sub. In addition to this, I was also able to record both Jackson Avenue in Clanton and CR 20 in Marbury. The MI bell at Jackson Avenue is still there and sounds pretty healthy, outside of a few clicks when it starts. CR 20 in Marbury also has a GS Type 1 e-bell.
Logan Road in Clanton has had all of its overhead lights upgraded to Leotek EV Series LEDs, though both WCH mechanical bells remain, along with the MI bell in Thorsby.
At CR 68 in Marbury, the GS e-bell on street view has been replaced with an NEG e-bell. Jackson Street in Elmore also had the signal with three pairs of lights replaced (appears to have been due to an accident), and the new signal features a 5 inch mast with four pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs and an NEG e-bell. For some odd reason, even though the old signal had three pairs of lights, CSX opted to install four pairs on the new signal, with the extra pair of side lights facing off into the woods. Not sure why this was done, just seems to be a waste of money.
At CR 68 near Deatsville, the GS e-bell was replaced with an NEG e-bell, along with the old Searchlight signals at the siding (of course). Interestingly enough, the signal without a bell has an older Safetran gate mech, while the other signal uses a newer one. Not sure how an older Safetran gate mech (likely from the 70s, it appears) as the install is a later L&N one which would've had GRS gate mechs originally. If I had to guess though, the gate mech was likely re-used from an SCL line somewhere around here. Also, the same signal features an incandescent WCH 12x24 inch light mixed in among the Safetran 12x24s, which I wasn't expecting. The other signal uses all Safetran 12x24 inch lights.

Moving onto the Troy area, when I was in the area last, Love Street #1 and College Street #1 both had signals that were in the process of being installed. Of course, these have been completed and feature the typical current CSX installs: NEG e-bells (Love Street has one, College Street has two), WCH 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs (4 pairs at Love Street and 5 pairs at College Street), Siemens gate mechs, and NEG LED gate lights.
However, one thing I wasn't expecting to see was the Conecuh Valley Railroad upgraded the Love Street #2 crossing at about the same time, it appears, replacing the crossbucks that had been there. The new signals there feature WCH 12x24 inch lights with GE Dotted LEDs, a General Signals e-bell on the westbound signal, WCH gate mechs, and NEG LED gate lights. This makes for the second signalized crossing along the railroad, after the one at US 231.
The abandoned SCL crossbuck at College Street #2 has been removed as well.

Nothing else to report, so have a good evening y'all!

Okay, time for my nightly recap:

Went to both ends of the section of the Dothan Sub today, and got the crossings from Troy to Montgomery all documented. Interestingly enough, the northernmost crossing along the line was upgraded to gated signals from crossbucks sometime within the past few years. Speaking of upgrades, it appears that the section of the line from the yard in Dothan southwards is being upgraded to LED. Several older crossings have had their 8 inch lights replaced with 12x24 inch LED lights (almost always WCH 12x24s with Leotek EV Series LEDs), and any other 12 inch lights at the crossings would get LEDs installed in them. However, at the all 8 inch crossings, not every light would be replaced, so sometimes you'd find a pair of new 12 inch LED lights with everything else being 8 inch or one signal would've been upgraded while the other was left alone. At the same time, however, it appears that the maintainers for the section of line from Dothan Yard northwards don't feel the need to actively upgrade, with very few, if any, major changes to the crossings along this section (note: I have yet to check-up on Ozark's crossings).

Also, I found out some highly useful information from a local on the east side of Cario. Apparently, CSX A724 usually passes by their house between 1-2pm Eastern (12-1p Central), so that'll be useful for future chases. Unfortunately, he had to wait in the Dothan Yard for the yard job (A739, it sounds like) to return (which I also recorded), so only one video of him today because I missed him earlier. However, two things of note from the crossings I did record (excluding the local):
1. Butler Mill Road in Snowdoun uses two GS Type 2s.
2. The NEG e-bell at Lake Street #2 in Dothan is pretty much dead, only making the "pop" sound that the speakers on those bells do when they start-up, never actually ringing. The Federal Signal bell on the other signal is a bit slow to start, and sounds a bit clanky when ringing, but is otherwise fine.

Nothing too much to note today other than one of the signals in Ozark having its lights upgraded to LED (and one of the masts replaced with a new one). Also confirmed that in addition to the 4th Street crossing in Cairo having almost all of the lights replaced (save for two pairs of overhead lights on the non-Safetran cantilever, which were just upgraded to LED), the e-bell there was replaced with a black Safetran mechanical bell! When chatting with the signal maintainer for this section of the line, I mentioned this and he said that he said that he restored that bell himself and reinstalled it as, in his words, "mechanical bells last longer". Some of the mechanical bells along this part of the line that I recorded today souned like they were dying, so hopefully this means that he's going to be repairing them rather than replacing them.

Nothing too much to note today, but I was lucky enough to get the Conecuh Valley Railroad (COEH) interchanging with CSX today, so I was able to get both crossings on Love Street, the crossing on College Street, and US 231/AL 10 crossing recorded.
Both crossings on Love Street do operate together, which is probably why CSX only installed one bell at that crossing. The GS Type 3 on the COEH crossing rings with the NEG e-bell until the gates lower, and then it rings again when the gates begin to rise.
US 231/AL 10 has its bells ring until the gates start to rise, or at least a few seconds prior to them actually rising. It seems the gate mechs take a little while to actually start raising.
Didn't get any CSX today unfortunately, seems like A724 was running really late.

A724 was a no-show again today, so no videos from the CSX Dothan Sub again, nor is there really anything worth noting.
However, I was able to chase a BAYL woodchip train from Abbeville, AL. The CR 45 crossing (just south of the woodchip mill) is pretty much a pure 1980s SBD install, though the Safetran bell at the crossing seems to be a bit weak as it is a bit slow to start and seems to be a bit flat and quiet. The AL 173 crossing near Abbeville also had its lights upgraded to WCH 12x24 inch lights with GE Dotted LEDs, and the train rocks back and forth quite a bit going over this crossing.
However, the crossing on AL 173 in Newville is still pretty much a pure ACL install, retaining its classic cast-iron WRRS 8 inch lights! I believe these are also the last 8 inch lights in service on any BAYL-owned trackage.

Went to the Wiregrass Central (in Enterprise) and the BAYL Abbeville branch today, got a few more things to report.
First off, the WABCO bells in Enterprise have sadly been replaced with GS e-bells. Not entirely sure what type, but I suspect GS Type 3s. There was also a Progress Rail 12x24 inch light-head next to the crossing, though missing the LED and part of the hing.
On the BAYL line to Abbeville, in Headland, the Martin Luther King Drive crossing has an MI bell which rings until the gates have lowered and then again when the gates rise. Also, the gate mech on the signal without a bell lowers extremely slowly, not even getting all the way down before the train enters the crossing. Further up the line near Newville, the WCH mechanical bell at the US 431 crossing, is unfortunately dead, as it turns out, while the MI mechanical bell on the other signal does indeed still work, though it seems to be starting to have some issues, unfortunately.
And all the way up into Abbeville, the abandoned signals at Westpoint Cutoff are still there, though the WCH mechanical bells were removed. The top of the mast signal has had the wires taped to it, which tells me that at least that one was removed by the railroad, though I'm not sure if the one on the cantilever was stolen or removed by the railroad as the wires are just sticking up out of the top.
Immediately to the south, at AL 27, the signals there were removed, though the relay case still stands. Interestingly enough, the signals themselves still exist at the crossing, though they are laying on their sides (with the foundations still attached) around the crossing, with pretty much all of the equipment removed from them. The one next to the relay case on the north side of the crossing is the easiest one to get a view of, and has an MI base, but the other one is buried under a pile of debris and is impossible to get a good view of.
For some good news, however, the BAYL is rebuilding this section of the line up to about Barnes Lane for a new industry that's going in between Wespoint Cutoff and AL 27, which will be quite good for the line. While the signals at Westpoint Cutoff will most likely be re-used, given how modern they are (I believe they were installed in the mid-2000s), though undoubtedly with new GS Type 3 e-bells, I'm not sure if the stripped masts laying on the ground around AL 27 will see re-use.
Also, something I forgot to mention yesterday is that this part of the BAYL is expected to be completely rehabilitated by the end of 2020, including upgrading the older ACL-era crossings along the line.

freebrickproductions wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:11 pm Nothing too much to note today other than one of the signals in Ozark having its lights upgraded to LED (and one of the masts replaced with a new one). Also confirmed that in addition to the 4th Street crossing in Cairo having almost all of the lights replaced (save for two pairs of overhead lights on the non-Safetran cantilever, which were just upgraded to LED), the e-bell there was replaced with a black Safetran mechanical bell! When chatting with the signal maintainer for this section of the line, I mentioned this and he said that he said that he restored that bell himself and reinstalled it as, in his words, "mechanical bells last longer". Some of the mechanical bells along this part of the line that I recorded today souned like they were dying, so hopefully this means that he's going to be repairing them rather than replacing them.

I never knew signal maintainers had rights to restore bells... i don't know if they have to ask for permission or something?

NathanFromEngland wrote: Sun Jul 28, 2019 11:42 am

freebrickproductions wrote: Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:11 pm Nothing too much to note today other than one of the signals in Ozark having its lights upgraded to LED (and one of the masts replaced with a new one). Also confirmed that in addition to the 4th Street crossing in Cairo having almost all of the lights replaced (save for two pairs of overhead lights on the non-Safetran cantilever, which were just upgraded to LED), the e-bell there was replaced with a black Safetran mechanical bell! When chatting with the signal maintainer for this section of the line, I mentioned this and he said that he said that he restored that bell himself and reinstalled it as, in his words, "mechanical bells last longer". Some of the mechanical bells along this part of the line that I recorded today souned like they were dying, so hopefully this means that he's going to be repairing them rather than replacing them.

I never knew signal maintainers had rights to restore bells... i don't know if they have to ask for permission or something?

I doubt the railroad cares as long as the crossing is kept fully functional, or at least close to.

Also, decided not to really post anything yesterday, since I didn't catch anything and only had about three things of note, but I did catch something today, so I'll be posting about both.
Yesterday's updates:
Just off of GA 370, near the Georgia Pacific plant, there was a signalized crossing that appears to have had some GRS 8 inch lights with a WRRS mechanical bell:
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.151512, ... 328!8i1664
Along with some nearby 45 degree crossbucks just behind the crossing:
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.1513394 ... 328!8i1664
Unfortunately, the signalized crossing was downgraded, having the lights, bell, and relay case removed and stop signs installed on the rusty masts, along with the 45 degree crossbucks being removed. Now, in addition to the stop signs, the crossing is protected by a pair of standard G&W crossbucks on the outside of both tracks.

Also, further south on the same railroad, the Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad, the GA 370 #2 crossing near Saffold, GA, features (kinda surprisingly) a Federal Signal mechanical bell! One of the US&S Model 75 gate mechs there has also been replaced with a Safetran one.

And finally, at Friendship Avenue in Donalsonville, GA, this signal at the crossing had an NEG e-bell installed on the junction box on the front side of the mast, sometime between December and now. The 8 inch lights on the other signal have also been upgraded.

Today, I was heading out to finish up documenting the remaining crossings on the Dothan Sub from Bainbridge to Cairo, GA, but on my way out, I saw a malfunctioning crossing in Donalsonville, which I stopped, called it in, got some action shots of, and waited for the signal maintainer to arrive at. However, while waiting, I wound-up seeing A724 approaching, running at least a few hours earlier than normal, which let me chase him all the way from Donalsonville, GA to Youngblood, AL! Here's what's I noticed, bell-wise:
1. The GS e-bell at Pearl Street in Jackin, GA, is a GS Type 2, and the WRRS mechanical bell on the other signal sounds rather healthy. The nearby crossing at Pot Likker Lane sounds like has a GS Type 1/Type 2 combo at it.
2. At GA 370 #1 in Saffold, GA, the US&S bell on the cantilever sounds like it's dying. The other US&S bell sounds fine.
3. At Broadway Street in Ashford, AL, both GS e-bells are Type 1s.
4. The newer signal at Murray Road in Dothan, AL, has a dead WCH mechanical bell on it. Said signal replaced this signal sometime between 2013 and 2018, but re-used the bell and gate mech, surprisingly. The other WCH bell works find.
5. The Safetran bell on the gate mast for the larger cantilever at Wallace Drive in Napier Field, AL, is dead. The other Safetran bell sounds fine.
6. The WRRS bell on the southbound signal at CR 20 #2 near Ozark, AL, is dead. The other WRRS bell works fine.
7. The Federal Signal mechanical bell on the northbound signal at Jodie Parker Road in Ozark, AL, is definitely dying, ringing only once every few beats, clicking the rest of the time. The other Federal Signal mechanical bell still sounds great though.
8. The Safetran mechanical bell at College Street in Brundidge, AL, is dead. The GS Type 1 on the other signal still works.

Only two major things to note today, so here they are:
The WRRS mechanical bell at CR 95 in Gordon, AL, is dead.
3rd Avenue in Ashford, AL, uses a GS Type1/Type 2 combo.