Wallace Drive, Dothan, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 7-28-19*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of WABCO(?) 12x20 inch lights, 1 pair of WABCO 8 inch lights, 1 pair of Safetran 8 inch lights, a dead Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WABCO(?) 12x20 inch lights, 1 pair of WABCO 8 inch lights, 1 pair of Safetran 8 inch lights, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

After I caught A724 at Murray Road, the crew did a little bit of switching and then tied down, while I went on up to this crossing not realizing that's what they were doing. However, after a couple hours of waiting, I decided to swing by the yard office in Dothan, to see what was going on, and found out that A724's new crew was going to be getting on in about 20 minutes! So, while chatting with one of A739's crew members, I saw A724's crew about to be hopping on the van to go to their train, so I went back on up to this crossing, while A724 got its crew and did some switching to pick-up two cars. After a little more time waiting, A724 came flying on through this crossing with the same power as before, and plenty of time left before sunset!

This crossing is a very, very nice one and was easily one of my highest-priority ones to record, so I'm quite glad to have gotten it! The crossing is pretty much another pure SCL install from the 70s, though one of the Safetran mechanical bells here is sadly dead. However, it features a pair of Federal Signal-branded Walpar cantilevers at it, with WABCO 8 inch lights on the mast, and some rare-ish 12 inch lights on the overheads.
These 12 inch lights are a bit hard to find, especially incandescent, it seems, but however, they are rather notable for not featuring any branding whatsoever on them, inside or out. However, I personally believe they were made by WABCO, as they have pretty much only ever appeared with on crossings with other WABCO equipment, or on railroads that have been known to use other pieces of WABCO equipment. They also use the same design of visor as WABCO/US&S 12 inch lights, which is another thing that points to them most likely being WABCO.
As far as I know, these are the only lights of this style in both the State of Alabama and on the Dothan Sub as a whole. Sadly, one of them has a blown bulb, but I'm still quite glad to have been able to record them.
I had previously thought this crossing was in Napier Field (which is just a few hundred feet to the east of here), but after rechecking the maps, it's actually just outside of those city limits. I put it with Dothan, as it's located on the edge of Dothan's city limits (as seen in the background), and the city of Dothan is the one who maintains the street blades at the intersection behind my camera. Midland City's city limits are also right here, though the edge of it is just west of the crossing. The George Wallace Community College can also be seen in the background.