Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 7-30-19*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 8 inch lights, a dying WCH mechanical bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WCH 8 inch lights, a dying WCH mechanical bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and and NEG LED gate lights.

This was the 10th crossing I caught A724 at, and it was a high-priority one for me to get as well. This crossing is another nice "pure" SCL WCH install, though it appears to be a rather early one. In fact, this install is likely from the mid-1970s, not too longer after Federal Signal sold of Western Cullen in 1976, as the gate mechs here are the very early WCH gate mechs that feature the company name written out on them! These gate mechs seem to be somewhat easy to find on some ex-BN lines, such as the BNSF Mendota Sub, but are pretty rare elsewhere. In fact, this is the only crossing I'm aware of on the CSX Dothan Sub, if not the SE and the SCL's former system entirely, with WCH gate mechs of this style.
Both bells here also sound rather nice, even with how rough they are sounding. Unfortunately, this may mean that these are going to be getting replaced before too long.
The far signal also had its lights repainted at some point between 2013 and 2018, though likely closer to 2018, if I had to guess.