McKinney Avenue, Albertville, AL
Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:43 pm
Signal on the left: 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, 1 pair of WCH 12x24 inch lights with Electro-tech LEDs, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, a RECO LED gate light, and two NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 4 pairs of Harmon 12x24 inch lights, 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and Alstom (NEG) LED gate lights.
After reporting and recording the malfunctioning crossing on US 431, I was able to converse with the conductor and he told me that they'd be heading south soon to pick up some cars from a siding on the other side of Albertville, so I got on down to this crossing. After a little while of waiting, the SD40-2 came through running lite, thankfully a little while before the sunset!
This crossing's been one of my higher priority ones to record, and I was finally able to get it! The crossing is a pretty unique one for the ATN (and in the state as a whole). First off, the far signal, which is a replacement for a late-90s CSX signal that was knocked down, features what appears to be all re-used equipment. Unfortunately, they didn't re-use the GS Type 1 the signal had, but seeing another GS Type 1/Type 2 mixture is always nice. The cantilever signal however still remains as a "pure" late-90s CSX install, outside of the gate arm. The cantilever had already been somewhat unique due to how the mast lights were set-up and the fact that it still used Safetran gate lights up until a few years ago, but as you can see, it was replaced more recently.
However, this replacement actually only made the crossing more interesting, due to the replacement gate arm being a hinged gate arm (the first one I've ever seen) with Alstom (though, I guess technically NEG) LED gate lights! On top of that, this gate arm is the only one of its kind on the ATN, if not the entire state of Alabama!
While I may come back here in the near future for a video that has (hopefully) better lighting, I'm still quite glad to have been able to record it today.
http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/A ... /McKinney/