Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 4-3-20*

The lone signal here has 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights and a WCH mechanical bell.

After we saw ATN M715 just north of Attalla, we continued on into Attalla to catch it one more time. It seems they had to wait a little while for NS to give them permission across the diamond, and possibly permission into the yard, but they did eventually come through. Here we see them as they enter the west end of the yard in Gadsden as they roll down the ATN's portion of the L&N Mineral Loop.

This crossing is one I've been wanting to record for a while now, and it's easy to see why as it's a pretty nice one. The signal here, like the other I-59 crossing, is a mid-90s CSX install, but unlike the other one, appears to be almost entirely original. It appears that this guy was originally gated though (again, like I-59 #1), but at some point, the gate here was removed for some reason. Either way, it's quite nice to see another gateless crossing with a mechanical bell, especially since this is now one of the last two crossings on the ATN north of Gadsden to feature one still. All in all, I'm quite glad I was able to record this crossing at long last.
I-59's overpasses can also be seen on the left, along with US 278 & US 431 on the other side of the crossing.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Attalla/I-59_2/

*originally recorded on 11-15-24*

The lone signal here has 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with GE Uniform Look LEDs and a WCH mechanical bell.

After I caught Y102 at 4th Street & 2nd Avenue, I ducked around downtown Attalla via US 11, AL 77, and I-59 to make my way over to this crossing next to the last highway. Thankfully, 179 eventually got moving again, and was able to clear the diamonds in Attalla as a result to allow Y102 through. Unfortunately, by the time Y102 made it here, the sun had already set over half an hour ago, but, thankfully, there was still just enough ambient light here to get a decent video with. I may see about returning here at some point for a better video if I can do so, but, either way, I was still able to get ATN Y102 one final time on this day at my tenth and final crossing of the day. After this, I hopped back on US 431 and followed it back home to Huntsville.

Sometime between my last video of this crossing in April of 2020 and January of 2021, the ATN upgraded the signal here to LED with a pair of GE Uniform Look LEDs. Thankfully, nothing else has changed to this downgraded mid-90s CSX signal, which still retains its original WCH mechanical bell! The bell here still sounds fairly healthy too, which is nice to see, so hopefully it remains here for many more years to come. Either way, I'm glad I was finally able to get the LED upgrade here recorded, after well over three (possibly four) years since it had been done.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Attalla/I-59_2/