Grant Street, Bessemer, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 5-12-20*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.

After catching the autorack train, I continued on up to Bessemer to wait on Amtrak 20. After waiting for a little while (and chatting with the signal maintainer for this stretch of the line), Amtrak 20 came flying through with another pair of P42DCs for power.

After two failed attempts to record the crossing the day before, it appears the third time's the charm, as I was finally able to record this crossing! This crossing feature another nice pair of pretty much "pure" 90s NS signals, with probably the only noteworthy change being that the gate lights on the closer signal were upgraded to LED at some point. This crossing also features the last NS-owned mechanical bell in Bessemer, so I'm glad to have finally gotten it recorded.
As a side note, according to the maintainer I spoke with, the maintainer in charge of the section of track that 32nd Street crossing in Bessemer's on (a different guy from the one I spoke to) wanted to keep the Safetran mechanical bells there. However, when the relay case there had to be replaced, the person in charge of them at the time wanted everything to be modern, so the bells were replaced. A shame, but I'm certainly glad I got it in action a few times back in 2015.

[freebrickproductions]

No major changes here as of 1-29-22:


http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Bessemer/Grant/