50th Street, Midfield, AL
Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:39 pm
*originally recorded on 5-13-20*
Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a Safetran mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
After I finished documenting the crossings on the NS AGS North District, I noticed I still had plenty of daylight left, so I drove all the way back down to Midfield to try and record this crossing. While waiting for something, I heard that NS 130 was coming north from Bessemer, and after a bit more waiting, he eventually came rolling on through this crossing with an ET44AC leading an SD70IACe and a pair of Dash-9s, with an SD70ACe as the mid-train DPU. Probably not the most interesting lash-up to end off on, but at least it's something.
This crossing is a pretty nice one, featuring a pair of NS signals from the mid-1990s. It appears that the only major change here was that sometime between 2015 and 2017, the bell on the far signal was replaced with the current GS Type 3, and then the gate arms were replaced, and the gate lights upgraded to LED, sometime after 2017. Still, one of the two original Safetran mechanical bells here remains, which is quite nice to see.
This crossing is actually on the border between Birmingham and Midfield, so I consider it to be in Midfield. However, it appears that the street keeps the same name in both cities, which is a bit unusual. Where my camera is is Midfield, while Birmingham can be seen on the far side of the crossing.