25th Street #3, Birmingham, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 12-29-20*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights and a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell.

On December 29th, I made a second trip back down to the NS West End District to chase NS 329 north once again. However, as I got down there before 329 would be coming through, I chose to see if I could get one of the locals on the NS Ensley Branch. One of the locals had already left (and was blocking the crossing I wanted to record), but thankfully, the other local was getting ready to leave, so I set-up here to record it. Here we see the local roll through on their way to Irondale with a pair of SD60es pulling a few cars and NS's first SD60e rebuild trailing second out! This was certainly a nice catch to start the day off with, IMHO.

This crossing is also a pretty nice one, featuring a pair of old SOU gateless signals. It appears that at some point between the 70s and 90s, the original bell here was replaced with a Safetran mechanical bell, followed by the lights being upgraded in the early 2000s. Then, sometime after 2011 (but most likely before 2015), the Safetran mechanical bell here was sadly replaced with the current GS Type 2. Since then, however, no major changes have occured here, thankfully.
Also, for whatever reason, the lights on the closer signal are tilted to the right some, which certainly looks a bit unusual. I'm guessing this is due to the utility pole that stands right next to the signal. One of the bolts holding the base cover on has also broken off, leading to the base being left open.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/A-F/Birmingham/25_3/