Cross Street, Springville, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 12-4-21*

Signal on the left: 3 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

On December 4th, I took a friend of mine out to look at some stuff along the ATN. While we were up around Gadsden, I heard a nearby defect detector going off and a train on the AGS North passing through Attalla, but I didn't think too much of it. As we were heading to check-out some abandoned bridges along the former L&N Mineral Loop, we got off I-59 at US 231 and went over the AGS North. To our north was this train coming south, so we decided to try and go after it instead, racing on down to the town of Springville, AL to get it. We got set-up here and after a little while of waiting, we finally got it: a southbound NS mixed freight (forget the ID) with a pair of UP AC44CWCTEs leading a UP SD70ACe. This was the only train we caught on this day, but it was a nice one.

This crossing is a pretty decent one, though potentially a bit on the more boring side. The signals here were installed by NS back in the early to mid 2000s, and basically haven't changed since. Interestingly enough, the closer signal features a SERRMI base, which I think must've been re-used from somewhere else, likely an old SOU install somewhere. Not entirely sure why this one has one, as all of the other signals in the town (and on most of the AGS North) feature Safetran bases, but this was basically my deciding factor in going for this crossing rather than any of the others, lol. The mast on this signal might also be re-used, but I ain't entirely sure. However, the crossing does also still feature a pair of older diagonally-striped gate arms with their original sets of incandescent NEG gate lights, so that's quite nice to see, IMHO. All in all, this is, in my honest option, a pretty nice little crossing and I'm glad I've been able to get this one recorded.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/R-Z/S ... lle/Cross/