Jones Street, Fort Deposit, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 5-16-22*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights, a GRS gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran Type 2 electronic bell, a GRS gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

On May 16th, I made my way on south to Mobile for an overnight trip with Ethan. On my way down, I went along the CSX M&M Subdivision to get the northern half of it documented, though I did unfortunately miss a couple of trains that met a bit north of this town. When I got into downtown Fort Deposit, however, I saw this crossing and immediately knew I needed to try for a train here. Thankfully, after about an hour of waiting, this Q602 came north with a pair of UP SD70ACes leading a UP AC45CCTE and a CSX Dash-8 that's still in YN2! Definitely a nice lash-up on this train.
After the train passes, you can also hear the defect detector here in downtown Fort Deposit reading out over my scanner.

Going into Fort Deposit, I had no idea what really any of the crossings in town (save for maybe one) had, as there is no street view at them, though satellite view did show an old L&N-era double mast install here. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that these signals still retained a pair of GRS gate mechs, the only ones left along the M&M Sub!
The signals here are also a very old install, as both signals feature old Peerless Manufacturing Corp. masts which the L&N more than likely installed back in the 30s or 40s. In the 1970s, both gate masts & gate mechs were replaced with the current ones by the L&N. In the 1980s, the SBD or CSX replaced all of the lights here with the current WCH 12x24s. Finally, sometime between the mid-2000s and mid-2010s, CSX replaced the bell here with the current e-bell. I'm not entirely sure if it's actually a Safetran Type 2 or an NEG, as there isn't any street view at this crossing as mentioned above, but I do suspect it's a Safetran Type 2 based on the condition of the bell.
Either way, this was a very neat crossing and I'm very glad I got to record it. I'm especially glad to see that the M&M Sub still retains these GRS gate mechs, especially given that the one in Mobile was sadly replaced a few years back. Hopefully these classic signals remain around here for many more years to come.