Belt Drive, Montgomery, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 4-18-23*

Signal on the left: 1 pair of WCH 12x24 inch lights, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a dying WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 3 pairs of WCH 12x24 inch lights, 1 pair of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, NEG LED gate lights, and a RECO LED gate light.

After seeing the test of the Dalraida Road crossing, I went up to the CSX A&WP Sub to see if I could get a couple of older crossings along it recorded. After about 2 hours of waiting, M526 finally departed Montgomery to head north on the A&WP Sub. Soon after, I was able to get this CSX M526, which had an ES40DC leading an AC44CW for power.

This crossing is a fairly decent one, featuring all CSX equipment from the 90s, though, surprisingly, it isn't all of the same age. It appears that the signals here were originally installed as a pair of mast signals back in the early-90s, with the cantilevers here being installed in the late-90s, and the existing mast signals turned into gate masts for the cantilevers. I'm assuming this based on the marks where a crossbuck used to be mounted on the closer signal's gate mast, the remaining cantilever's data panel having a manufacturing date of 1997 on it, and the gate mechs here both being 80s-style Safetran gate mechs.
Either way, the crossing remained largely unchanged after the year 2000 for a good few years. However, sometime between 2017 and 2019, the cantilever on the far side was replaced with a newer one that had all WCH 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, but the rest of the equipment here was left unchanged. In 2021, however, it appears that the newer cantilever here was damaged in some way again, and CSX chose to just convert that signal back to a mast signal, moving the crossbuck back to the (now former) gate mast, and re-using a pair of older WCH 12x24 inch lights on it. Not entirely sure where these lights came from, but I suspect it may have been the older cantilever here.
Since then, no major changes have occurred here, thankfully, and the crossing even still retains its original WCH mechanical bell. Unfortunately, said bell sounds quite rough and possibly like it's dying, so I wouldn't be too surprised if an NEG e-bell goes up here eventually. Hopefully CSX gives it some needed TLC though, but, either way, this is still a fairly nice crossing and I'm glad I got to record it.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Alabama/G-Q/Montgomery/Belt/