Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 9-1-23*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with General Signals MAX LEDs, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a US&S Model 95 gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x20 inch lights with General Signals MAX LEDs, a US&S Model 95 gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

After the southbound intermodal came through, I went over to this crossing and set-up for what would come next. This was the third train I caught on September 1st, and it was this northbound grain train with an ES44C4 leading an ES44AC for power.

This crossing is a pretty neat one, even if it's been fairly well modernized over the years. It appears that originally, there was an old Frisco install here, but, in the 1990s, the BN replaced the signals here with the current ones. Then, in the 2000s, BNSF replaced the bell here with the current GS Type 2 and the gate mechs with the current US&S Model 95s. The crossing then remained unchanged for several years, until sometime after 2016 when BNSF gave it an LED upgrade. Strangely, BNSF chose to install GS MAX LEDs here, rather than the typical Dialight Ball LEDs they use these days. Don't think I've ever seen them use GS MAX LEDs anywhere else, or by really any other Class I railroad, so this is certainly a bit of an unusual upgrade.
Despite all of these upgrades over the years, however, this crossing is still one of four different crossings on the Birmingham Sub (that I'm aware of) to still retain its original Frisco relay case. As such, the bell here rings while the gates rise, which is neat to see.

http://www.rxrsignals.com/Mississippi/G ... eton/Main/