Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 9-23-23*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a WCH gate mechanism, and WCH LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of WCH 12x20 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a WCH Type 4 electronic bell, a WCH gate mechanism, and WCH LED gate lights.

After I filmed the ICC traffic lights mounted to the downgraded Safetran cantilever, I continued on documenting the crossings in Chattanooga for the site. Eventually, I got to this crossing, the last one I still needed to get (outside of a formerly signalized crossing on Old Hickory Valley Road I just discovered that I still need to get, lol). Once I got this documented, I decided to set-up my camera and wait here, as I figured that the TVRM's Chickamauga Turn would soon be returning to Chattanooga. Sure enough, after under an hour of waiting, the Chickamauga Turn came through with the SOU 5000 for power!
I will admit, I'd been kinda wanting to get this train since I saw it leave Chattanooga with the SOU 5000, as I hadn't recorded a high-hood locomotive in years. As such, I'm glad I was able to catch this guy, especially since 5000 was the Southern Railway's first high-hood GP38-2, and has been fully restored into its original Southern paint scheme.

This crossing is an interesting one, and features the newest signals along the TVRM's line. Originally this crossing was an unprotected crossing located within an industry in Chattanooga. However, in the late-2010s, it appears, the business here had closed, and Chattanooga got to work on redeveloping it into Burnside, with plans being developed and revised in 2018 and 2019. As a result, Myrtle Street was extended over the former private crossing here sometime after 2020 (when the most recent inventory report for this crossing was filed), likely with these signals being installed at about the same time.
These signals are a bit neat though, as it isn't every day you see all WCH installs around here. The crossing even features WCH LED gate lights, a rare find in the southeastern US, which are quite nice to see. This crossing is also the only gated crossing, and even the only LED one, along the TVRM's "mainline" between Grand Junction and downtown Chattanooga. The TVRM does own a gated crossing up on Discovery Drive to the northeast of their museum, but it seems that they just own the tracks in that industrial park (and use some of them for storage) rather than actually operating over them.
After the crossing deactivates, you can also hear the Safetran mechanical bell pair over at Central Avenue #5 ringing from here as well.