Johnson Street, Hope Mill, NC

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 7-29-24*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, a WRRS mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, 1 pair of WCH 12x24 inch lights with Leotek EV Series LEDs, a WRRS mechanical bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.

After I shot Amtrak, I made my way south to this crossing to wait for M401. After a little bit of waiting, I was able to get my fifth train of the day: CSX M401 heading south with an ES40DC leading an AC44CW for power.

This crossing is another great one, featuring what was originally a pair of gated ACL signals at it. In the 1970s, it appears, the lights here were replaced with newer 8 inch lights of an unknown brand (I'm guessing either WRRS or maybe Harmon) by the SCL. Then, in the late-70s, the SCL also replaced the gate mech on the closer signal with a WCH one. In the 1990s, it seems, CSX replaced the far signal with the current (reused?) 80s CSX mast, though with the current 90s Safetran gate mech on it, reusing at least the bell onto the new signal. After that, in the 2000s, the relay case here was replaced and the main lights on both signals were replaced with the current Safetran 12x24s, which were originally incandescent. The crossing remained largely unchanged for a few years after, but then, sometime between 2016 and 2019, the lights here were upgraded to LED, with the remaining pair of 8 inch lights on the closer signal being replaced with the current WCH 12x24 inch heads, which seem to have either been new old stock or reused from somewhere else. Finally, sometime between 2019 and 2022, the WCH gate mech here was replaced by the current Siemens gate mech.
Thankfully, since then, nothing major appears to have occurred to this crossing. Both of the original WRRS mechanical bells are still around here, which, admittedly, was the main reason I decided to go for this crossing. They both do sound fairly nice still, though it's hard to tell if the far one is struggling any or not. Hopefully these signals remain untouched for many more years to come, but either way, I'm glad I was able to film this crossing.