Herring Avenue, Goldsboro Street #2, & Gold Street, Wilson, NC

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 7-30-24*

Signal on the far left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with WCH 2nd Generation LEDs, a WCH mechanical bell, a Siemens gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.
Signal on the far right: 1 US&S 8 inch light and 1 US&S 14 inch "No Left Turn" light.
Signal on the near left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, an NEG electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, RECO LED gate lights, and an NEG LED gate light.
Signal on the near right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Dialight Ball LEDs, a dead Federal Signal mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights.

After catching the northbound Palmetto, I went up to Wilson, NC, to wait for my next train, which I figured would be the southbound Palmetto. Sure enough, after a while of waiting, I got my seventh train of the day: AMTK 89 with an ALC-42 for power.

This crossing is honestly a great one, and I'm glad I got to record it. The signals here appear to have originally been installed by the ACL back in the 1950s or so. In the mid-1970s or so, the SCL replaced the bell on the near-right signal with the current Federal Signal mechanical bell. Then, in the late-70s, the bell on the far signal was replaced by the current WCH mechanical bell. At about this same time, or a bit later in the 1980s under the SBD or CSX, that same signal had its gate mech replaced with a WCH gate mech as well. Also in the 1980s, it appears, CSX replaced the base on the near-left signal with a WCH one. Then, in the mid-1990s, CSX replaced the gate mech on the near-left signal with the current Safetran one. The crossing seems to have largely remained unchanged for a bit, but then, in the early-2000s, CSX replaced the gate mech on the signal with the FS bell with the current Safetran one, and also replaced the lights on both signals on the closer side of the crossing with the current Safetran 12x24s, which were originally incandescent. I believe the base on the signal with the FS bell would've been replaced around this time as well. Then, sometime between 2008 and 2012, this crossing was given an LED upgrade. The existing Safetran 12 inch lights were upgraded with the current Dialight Ball LEDs, while the far gated signal had its 8 inch lights replaced with the current Safetran 12x24 inch lights with WCH 2nd Gen LEDs. Next, sometime between 2012 and 2016, CSX replaced the signal on the near-left with the current one, though reused the gate mech and lights onto the newer signal. Sadly, the mechanical bell on that signal (which I believe was the last original WRRS bell here) was replaced with the current NEG e-bell as a result. Finally, sometime between 2019 and 2021, the signal with the WCH mechanical bell had its WCH gate mech replaced with the current, though reused, Siemens one. Thankfully, since then, no major changes appear to have occurred here.
This crossing was already one I wanted to get, due to being located on an intersection with four different signals at it. For some reason, Goldsboro Street/Herring Avenue changes its name on the crossing, with both being posted right next to the crossing, making figuring out its name a bit difficult, though CSX does brand the relay case here as "Herring Avenue". Gold Street does technically continue across the crossing, but it appears that Wilson considers it to be a dog-leg intersection across the crossing here based on the striping.
Anyways, a few days prior to this, @EthantheRailfanner discovered one of the bells here was indeed an FS bell, the last one on the CSX South End Sub, so I knew I'd want to get it recorded. Unfortunately, the FS bell is dead, which is a shame to see, but hopefully CSX fixes it rather than replacing it. The signal its on does retain an older diagonally-striped gate arm though, which is nice to see. The WCH mechanical bell on the far side thankfully still works, though it does sound a bit rough, especially as the gates here lower.
Of course, the star of the show here is easily the classic ACL "No Left Turn" signal on the far side of the crossing. This is easily the last fully original ACL signal on the entire A Line; it even still has its original vandal guards, complete with the meshes over the lenses (all of the other vandal guards I've seen still in use have had the mesh over the lens removed)! If I'm ever back at this crossing, I may try to film it, though getting a good angle of that signal will be a bit tricky. Either way, I'm glad I've been able to record this cool crossing.