Main Street (US 80/AL 41), Selmont-West Selmont, AL

[freebrickproductions]

*originally recorded on 7-10-25*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with General Signals LEDs, a General Signals Type 3 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with General Signals LEDs, a WCH mechanical bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG gate lights.

On July 10th, I went down to the CSX Selma Subdivision west of Montgomery to try and get the rest of it documented. On my way through Montgomery, I heard an M527 talking to the yard there, though admittedly I didn't think too much of it, as I was more focused on trying to get crossings documented rather than trying to chase. Admittedly, I probably should've set-up somewhere and waited, as I missed filming a bunch of good stuff east of this crossing, but oh well. Anyways, while I was documenting this crossing, I noticed M527 approaching from my east, so I quickly got set-up and waited. After a while of waiting (it honestly seems like they stopped on the defect detector to my east for a while), I was able to catch CSX M527 rolling west through this crossing with a CP AC44CWM leading a CP ES44AC for power!

This crossing is a bit of a neat one, IMHO, even if I would've rather have been able to film this train somewhere east of here. It appears that the signals here were installed by CSX in the early-2000s, possibly replacing an 80s or 90s CSX install, though, in the mid-2000s, the MNBR replaced the closer signal here, reusing the lights and gate mech (at least) from the previous signal. The crossing remained largely unchanged for at least a decade after, but, then, sometime between 2016 and 2019, the MNBR upgraded this crossing to LED. Then, sometime between 2019 and 2022, the MNBR replaced the original GS e-bell on the far signal with the current GS Type 3 e-bell. Thankfully, since then, nothing else appears to have changed to this crossing.
I will say, while this crossing isn't the most interesting one east of Selma I could've gotten, I'm still glad I got it anyways. Unsurprisingly, due to being installed by CSX originally, the far signal has its bell set to ring until the gates have lowered. However, interestingly enough, it appears that the MNBR decided to set the bell on their replacement signal on this side to ring until the gates rise! Definitely rather cool to hear the WCH mechanical bell here ring while the gates are down, there ain't too many crossings in Alabama with mechanical bells that ring while the gates are down like this. This is also another crossing I've filmed with something of an Australian bell sequence, lol. When the gates rise, it sounds like the gate arm on the closer signal whacks the mast of the signal, causing the WCH mechanical bell to ring a few times from being shaken. I believe this crossing is also the westernmost crossing on the Selma Sub with a mechanical bell still.