Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

*originally recorded on 7-23-25*

Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Harmon Fading LEDs, a Safetran gate mechanism, and NEG LED gate lights.
Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights with Harmon Fading LEDs, a Safetran Hybrid bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, NEG LED gate lights, and a RECO LED gate light.

After catching the northbound grain(?) train, I got the other upgrade in Covington documented as well before snagging Covington's siren test. Between the two tests, I grabbed a bit of lunch and tried to get another crossing there before Memphis's test, but, sadly, nothing came (possibly due to just how hot it was on this day, with a "feels like" temperature in Covington of 112°F when I checked at one point!). After Memphis's siren test, I decided to make a beeline for a couple of crossings on the CN Fulton Sub in northwest Tennessee to see if they still had Hybrid bells. On my way up, I stopped in Covington for a couple of times to fill-up my car and use the bathroom. As I was about to leave from the second stop, I heard a CN train approaching. Waiting a bit to see what was coming, I saw this other northbound grain(?) train coming through, so I decided to chase it on up. Thankfully, I managed to beat it here with plenty of time to spare, partially thanks to it meeting a southbound on the way. After a little while of waiting, I was able to catch my second train of the day: a northbound CN grain(?) train with an ES44AC leading an AC44C6M and an SD70M-2 for power. Interestingly, the AC44C6M on this train was rebuilt from a former BNSF Dash-9 that CN acquired.

This crossing is a pretty nice one, featuring a late-90s IC install that's still almost entirely original! It appears that, at some point, possibly in the late-2000s/early-2010s, CN upgraded the lights here to LED, though thankfully this has been the only notable change to this crossing. This crossing still retains its original Safetran Hybrid bell, which still sounds nice and healthy, which is great to see. I believe this is one of the last six Safetran Hybrid bells on the CN Fulton Sub in Tennessee, and certainly one of the last five outside of Memphis. Hopefully the Hybrid bell here remains for many more years to come, but, either way, I'm definitely glad I was able to get it recorded when I did!

https://www.rxrsignals.com/Tennessee/G-Q/Newbern/York/