Donahue Drive Railroad Crossing, Auburn, AL
2,431 views · Published 10 November 2018 · 1:46 · Indexed 26 September 2026
Channel: freebrickproductions · 2018 · Science & Technology
*originally recorded on 10-18-18* Signal on the left: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a Safetran gate mechanism, and RECO LED gate lights. Signal on the right: 2 pairs of Safetran 12x24 inch lights, a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell, a Safetran gate mechanism, and a mixture of NEG incandescent and LED gate lights. After spending the night at a hotel in Opelika, I went out to go document crossings. While documenting a few crossings on the west side of Auburn, I saw a train approaching, so I quickly hopped in my car and headed east to try and get it at a somewhat interesting crossing. However, when I was approaching the intersection in the background, I saw a fair amount of traffic at it and decided to go ahead and just pull off at this crossing to record it, as I wasn't sure if I'd be able to beat it further east. The train turned out to be the local based out of Notasulga at Lyons Street, and it had a single SD40-3 for power. Believe it or not, this was the first time I saw a non-GEVO engine leading on this CSX line. The crossing itself isn't the most interesting one, but it is the first mid-2000s CSX install that I've recorded with just one bell at it. The right-hand signal also features both LED and incandescent NEG gate lights, which aren't exactly easy to find on CSX lines. There was a similar install a bit further east with a pair of General Signals e-bells and what appeared to be mostly incandescent gate lights, though I wasn't aware of it while recording this crossing. The far signal does have a very long gate arm though, so that's something I guess. A driver who was stopped with the rear of their car over the tracks got clear of the crossing just a few minutes before the crossing activated, so they got rather lucky there!
