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There are 4 tracks here, but only two are used. You can tell which ones are used. Two have cements for a crossing, and the other two have old rotting wooden planks. The bells are electronic and the left disc in picture 4 is a little chipped. |
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Not long after getting here, a train sneaks up on me. The signals start flashing even before the train shows itself. You can see how far back it is in picture 7. A little bit later, a whole bunch of red lights appear above the train. |
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Picture 9: The train approaches. Picture 10: It doesn't seem that long. Picture 11: The train is high enough that you can see the other signal in the background. Picture 12: The signals stay down for about 2.5 minutes before going up. |
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The train in pictures 13 and 14 beat me to the crossing. These pictures were taken in the car. 15 and 16 come a little later after the last train passes. Pictures 13-16 were taken on Friday December the 13th 2002.
I decided to wait for another train, little did I know what came my way. Click here for the special page. |
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Yes, I got an updated Exit 178 as well. All these lights got safetran upgrades from MIs. The signal furthest away had them back on May 11, 2003, but the other didn't at that time. This train was pretty quick only lasting a little longer than 2 minutes. It should because the speed limit through here is 80 MPH. |
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Something new I'm going to start doing this year is getting into the videos. In coming videos, I'll be adding a little comedy to the mix in addition to trains crossing. This was a boring wait for another train, which I did get in picture 21. I found a penny about 5 yards from the tracks in the middle of the road however. Picture 22 shows an updated look to the tracks, with the two cantilever bridges gone in favor of mast lights. |
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Here's an April 14, 2005 update. I've been told that the "P" next to the 80 MPH sign is for Amtrak traffic. I think BNSF freight trains get to go around 70 MPH. |
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I didn't have to wait long to get a train here. The colorlight signals not too far away from the crossing showed that the right track had a green light, and I learned that they only light up when a train is 2 1/2 miles away from a crossing, if not, the lights go dark. Anyways, the gate lights got the Aurora gate light upgrade as well. |
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The trains continues to travel towards Flagstaff heading East. The crossing signals were only active for 2 minutes 14 seconds. |
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Heading out of Flagstaff towards Williams, I found this train, but it was moving so fast (almost 80 MPH), that I almost didn't make it. Picture 30 shows that these signals have WABCO gates. |
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I shortly got another train from the other side thanks to seeing the green light shown on picture 32. As soon as the train reached the signal, the top light changed to red. Picture 34 shows a rare sight. An Union Pacific locomotive is the last car on this train. |
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The UP locomotive has its lights on though, as it heads East towards Flagstaff. This train was moving slower than the other one did. This one was moving about 60 MPH. This train took almost 3 1/2 minutes to cross.
Shortly after scene in picture 35, the signals went dark, and never came on for about 20 minutes. I left to head towards Williams, so I never got to see them turn on again. |
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IllinoisTrains got the crossing in action on May 19, 2010. Doesn't look like much, if anything has changed at the crossing. The lights are still incandescent, as seen in picture 39. |
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