Updated August 8, 2008

 

Total Accidents: 1 (December 23, 1997)
Crossing DOT #: 750634R
TOTAL DAILY TRAINS: 22 (AS OF 1991)

 

All pictures were taken by rrxingrick@aol.com.

 

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Here is a UP crossing that is for the most part basic for UP crossings. There is just one problem though. On the east signal, if you look towards the top, You'll notice the WCH M bell leaning over the side of the mast hanging on by the wires that power it. Part of the problem is that The bell is meant to be mounted on a 5" mast only and this one was mounted on a 4" mast. The other problem is that the set screws that secure the bell to the mast are not long enough and did not do their job. Otherwise, there is a mix of Federal Signals and WCH 12"x20" incandescent lights and a WCH gate mechanism on this side of the crossing.

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The relay case. These types of relay cases are common on the out in the middle of nowhere crossings.

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Here is the west side of the crossing. This side's WCH M bell is mounted much better and is meant for the 4" mast, as well as a normal 5" mast. The lights on this side are the same as on the other side. The gate mechanism is WCH.

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A rear view of the signal. Sierra Hwy. is Parallel to the tracks from Palmdale to Mojave and is the cross road seen in the background.
A view to the south towards Rosamond with a whole lot of nothing in the distance.
A northern view towards Mojave.

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More shots of the defected signal. These pics were taken on October 27, 2007 in the late afternoon.

 

***The following set of pictures were taken at a seperate time than the first set of pictures.***

 

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I was on my way back up to Mojave and Tehachapi for train spotting on October 31, 2006 and I decided to check up on the crossing and I was VERY surprised to see that UP somewhat fixed the problem and they did not use an E bell as a quick fix. The re-positioned the bell on the pole and used longer screws to secure it. The signal still needs a different bell.

 

The reason why the bell needs to be replaced is because the bell doesn't ring all the time, It's dying, and only rings occasionally as heard here:

 
CLICK THE ICON TO THE LEFT TO HEAR THE CROSSING IN ACTION.
(RECORDED EARLY 2007)

TOTAL TIME:

2:21

1.10 MB

 

Note: The clicking sound you hear in the clip is the other bell trying to ring, although it does ring at times.

 

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A rear view of the bell showing the WCH logo on the bell. Also, its difficult to see on this pic but on pic 14, you'll see a railroad spike being used to secure the high wind gate guard to the mast because it too is meant for a 5" mast.

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This side of the crossing hasn't changed since last time.
A view of the crossing from the side facing north.

 

 

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The signal shown in picture 17 has had a light fall off!
An overview of the signals.

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But wait! There's more. The gong fell of the the bell, rendering it useless! The bell has been seen in action, and the hammer does work, but since there is nothing for it to strike, it emits no sound.
An overview of the broken signal.

 
CLICK THE ICON TO THE LEFT TO HEAR THE CROSSING IN ACTION.
(RECORDED APRIL 22, 2007)

TOTAL TIME:

2:54

1.35 MB

 

Pictures 24-31 were taken on April 22, 2007.

 

I've learned that the light has been fixed, another WCH 12"x20" incandescent light, and another new WCH mechanical bell replaced the one missing a gong.

 
CLICK THE ICON TO THE LEFT TO HEAR THE NEW WCH MECHANICAL BELL IN ACTION.
(RECORDED LATE 2007)

TOTAL TIME:

1:50

887 KB

 

* THE DRIVER, A 26-YEAR OLD FEMALE WAS INJURED. $1,000 IN DAMAGES.