Wisconsin Signals Volume 3

Intro video: The video for the background of the title screen is from Packerland Drive in Howard, WI (a west side suburb of Green Bay). The CN local activated the signals while switching, but never crossed.

Main Street; (Fall River, WI): A Canadian Pacific freight train goes through this crossing with modern Safetran cantilevers with 12" x 24" ball LEDs and a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell.

Taylor Street; (Green Bay, WI): This crossing has old 8" cantilevers with a WRRS mechanical bell, and 8" LEDs in the cantilever lights. CN's west side industrial park local crosses here. Toward the end of the video you can hear me talking to some kids who didn't understand the finer points of railfanning.

Ashland Avenue; (Green Bay, WI): The same CN local from the previous video crosses here. These cantilevers are similar to but not quite the same as the ones at Taylor Street, and have 12" x 20" L&W lights. The cantilever lights have ball LEDs in them, and the mechanical bell is from Modern Industries. The train stopped momentarily, causing the signals to time out, then started up again.

Broadway Street #5; (Green Bay, WI): (Video 1 of 2): The CN local is now on the main line and arrives back at the primary Green Bay yard through the only crossing left on the main line in the city with any 8" lights (from Safetran), and the only one with a General Signals Type 1 electronic bell. The train stopped to line a switch, causing the signals to time out, before getting going again. This crossing was last seen in a short video on Wisconsin Signals Volume 1.

Howard Street; (Green Bay, WI): The same CN job, with the same locomotive, but on a different day, crosses here. This crossing has Green Bay's main line standard 12" x 24" Safetran gated signals with ball LED lights and a GS Type 2 electronic bell. The train stops, backs up, and crosses again, but my tape runs out just after the locomotive gets through the crossing for the second time.

Fair Oaks Avenue #1; (Madison, WI): A from-the-car video of this bell-less Griswold B crossing, as a Wisconsin & Southern train pulled by a recently purchased ex-Union Pacific locomotive crosses.

Shopko Parking Lot Crossing; (Green Bay, WI): Another day, CN's west side local still has the same locomotive. Here we see the train at a unique private crossing with three old 8" RACO signals, two gated and one gateless on the wrong side of the road. The road connects two sections of the Shopko parking lot. The crossing has a fast ringing Safetran mechanical bell and a General Signals Type 2 electronic bell. This crossing is about 10 feet down the track from Military Avenue #2, whose bells can be heard after the Shopko bells shut off just before the gates go up. Both crossings malfunction by activating again after the train passes.

Fisk Street #1; (Green Bay, WI): CN's west side local finally has changed locomotives. Here it goes through a gateless crossing with 8" WRRS lights and a WRRS mechanical bell.

Broadway Street #1; (Green Bay, WI) (Video 1 of 2): The same train from the above video beat me to this gated cantilever crossing with 12" x 24" lights and a GS Type 2 e-bell. The cantilever lights are ball LED, while the mast lights are incandescent. The train has stopped to line a switch when the video starts.

Broadway Street #1; (Green Bay, WI) (Video 2 of 2): Another Illinois Central GP40 is pulling an unusually short version of the same CN local job. The crossing has a little trouble activating, as the lights blink in a strange pattern before the gates start to go down and the bell starts ringing. Also notice the driver slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting a flock of geese that crossed the road shortly before the train did.

Little Rapids Road; (Little Rapids, WI): Little Rapids is a small town on the CN main line from Neenah to Green Bay. This crossing was passive until 2005 when CN installed these Safetran gated signals with 12" x 24" ball LED lights and a GS Type 2 e-bell. A CN manifest freight speeds through on its way to Green Bay.

Broadway Street #5; (Green Bay, WI): (video 2 of 2): The same CN freight from the previous video enters the Green Bay yard at Broadway Street #5. This video has a few glitches in it.

Military Avenue #2; (Green Bay, WI): The CN local goes through the crossing next to the Shopko crossing. Two cantilevers, two mast mounted median signals, 4 gates, 2 Modern Industries mechanical bells, and 8 pairs of 12" x 20" MI lights protect this major road.

Elizabeth Street; (Green Bay, WI): A lucky catch of a rare daylight run of the CN EAST side Green Bay local. This cantilever crossing has 8" WRRS lights and a WRRS mechanical bell. As is typical on branch line cantilever crossings in Green Bay, the mast lights are incandescent while the cantilever lights have LEDs.

Main Street; (Hilbert, WI): Hilbert is the northernmost active point on what used to be the Milwaukee Road's line from Milwaukee to Green Bay. From there to Green Bay the line is abandoned. On a rainy November day, the CN local with an old Grand Trunk Western GP9, makes a pickup of some loaded gondola cars and continues north through this gateless crossing. The lights are 12" x 24" ball LED, and the single mechanical bell is either RACO or Griswold. The BUMP signs mounted on the signals are a bit unique. From here the train will switch to the east-west ex-Milwaukee Road Manitowoc line and continue to Neenah.

E. Washington Avenue #1; (Madison, WI): A Wisconsin & Southern freight pulled by SD40-2 #4009 goes through this crossing protected by four cantilevers and four gates. The lights are 12" x 24" Progress LEDs, and there is a WCH mechanical bell on both shoulder-side gate mechanisms.

Bonus Footage: The best segments from untripoded (and one in-car) videos of the Dousman Street and Broadway Street #5 crossings in Green Bay.