Love the old signals framing the left! Just saw a mangled pile of those in our signal shop laydown yard.
Nice shot! I know the location well. Have you ever caught the pig dance between BNSF and KCS on the morning ZALTWSP? The signals are good. The searchlights are the ones that are endangered. PTC recently went live on the Fort Worth and Red Rock Subs and upgrading the signals was a big part of the preparation for that over the past few years. There were piles of searchlights in Pauls Valley during the upgrade. There are a couple still in operation around Valley Mills, but Type D signals have replaced nearly all the others.
Up here ALL the signals are being converted to the Darth Vader type with the LED lights. If I could only get a hold of one of each, a search light and a three bulb.....Tried talking to the scrap dealer that picks up the stuff. He said that BNSF specified that it is only scrap, not to be resold.
Around these parts it seems the focus was just on getting rid of signals with moving parts (i.e., searchlights) and replacing them with Type D signals, like the ones you're talking about with the single visor. However none of them are as bright as the LED signals on the neighboring TRE commuter line, for example. Although I'm not certain the new signals don't have LEDs instead of bulbs, my suspicion is they do not. If they are LEDs, they are certainly dimmer than others I've seen. Is it possible to install LEDs instead of bulbs in the same signal head or must the entire assembly be replaced? My brother, who works on the northern lines, told me the company avoided LEDs on his territory because they don't generate enough heat to melt any accumulating snow and ice. There's not really any justification for that here since snow and ice are pretty rare. I don't mind the brightness of the signals they installed with the exception of clear: they're easier to see in early morning/late afternoon than the searchlights, but nothing like the LEDs on the TRE. You can see those for miles. The searchlights were very dim in comparison. I remember a few going toward OKC that appeared dark at certain times of the day until you got within half a mile. The new signals are a huge improvement.
rch, yep I have. I used to live in Richardson near Zacha jct and would go over there and catch DGNO as well as KCS (and ATSF before that). The line that runs from there to Krum ran right behind my house so I'd catch KCS coming in the morning then returning in the afternoon. They usually have some of the newer painted Geeps sitting there waiting for the BNSF transfer but they sit where it's hard to get pics. sometimes they pull back down to 380 in denton and stop on the hill by QT to get something to eat. Its pretty interesting how they do the transfer from BNSF. It almost is like the BNSF slows down, drops the train off already made up, and KCS hooks up and heads back to Dallas. it's usually on the tail end of the train. When they pick it up from KCS, they do the same thing--just back the whole Z train up and hook up to the KCS cars and take off. The whole thing doesn't take very long.
