TRRS 386: End of an Era: Death & Removal of the Godfrey Ave Signal Cantilever

[@jerrysinclair3771]

WHOA NELLIE! @12:00 min and then the crane had a real "High Ball" around 80 feet @ 14:00 min. Great Video!

[@hoosierhobbies]

At 14:19, the signal flies up to Heaven. Excellent documentation of this historic event!

[@packet40]

Great video.... sad to watch change, signals like that are just part of my kidhood tapestry.... Very nice capture there...

[@LSZ1318]

Here's something fun to do. Go to Googlemaps and visit this crossing on the street view. Play around a bit with the arrow location and you will actually flip views from pre to post vintage cantilever! very cool. There's even two railroad workers sitting next to the shed, haha. Keeping vigil until it's time for removal!

[@PereMarquette1223]

Did you try asking for a piece of her? Looks like I am gonna have to pay tribute to this signal bridge by visiting its former work site.

[@catw0rld]

Looks like one fellow thought they should save the signal heads... but obviously someone said no. Argh! I kills me to see this history thrown away. Didn't we learn enough from the steam era?

[@TheCandoRailfan]

Man, CSX is doing so much modernization. On CN and CP in Winnipeg we still have lots of searchlights and a couple of cantilevers.

[@vettebecker1]

Hate to see history like that disappear, but that's progress.

[@desertfoxx1823]

Sad to see a part of history go, but that's progress..........................great vid!

[@justinbeahm641]

That crane operator was an expert. Did he operate from the cab or with a remote on the ground?

[@robertgift]

Nice but sad catch. How for was the cantilever from that track?I would have moved to show different perspectives and reveal clearances, etc.

[@PereMarquette1223]

Hey, not to be off topic here but can you keep me posted on when the Ringling Brothers Train is suppost to arrive in Grand Rapids? I want to catch it coming into town.

[@Alizara75]

Each one of these vids makes me that much sadder. Ah, well.

[@bamboozledguy]

Wow nice footage and audio.

[@SedatedByLife]

Sad but necessary I suppose... The heart of our city slowly dies in the name of progress.

[@jerrymacias5294]

How long ago was this. I grew up off of grandville avenue near Clyde park. From my house I was able to see the old NS Hughart Yard. I would ride my bike as a kid over to the CSX yard in Wyoming and watch the trains do work. Great vid btw

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

All my descriptions contain date and time info :)

+jerrymacias I remember growing up, when use to see Tracks were crossing Chicago Dr. by Clyde Park, then Hall St. had a Crossing with Signals West of Godfrey.

[@mikebrabant4170]

Nice to see the sheds not covered in graffiti like where I live in Southern Ontario Canada where young punks spray paint everything in sight!!!

[@coltjeffries229]

Its the flying searchlight!

[@rayinpau.s.a.6351]

I would guess a Collector would pay a couple grand for that signal !

[@daledozer]

Any idea where these signal guys are head quartered? Or are they a traveling gang?

[@RailFan1981]

Cool!!

[@PereMarquette1223]

At around 19:15, the old cantilever is officially retired via radio...

[@alexandergrube6437]

a sad day but that cane has a sweet Detroit diesel!

[@macmedic892]

5:26 Dude, about that fall-protection harness you're wearing... it doesn't do you any good if you're not connected to anything! If he were maintaining 100% tie-off, he would have stopped at the top, latched on to the horizontal with the second lanyard then disconnected from the vertical.

[@littleblitz8239]

Wouldn't new signals have to be operational at the same time so there is no lapse in signal info?

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

Generally, what you're suggested isn't the case. At a specified time, the existing signal system is "suspended", as crews begin to literally rip the old apart. It is at this point that the new signals are turned on (having already been connected for the most part) and testing begins. Generally, some train(s) will be run through the new territory to verify all of the possible line-ups and that everything is working as intended. Then, the signal suspension is dropped and traffic returns to normal. It depends on the size of the project, but this down period generally lasts only a few days.

[@whammy3323]

It looks so toy-like when it's suspended in the air... Such a sad sight.. But glad they decided to move into the 21st century....

[@mattalbrecht7471]

so they pull up the tracks too?

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

No, just replaced the signals with the new one in the background.

[@robbiesharrock9605]

wow

[@kyleb06]

14:25 woah

[@JTTheRailfan]

Good bye abs hello ctc. I miss abs

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

What is it with railfans and "death?"

[@denisetindall85]

i really like this video on you tube😀

[@Engineer9736]

Not if it was somewhere else? :-)

[@denisetindall85]

thank you for the video that you sent me

[@1dogpobo]

bad rigging. damaged because some people don't give a shit.

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

Don't need to worry about damaging scrap.

[@AllanLoveJr]

NOT TO BE RUDE. BUT YOUR RADIO WAS ANNOYING.

[@strobx1]

That's what makes it interesting! Beats hearing the Detroit Diesel roar!