Cast iron crossbuck in Macungie is gone

Went to Macungie 6/10/06 for a day of railfanning and noticed that my favorite photo prop, the old Reading era cast iron crossbuck that sat on top of the set equally old flashers and pole that survived many years on the Reading, all through Conrail and into the NS era was gone. It was replaced by a modern crossbuck that looked stupid on the shorter than normal old fashioned Reading pole and flashers that remained. Considering that some people today would steal artifacts from museums and considering the popularity of this spot since the "railfan gazeebo" was built and was featured in Railpace, It would not surprise me if the classic crossbuck was stolen. It really makes me mad that someone would be so inconsiderate to steal the classic crossbuck instead of leaving it where it was so everyone could enjoy it. :'-(

Picture: NS 9617 on 21M at Macungie, Pa with the classic Reading era crossbuck. It helped me get an editors pick for this photo.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... x?id=60501

Which crossing was this at one of the ones into the pipe plant or something? (BTW the link in your post doesn't seem to be working.)

Before you jump to the conclusion that it was stolen, consider that it may have been replaced, by the railroad, with a more modern one for liability reasons. Photo prop or not, if the sign did not meet the latest standards it could have implications if there were ever a collision there.

Or, maybe it WAS stolen.

joshuahouse wrote:Which crossing was this at one of the ones into the pipe plant or something? (BTW the link in your post doesn't seem to be working.)

Yes it was the crossing that goes into Tyler Pipe. The owners of rrpicturearchives.net took the site down to add more hard drives for more storage space. It would have been nice if they told their members that they were going to do this so there wouldnt have been any surprises. The site should be up by tomorrow 6/13

Aji-tater wrote:Before you jump to the conclusion that it was stolen, consider that it may have been replaced, by the railroad, with a more modern one for liability reasons. Photo prop or not, if the sign did not meet the latest standards it could have implications if there were ever a collision there.

Or, maybe it WAS stolen.

While there might be a slim chance the railroad might have replaced it, I am still leaning towards it being stolen. NS really doesnt have much reason to change the sign (nor did the Reading Company or Conrail) since it is a private crossing that sees primarily pedestrian traffic, all Tyler Pipe employees.

Who is responsible for the crossing? I'm assuming it was private.

If it is NS, then I could see them changing it out for liability reasons. (I doubt the old one was very reflective).

If it was under the responsibility of the Pipe Company, maybe someone offered them a large sum for it? Or maybe they wanted a more reflective sign. Or the CEO has it hanging in his rec room?

Or maybe someone ran into it...

Or it was stolen....

Or aliens abducted it...

Seemed silly to have an old sign protecting a main line railroad.

I looked at the ones in your other thread, I see what you mean about it looking odd on that post. Taylor pipe is part of a larger conglomoration so I think we can rule out it being in the CEO's den. Have they come back on full production since the fire there last year?

That's a nice picture of the NS power in the shot of the original crossbuck. Just for my own curiousity, I'd call Norfolk Southern and try to ask someone who would know what went on. There's a work order for replacing that signal somewhere.

You gotta have the patience to sift through multiple layers of voice mail, though, and maybe have to hear classic rock while you're on hold.

joshuahouse wrote:I looked at the ones in your other thread, I see what you mean about it looking odd on that post. Taylor pipe is part of a larger conglomoration so I think we can rule out it being in the CEO's den. Have they come back on full production since the fire there last year?

I didnt even know that Tyler Pipe had a fire. Then again I live in Jersey and only get out there a few times a year. They werent working on 6/10 so I dont know if they are in full production or not. There looked like there was alot of iron or steel ingots in the yard though.

Here's an article on the fire, which was aparently in early November last year. http://cms.firehouse.com/content/articl ... 5&id=45641
The Morning Call website may still have their article on it, which as I remember was very extensive.

Norfolk Southern is upgrading crossing protection system wide.