Abandoned Crossing Signal in Salem

On Lancaster Drive SE in Salem, Oregon, a railroad crossing signal stood where there was no trace of a railroad.

The Southern Pacific Railroad once had a branch line between Salem and Geer. This line crossed Lancaster Drive at this point.

The Willamette Valley Railroad leased the Geer Branch from 1993 until its final abandonment in 1995. During that time, sections of the line were abandoned and the tracks removed, starting at the junction in Salem and working east.

Aerial photos suggest that the tracks were removed from this crossing by May, 1994, but the signals were left in place.

The signal on the other side of the street was gone by the year 2000, but this one remained.

Aside from this signal and a little bit of white paint from the stop lines on the pavement, there is little evidence a railroad was ever here.

Looking to the east, the former railroad grade is now under the parking lot of a Budweiser distributor.

To the west is the fenced-in parking lot of a used car dealership.

The signal was manufactured by the Griswold Signal Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Directly in front of the railroad crossing signal was another signal, with a single signal light and a lighted sign. I don’t know the purpose of this signal.

These signals stood until 2007.