The railroad-highway grade crossing protected by flashing crossing lights and crossbucks is a North American institution.

While photos of trains at grade crossing are commonplace, photos that depict the crossing equipment in context with the road and railroad are not.

Last week, Kris and I waited at Marian Avenue on the Reading & Northern’s former Central Railroad of New Jersey Line east of Haucks, Pa., for a passenger extra that we had seen departing the station in Tamaqua.

This was our first visit to this grade crossing, and I wanted to capture the train and the grade crossing signaling equipment.

I set up on a small embankment southeast of the crossing and made a sequence of photographs of the approaching train. In addition to the passenger special, I included the road, crossing signals, relay and battery boxes, as well as the electrical feed wires and poles. All of this equipment is key to the scene.

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