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Photo courtesy of John Hicks - This crossing, located in this location in Grenada, Mississippi, was installed in 1940 after several fatal accidents occurred at the Illinois Central Railway crossing on what was then Highway 7 (now 332). The big letters and the skull & crossbones on the sign were neon-lit, and they would light up as a train approached the crossing. This was also the case for the arrows below them (which would point at the direction the train was coming from). It also had a mounted air raid siren that would go off to further warn people to stop. Unfortunately, World War Two resulted in neon shortages and there were technical problems with the operation of the sign, both of which ensured that it wouldn't be replicated elsewhere. It stayed in operation until 1970, at which point it was replaced with a normal, much more boring railroad crossing like you'd see anywhere else. (Sources: Wikipedia and The Forgotten Railways, Roads & Places blog)