Gear Clearance

I marched three hundred yards south along the service ballast, leaving the freight car behind. At the dormant crossing, a cast-iron hand-crank enclosure stood beside the gate arm. Footing verified: dry aggregate, level. Step one: test mechanical throw. I leaned the burner unit upright against the concrete base. Gripping the iron crank with both heavy gauntlets, I applied clockwise torque. The spur gears seized after a quarter turn, bound by compacted road grit. I drew the square-cut iron nail from my pouch and cleared the debris from between four adjacent teeth. Metal scraped clean. I reapplied torque. The teeth meshed with a dull, heavy clack. The arm lifted clear. Transit line open.