For one thing, it's not every day you see a Teardrop bell on a newer Model 75 mech. Thanks for the head-up on these crossings! Unfortunately what probably was a US&S Teardrop on Camino Diablo Road got replaced with a modified Safetran electronic bell. Looks like the Lightweight mech got repainted in the process though.

As for the newer signals looking better aesthetically, it depends on the builder and part. I will say newer stuff from US&S looks pretty sleek in my opinion, and thankfully many transit agencies order through Ansaldo for other components, or get the signals for the high-tech innards. SMART looks to be going with Safetran/Invensys/Siemens, which has a more utilitarian, boxy look. It gets the job done, though.