Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-02-07
A RAILWAY WHISTLE.
It's Significance to the Vigilant
Signalman.
His Responsible Position-Rules and Sig
mails In Vogue on English Railways
Similar to Those in Daily Use
In This Country.

knows nothing of its greatest men; it
is very certain that the world does not
know much. if any thing, of some of
its most faithful servants, or in the
least realize what it owes to them.
How few when they hear railway
whistle regard it as any thing but a
noisy and unnecessary interruption.
Very few. indeed, are they who know
that to the ears of some it speaks in
very definite language, on which they
must act with the utmost decision and
dispatch. In certain parts of the
metropolis where there are railway
lines there are recurrent outbreaks of
complaint about the railway whistles,
and the tone of most of the angry let
tiers sent to the newspapers when the
fit is on has invariably been such as to
encourage the idea that the railway
drivers were kind of incarnate fiends,
who delighted to make night as we'll
as day hideous by the use of their
shrill whistles. and to torture the ears
of the wakeful. Unfortunate the light
sleepers may have been. placed in
such perilous and trying proximity to
a railway; but certainly the railway
drivers could not do other than they
did, for they are bound by the very
strictest rules, and must not touch the
whistle save when duty calls.
A railway whistle is definite sig
nal which, amongst other things,
brings the driver of the train directly
en- rapport with the signalman in his
box. There he stands; you may often
catch glimpse of him when travel
ing as the train slows into the ter
minus or junction. He is surround
ed by rows of bristling steel handles,
all of an exact height These are the
shafts that work the points. They
are all carefully numbered. Besides
these there are in the box clocks of
peculiar construction. right in front of
the row of shafts; Geographic dials
and bells. as well as telegraphic dis.
patching desks; books of record.
which are most jealousy kept and
studied.
If we take our start from the rail-
way whistles, we can work round the
main circle of a signalman's duty.
Strictly speaking. however. We should
say that the word whistle" is a
misnomer in the sense we have used
it in the heading. but there is no
other word that could be popularity
used for our purpose. There are
whistles and whistles-the long and
the short whistle, for example, care
fully distinguished, and there is the
cock-crow. By the combination of
these, or the repetition of them, you
have complete code OF signals for
all stations for up and down trains,
each having its own proper distinctive
whistle, unmistakable to the signal
man, were it possible that he could
for the moment be absent or Obliv-
iOus.
There are, of course. emergencies
when engine-drivers may be forced to
use the whistle-such as a person on
the line, or other risk of danger"
and then a margin must be allowed to
the discretion of the driver: but the
rules are imperative that the driver
is not to whistle more than is abso-
lutely necessary, and for a very good
reason, the more he whistles the more
he may confuse. This is a common
form of direction in working time.
tables:
The signalman at so-and-so. guided
by the timetable, by indicators on
engines. and verbally by the station
officials, being in possession of infor-
nation as to the trains for which
points are to be first in position and
signals cleared. drivers are not te
sound the engine-whistle more thar
absolutely necessary, such as short
whistle before putting on steam when
the starting signal is given, whistle
TO warn any one who may be on the
line or when instructed by any of the
station officials to give any particular
whistle as signal to the signalmar
or Otherwise; and it must be distinctly