Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-02-07

0uO TSpCdoC0 "AASSAAAS AVA SA6OSaS w
be taken of. or from any other motive.
except in some extreme emergency,
can be allowed at so-and-so.
In the daylight therefore, the
railway whistle has its own special
significance whenever heard. and is
never a sound at random; but in the
darkness of night or in the fog. when
other signals can not be seen. it soon
becomes evident of what use and inn
portance it is. 1t is then one of the
most available links between drivers
and signalmen. In fact, railway traf-
&c, as now conducted, would not be at
all possible without it, and the codes
on which it rests. A signalman then
is a man on whom a vast deal of re-
sponsibility lies. He must have a
clear head and a good memory, cool
nerve and steady hand. This
is his ordinary duty: he must look to
open signals the moment any train is
telegraphed to him and enter the same
with exact time in the proper column
of a book. Then he must set his
points, when this is necessary, ana
when the train has passed. he must
telegraph on to next station. enter the
time and fact in another column of his
book, and then relieve his points again
to be ready for the next train. Every
one knows the semaphore formula,
up arm for danger; down arm for
clear line" And it should be borne
in mind that this is not only the pro-
cedure for passenger trains: but for all
trains whatever. nay. even for light
engines, or for pilot engines, and bal
last engines. and engines passing for
purposes OF relief or for a hundred
other reasons; all are telegraphed, sig
nailed and entered without respect OF
persons" because to the signalman
the returning coal or ballast engine is
just of as much Importance as an ex-
press train-it may wreck an express
train if by any oversight it were get
ting wrong or run on the wrong met
as. The signalman's book is there
fore complete record of every thing
that goes on by the metals past his
box, and his primary duty is to keep
his section clear, or, if blocked, to let
all concerned clearly know it.
In some cases, as in that of the big
towns and extensive functions, the
work goes on as ceaselessly by night
as by day. Then the good trains roll
along, then the empty trucks come
back, then the extra engines come in.
All have to be dealt with in the way
we have described and entered In our
book, which is an ex-
tended index of all the traffic of the
company at the point with which it
deals. There is no end of extra or
special things to which the signalman
must attend and have always in readi-
ness. One of them is the fog signal.
which is most important In the
depth of winter or in thick fogs the
signalman then has to trust almost
wholly to his ears. Immediately that
he has cleared one train and got his
points straight, out he goes a little
distance up or down the line, as the
case may be, for the next up or down
train, and there he attaches by sort
of wire fixture to the metals kind of
slightly raised band containing an ex-
plosive material. This is the fog sig
nal, which stands to him in the place
of an engine-indicator in the daylight
When the first wheels of the engine
pass over it it explodes and gives the
signal.
Every signalman must be fair teleg-
raphist; for, though In many cases
telegraph boys are kept, he must SUI
pervise and watch them. lit is inn
perative that every signalman be able
to work the needle instrument ex-
peditiously," and ''signalmen are held
responsible for the telegraph boys at
tention to duty In cases where
there is no telegraph boy. which, of
course, happens at what are deemed
the less important stations, the sig
mailman is also the telegraphist; and
he is thus directed: Messages TO
signal-boxes where there are no boys
must be telegraphed very slowly and
distinctly TO enable the signalmen to
read them"
But the signalman's judgment has
of necessity good deal left to it, and
that in circumstances that may be most
trying. Now and then we come on
directions "not to use the wire
save when necessary" And to give
some idea OF the work that in special
cases, and in cases of danger, may rise
the following may be cited:
"In the event OF a line being blocked near
q telegraph box. information must be sent
along the circuit at once, stating the time the
line Is likely to be blocked, and the stations
on the circuit must be advised when the line is
again clear"
There may be some differences in
detail in the working of different
lines. but in the broad the same prin-
ciples hold for all. The signalman
in all cases have not only to receive
the signal, clear and telegraph, but