St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-26
DANGER SIGNALS.
How Colored Flags and Lights,
TOrpedoes and E'usces Are Em-
1lOyeH

How Colored Flags and Lights,
TOrpedoes and E'usces Are Em-
plOyed.
"What is the danger sigual?" asked
Hail. who was beginning, says the St.
Nicholas, to consider these railroad sig
mails almost as important and we'll worth
knowing as those in which he drilled
his foot ball team.
Red for danger, green for caution,
and white for safety; flags 10y day and
lanterns by night" replied the railroad
uncle, adding: Il am sure you must
have noticed men at road cr0SSiE.5S waV-
Ing white flags TO show that the track
was clear as your train rushed by?"
''Of course | have" answered Hal.
''Or the Waterman on sharp curves
and bridges waving green flags as much
as TO say: You may 60 ahead, but you
must do so with cautlon""
Il don't remember seeing them" re-
SpOnded Hal; but I'll look out for the
green flags the very next time | 80 in
the cars"
"A red flag or a red light is impera-
tive" continued Mr. Holden, and means
Sound the call for brakes and stop al
once There are other and cautionary
signals think you Will be especially
interested ill.," added his uncle-"tor-
pedOes and fuseeS, for instance. A tor
pedO upon the rai is one of the most
used and most reliable of all the danger
signals"
but l shouldn't think it would be
loud enough" objected Hal. why
don't you use something louder - say
cannon crackerS?'
"Oh. you are thinking of the little
paper-wrappPd tOrpedOeS such as child,
dren play with, but they are not the kind
| mean. a railroad torpedo is round
tin box, just about the size of silver
dollar, filed with percussion powder.
Attached to it are two little leaden strips
that can be bent under the edges Of the
rail, so as to hold The torpedo firmly in
place on top Of it. I'm this position, when
4 locomotive wheel strikes it with tho
power of a sledge hammer it eXplodes
with report fully as loud as cannon
cracker, that can be plainly heard above
all other sounds of the train. 1t is
warning sufficient TO arouse the en-
gineer to render him keenly alert.
''lf train meet with any accident or
ObstEuctiOn that bids fair to cause a
delay of more than a few seconds, the
engineer sounds five short whistle blasts
e. ---l. On hearing this signal
the rear brakeman must Immediately
run back a quarter of mile or SO and
place torpedo on one OF the rails that
his train has Just passed over. Then,
going back about 200 yards farther, no
places two more tOrpedOeS arabs length
apart. He theu returns to the first tor
pedO, and, with his red flag in hand,
stands there until the recall signal is
sounded from his own train. Oh hear
ing this he picks up and takes with him
the single torpedo, but leaves the other
two where they are.
"Tnese two torpedOes thus form a
cautionary signal; and. Translated by
the next following enginemau, mean
The train ahead Of YOU has met with a
delay. Move cautiously, and keep a
sharp lookout The single torpedo is
All imperative warning to apply the air
breaks, Shut off, and Reverse n-in
other words, Stop at once, for there is
danger Immediately ahead
''lf train is delayed at night the rear
brakeman sometimes leaves another bit
of fire works behind him when called in.
1t is 'fusee, which is a paper cone
containing enough red fire, ineXtin-
guishable by wind or rain, to burn eX
actly five minutes, which is the shortest
time allowed between two running
train must stop when he comes to u
fusee and not move ahead again until 1t
has burned out. though he can calculate
from its condition Just about how far
ahead the next train is"