Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-01-05
ENGINEERS CODE
PECULIAR LANGUAGE OF THE
LOCOMOTIVE.
SIGNALS IN THE FOOT
And Suits That Have Been Brought
to Declare the Noise a Nuisance
News Imported TO the Brethren
OF the Throttle by Means OF the
Whistle.

Nearly every man in this country
has felt personal grievance and
annoyance when some noisy locomo-
tive has whistled sharply near him
He has frowned in disgust and asked
the oft-repeated question. Now, why
did that fellow do that?" He feels
that noises distressful and unpleasant
abound which he must endure without
having the shrill shrek OF the engine
dinned into his ears. Yet the engin-
eer never pulls the whistle lever with
out good reason for so doing.
Locomotive whistles can be nuis-
ances. In several states they have
been tested in courts and held to be
Objectionable, in spite OF the protests
OF the companies. Over in Indiana
one Judge who lived in the country
near a railroad track took judicial
notice" of custom on the part OF
engineers TO emit prolonged whistles
when making crossing near the jul
dicial home. This Knox county judge
decided the whistling was nuisance
and disturbing to his morning slumb-
ers, so he issued his Injunction. The
case was appealed but the supreme
court sustained the court below to the
extent of restricting the duration OF
the whistle, although It was shown
that the shrek was legal and phys
ical necessity. The engineer must
whistle the crossing, but must do ii
In the shortest possible time.
Out in Leavenworth, Kan, the First
Methodist church has brought suit
against the Chicago Great Western
railroad because the whistle of the
engines passing the church disturbed
divine worship. The trains pass close
to the church. which is located in a
thickly settled portion of the city. II
Is Just far enough away from the sta
ton to make it good point to blow
the incoming signal. The rules re-
quire all engineers to whistle all sta
tions whether the train stops OF dashes
through The church people declared
the whistling at this particular spot
was nuisance, and not having an in
junction judge, laid damages, with
good prospects of winning the suit.
Yet, in spite of these Instances, the
using OF the whistle in moderation Is
a public necessity. The signals used
also form a very interesting and intri-
| cate code. If the general public were
more familiar with the meaning of the
footing of the engine whistle the gen
| eral public In all PROBABILITY would
| cease reviling the smoke and grease
| begrimed engineer or fireman foi
1 doing as he does. He cannot hell
himself, for he is under orders. The
4 law makes it his duty. and he never
| toots foot without some definite anC
/ important meaning being concealed il
/ the noise The man whose attention
/ is thus directed to the train knows
what 1t means, and the public safety i:
thereby secured. Here is what q
/ British superintendent says OF the
! whistle:
There are various kinds of lang
/ uages.' Standing on the departure
platform of any busy station one /.
not infrequently startled by the sud
/ den shrek of the snoring locomotive
/ impatiently anxious 20 break away
from the hustle of the town with it;
/ precious freight of humanity; but t
/ the novice In railway science the
necessity OF this unlimited and unex
/ pected shock to ones membrane
/ tympani is a dlstracting and insolv
! able problem. The apparent indiffer
/ ence of the locomotive engineer tI
| the nervous susceptiblities of those
around him will. however, be more
readily excused when it is understood
that the sound emitted by the en-
CINE represents simply call or in
\ umation to some signalman in the dis
lance that the train is ready to de
part, and requires certain points TO b,
set and a particular signal TO b,
lowered to enable 1t TO go ahead.
From one set of metals one sount
sary message to the occupant OF thu
signal cabin; from another road two
| sounds will serve a similar purpose
and from third three sounds may b,
required And so important are tht
codes under this head that on som'
| railways they take precedence OF al
other instructions in the companies
books of special regulations. a sep
arate code being drawn up for eacl
junction and important station. !
will, therefore be apparent that on tn,
large lines quite a number OF pages ar,
| required TO set out these whistles II
! tabular order. In these instruction
a distinct and separate sound, or set
OF sounds, Is prescribed for ever,
movement OF an engine or train re
qulrlng 70 pass on 10, of, or foul OF ,
main line, as distinguished from
movements in sidings not directly con
necJed with continuous running lines
and in certain cases the details rul
into fifty pages Of cloSely-printed al
rections. As an indication OF TIL