The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-19
LOCOMOTIVE VOICE
HOW THE ENGINEER's WHISTLE IS
 USED IN SIGNALING.
Sounding Warnings to Persons or Cat- tie--HOwever Noisy 1t May Be the Locomotive Whistle Is Seldomn Blown without
 the Necessity Tor
 the Noise

| r
 | One of the most misunderstood of all things connected with the opera l tion Of railway trains is the locomotive whistle, says The Chicago Tribune.
 How many persons reading this article know the first necessity for the locomotive whistle beyond that of [ sounding a warning to some possible person or animal on a grade cross- ing?
 How many persons living contiguous to railroad line, and wakened from i a sound sleep by the scream of a locomotive whistle, have anything but explosives for the engineer at the cab window?
 How many people ever have stopped to think that for the locomotive engi- neer one of the prime necessities in capable service Is his keeping steam up to guage with the least expendi- | ture of coal, while every blast of the | whistle represents loss of steam pow | CT without direct return in traction? | This article is not to suggest that some other contrivance might not be | substituted for the locomotive whistle. | But 1t wiM insist that with the steam | whistle as the accepted agency for its purpose, that whistle is indispensable | to the movements of the modern train | of any class
 In the standard code of the Ameri- | blasts of the whistle recognized for signaling purposes, one of them short, indicated by the letter ''o;" the other | longer dash (@). The only var tation in the use of these characters for sfgnsfaag is when the valve is opened in the long drawn, steady note | of the whistle announcing the ap- proach of the train to a railway sta ton. The 70" blast only may be used la St hn 1 used solely in groups; or both 70" and - blasts may be used together in the engineers message, which may be for the public or for his train crew, only.
 It is the necessity for the trains crew knowing why the engineer should whistle at all which is one of the first reasons for a whistle code In the next place it Is the necessity for the engineers communicating with the trains crew behind which at present makes the locomotive and the locomo- tive signal code absolutely imperative in the movements of all trains.
 But with the indicated code for train signals written out in this dot and dash" simplicity. it is no simple mat ter for the average engineer to give to his signals all the clearness and force possible to the method and the means. Speed of a train; the length of it--especially in freight train; the direction and force of the wind; the condition of the barometer; the dis tance to which the whistle call must reach; the nature of the engineers signal itself-all these things must be taken in consideration by the engineer in his cab.
 For example. if a signal expected by the trains crew be represented by a series of "--" blasts of the whistle, conveying to them an expected order, 1t is desirable that the unexpected emergency signal of the same compo- sition instantly should carry with the whistle blasts an intonation suggestive of danger. Thus, in the signaling by the locomotive whistle the engineer might find a keener efficiency in his whistling were he to be master of piano music also.
 Occasionally the locomotive engineer, with his train under way, needs to bring the train to a standstill for req sons which the crew in the train be- hind have no knowledge. His engine may be disabled or conditions ahead of him may be menacing.
 Stop; put on brakes!' he wishes to signal One blast of the thistle ac- complishes it. "O"
 Perhaps in the unexpected stopping of the train at command of the whis- tie the engineer is conscious of an other trains following him within possible danger zone. He feels that the delay of which the trains crew knows nothing-may be so long as to imperil his own train.
 Send flagman back to protect the train!" is a message which he wishes to get to the conductor as soon as pos sibie This is the whistle message which he sends "-- o oi"
 It may be that on a single track line two flagmen may have had to go up and down the track to protect the standing train. Naturally when the train is ready to move again the flagman at the rear will need to come in first, and he must walk. Safety de- mands that the flagman at the front continue at his post longer, waiting to be picked up by his train.
 In such an emergency the engineers signals for recalling the flagmen must vary. His train even may have been disabled at another roads crossing at grade. Therefore he has the signal caIls -w which or ders, "Flagman return from West or South!" Or, "--- - - - -" which orders, "Flagman return from East or North"
 One of the commonest of small &C., cidents, especially to the freight train under way, is the breaking of coupling. If the engineer discovers the accident he need to warn the con- ductor in the caboose. 'The train has parted" His signal is: - - -!" and it must be repeated until his warning is answered by brakeman on top of the train swinging his arm, flag or lantern at arms length in a circle vertically across the track. If the conductor or brakeman has discovered the breaking of the coup ling the man from the roof of the car must give the same circling vertical signal until the engineer, by means of the whistle, has given the prescribed - - blasts for the train has parted!"
 When a train is standing and the engineer wishes to give the order back up,' his whistle signals is 70 O or But If it be the conductor who wishes the signal back" the man on the top of the standing train swings arm. flag or lantern vertically in a circle across the track, and continues 1t until he gets the 70 o!' from the whistle.
 At times the engineer. with hand on the throttle lever. is in doubt of the intent of the conductor of the train. What am I to do?" he needs to ask The whistles 70 o!'' is the engineers call for signals. Having called for ! |, hoe