Train - Controls - In the signal tower 1940 - Side by Side

by Mike Savad

Title

Train - Controls - In the signal tower 1940 - Side by Side

Artist

Mike Savad

Medium

Photograph - Colorized Photo

Description

Colorized photo from 1940
Original Title: Mr TJ Long, president of the tri county farmers co-op
Location: Du Bois, PA

This is a signal tower in a train yard, they are responsible for making sure the trains get onto the right tracks, so there are no delays or collisions. As the train approaches, the person in charge looks at his chart of letters, which are converted to numbers which relate to the levers.

The order they are pulled in are important, as are the colors. Each means something.

Red - Home signal
Yellow - Distant signal
Black - Switch/Derail
Blue - Point locks
Brown - Crossings
White - Spares

The levers were tough to pull because they were real mechanical connections that could be hundreds of feet long.

The guy in this image, apparently died 3 months after this was taken, shot in a hunting accident.

I was really surprised how colorful these things can be. Bright cheery colors all the way, almost looks like a fun house, but those are actual colors I lifted from them. I read some place that the insides of these buildings are a yellow brown or a gray. But I choose a green instead, I've seen that color for this era before. I also cloned out what I assume was the flash, it was ugly either way.

On the back wall you'll see a box for New old fuses, in those days they rewired the old burned out fuses.

Uploaded

March 16th, 2019

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