Signal station

“ When a signal station is to communicate with two or more stations, a telescope should be firmly fixed bearing on each, when practicable, and so far apart that those communicating with one station will not disturb the other party. ”

“ We had also to be constantly on the watch to give notice in case of smugglers being on the coast, and to prevent prisoners of war making their escape from the vicinity of our station, a signal for that purpose being made from one post to another; so that we had no relaxation from duty except in a thick fog, which sometimes would take place for nine or ten days together, during which time we had only to walk round the cliffs and along the seashore. I have heard many say that a signal station was an easy berth, and only fit for old and worn-out officers. ”

“ It is reasoned from this that the defect in the automatic block system is that the telegraph operator is not there to caution the engineman. The presence of a telegraph operator who attends the signal station serves as a caution to the engineman; whereas, when the telegrapher is not there, the engineman is in danger of failing to note the signal. ”

“ At night torch-signals may be distinctly read by this method. It is only necessary that the exact point or bearings of the distant signal station be known. For this purpose a first-class pocket compass was furnished each signal officer.
In this case it was not necessary to see the compass to find the window, but we located with the telescope and compass certain other points miles to the rear of Marye's Heights and the Rebel Army, which I was to find in case the window was not available. ”

“ That is to say, if the despatcher desires to make a meeting point for two trains, he will send the same order simultaneously to both of them. If a train is leaving his end of the division and he desires to make a meeting point with a train coming in, before giving his order to his conductor and engineer, he would telegraph it to a station at which the incoming train was soon to arrive, and from whence the operator would repeat it back word for word, and would give a signal signifying that his red board was turned. ”

“ As far as out-of-band signals go, such as paging transmitters and all sorts of personal communications devices, any time someone is going to construct a station within about four miles of an airport, we have a requirement that they notify us and obtain approval for installation of those stations.
In my region, for example, we see about 30 of these applications a week, and each one is examined for its signal strength, its frequency, its potential to affect radar systems, microwave systems, instrument landing systems, and so on. ”

“ Having chosen a point entirely in view of the station or stations to be communicated with, and having fixed the exact position of the signaling apparatus, the color of the background should be determined as carefully as conditions of terrain will permit. If the elevation of the distant station is without doubt greater than that of the home station it is safe to assume that the color of the background will be that of the objects directly around and behind it. On the other hand, if the distant station unquestionably occupies the lower position, a sky exposure will usually result. ”

“ Ship/shore communications are provided by three Signal Stations, each manned continuously and fitted with modern daylight signal lamps, which provide coverage for all anchorages within the Harbour and its approaches. In addition, Waglan Lighthouse operates a Signal Station equipped with a radiotelephone which enables the first information of all vessels sighted in the eastern approaches to be passed immediately to the Port Authorities, owners and agents. Radiotelephones are also installed in Marine, Port Health, Police, Preventive Service and Fire Fighting launches. ”

“ The correct determination of background color from the vicinity of home stations is usually difficult and unsatisfactory, and it is considered the best method to establish communication with the distant station by simultaneously using several kinds of signaling apparatus, that kind producing the most intelligible signals being retained for continued use. ”

“ They direct by signs, which are quite as intelligible as words, the drivers of the trains starting from inside the station, as well as those of the trains arriving from outside. By pulling a lever-handle, a distant signal, perhaps out of sight, is set some hundred yards off, which the approaching driver—reading it quickly as he comes along—at once interprets, and stops or advances as the signal may direct. ”

“ The position of the signal arms or blades in the daylight, and the colours shown by the lamps at night, form the code of signals for the proper working of the train service; and as the signal arms and lamps are both worked simultaneously by the same gearing, it [Pg 314] is only necessary to light the lamps to put the signals in complete condition for night-working. For some years, when the traffic was small, with trains at low speeds and at considerable intervals, one double-arm semaphore signal-post at a station was made to serve for all purposes ”

“ Any signal which is recognizable, no matter by eye or ear, or in whatsoever way, at both stations, the reference station and the station whose longitude is required, must necessarily suffice to convey the time of one station to the other. ”

“ On the whole rather like a second-rate sea-shore shanty, stuck upon four posts, so placed it seems that every train going into the station, and every train coming out from it, shall rush full tilt against the box and smash it and its occupants to atoms. In reality, the signal-box is so situated to command for a certain distance a full view of one line just where it joins to another. Interiorly our box is not unlike an unfurnished private box at a theatre, into which some of the machinist's properties have been put by mistake. ”

“ No station to be constructed, and no siding to join a passenger line, on a steeper gradient than 1 in 260, except where it is unavoidable. When the line is double, and the gradient at a station or siding-junction is necessarily steeper than 1 in 260, and when danger is to be apprehended from vehicles running back, a catch-siding with points weighted for the siding, or a throw-off switch, to be provided to intercept runaway vehicles at a distance outside the home-signal for the ascending line, greater than the length of the longest train running upon the line. ”

“ The assignment of men should be such that a continuous watch for signals is kept and the responsibility for neglect to promptly answer calls determined. Of the station men, one is the sender, whose duty it is to transmit all signals to contiguous stations. Another, the receiver, attends the telescope and reads and calls off the signals displayed at the distant station. A third man acts as recorder, alternately calling off the outgoing message to the sender or transcribing the incoming message repeated by the receiver. ”

“ There was a large wooden room, with walls and floor of unpainted boards, the ceiling hung with brilliantly colored flags, a telegraphic apparatus, one or two desks, books, writing materials—a scientific working-room, in short, with its implements in that order which implied that only men had used them.
There were in 1874 one hundred and eight such signal stations as this, modest, inexpensive little offices, established over the United States, from the low sea-coast plains to the topmost peak of the Rocky Mountains. ”

“ The men in train control rooms such as that at Manchester do their work by giving instructions to signal boxes, each of which controls a small section of line. There are some ten thousand signal boxes in Britain, and about twenty thousand miles of line – a signal box for every two miles of railway. I may also mention that there are about twenty thousand locomotives. on British Railways. This is the signal box at Waterloo Station, London. The diagrams on the wall show all the lines running into the platforms and every set of points and signals under the signalman’s control. ”

“ Each and every operator will also have a personal signal of like character. Station calls or personal signals when once given or assumed will not be changed except by order of higher authority. Every station should at all times have on hand a list of all calls and personal signals liable to be encountered in station working. The general call suited to attract the attention of any station whose regular call is unknown [79] will always be a signal represented by the letter "A" in the Morse or the letter "E" of the Army and Navy Code. ”

“ The signal transmitter is a device whose function is to record mechanically the number of the subscriber's station with which connection is desired, and to transmit that record to the central office by a system of electrical impulses over the line conductors. Instead of operating by its own initiative, the signal transmitter is adapted to respond to central-office control in transmitting electrically the number which has been recorded mechanically upon it. ”

“ When a misunderstanding arises (such as I have described) , the signalman has to trust entirely to memory, whereas the man in the open country, who can see from one station to another, can tell when a train is clear of the station in advance, or can see a train coming, that he might be otherwise in doubt about. This should be taken into consideration by railway authorities when mistakes occur, for, depend upon it, there is nothing gained by being too severe with good and trustworthy servants. ”

“ Signal stations should be convenient for messenger service and hence as near commonly traveled roads as the physical contour of the country will permit. Locations for signal stations should be so selected that the visual lines do not cross traveled roads, camps, etc., as dust and smoke in the daytime and lights at night are factors in determining the visibility of signals. Signal stations can if necessary be artificially concealed by erecting screens constructed of limbs of trees, etc., about the flanks and rear. Sheltered positions should be utilized in windy weather. ”

“ As a result of this arrangement, the current always passes through the same or equal circuits, no matter at which station the connection is made, simple changing from one to the other of these equal parallel wires at the station where the contact is effected. ”

“ Imagine one of our gigantic locomotives having its opposite drivers electrically insulated from one another!
Figure 18 represents the signal system described in William Bull's English patent of October 31, 1860. In this system, it will be observed, the rail sections used are short, "twenty feet, more or less," and are the terminals of line wires which connect with the battery and magnet at the station. The signal at the station is visual and consists of an indicator operated by wheel work actuated or controlled by the electro-magnet M shown in the diagram. ”

“ The circuits are so organized that at all times whether the line is busy or not, the movement up and down of the switch hook, at any sub-station, operates a signal before the operator. Such a movement, when made slowly and repeatedly, indicates to the operator that the subscriber has an emergency call and she may use her judgment as to taking the line away from the parties who are using it, and finding out what the emergency call is for. ”

“ The railway is watched by foremen, with “gangs” of men under them, in lengths varying from twelve to five miles, according to circumstances. Their continuous duty is to see that the rails and chairs are sound, their fastenings complete, and the line clear of all obstructions.
Then, at all the junctions, sidings, and crossings, pointsmen are stationed, with definite instructions as to the duties to be performed by them. At these places, signals are provided, worked from the station platforms, or from special signal boxes, for the purpose of protecting the stopping or passing trains. ”

“ Still more peculiar is the fact that it is easier to signal in a north and south direction than in an east and west direction. There are also remarkable variations in the strength of the signals at certain times, particularly about sunset and sunrise. Every station has a certain normal range which does not vary much as a rule, but at odd times astonishing “freak” distances are covered, stations having for a short time ranges far beyond their usual limits. ”

“ When a number of stations are in view from one station and it is desired to send a message to all or more than one station, some preconcerted signal, as a rocket, a red light, or some peculiar flag or torch signal, should be designated as a signal for general attention. ”

“ Is it possible for one man to attend to all these things without losing time, without endangering his life, or exposing the rolling stock to great injury? When he has waggons to take on at a station, he will most likely leave his brake van and part of his train standing on the main line while he goes into the siding. Here is the danger: the engine-driver may be backing into the siding too fast, through not being able to see the guard’s signal, either on account of the dullness of the night or otherwise. ”

“ Before going to work on his records, he dropped the station signal board to "Stop for orders," and adjusted the spring of the telegraph relay so that he would be sure to hear anything that might go through over the wires. ”

“ In the first place, one man in the signal cabin can work and control the levers for a large number of switches and signals, where formerly several men were required to be located at various places in the station-yard ”