March Progress

[NSrailfan6130]

Awesome job there Rick, this will be the only route I buy for a while

[RickFoss]

Dayam! That station is sweet Rick.

[Ericmopar]

I find myself wanting to take a trip to Waterton and get myself a chocolate malt.

[JackD]

Rick,

I'm looking at putting my route money in a safe place so it doesn't get blown on foolishness like food, fuel etc. A CD seems appropriate, but don't whether to tie it up for short term or take the more profitable but longer two week term. Any advice?

Thanks,
JackD

[ozinoz]

Looking great...
Love the coal stage - cant have too many steam age assets
Happy to tip some more money in (now I have a place to park my kettles )

[ArcticCatZRT]

Not to be a brown-noser but that routes looks like one the best ones I have seen to date, something to do with the era! (no offense to anyone else!)

[fecrails]

Looking amazing!

[OldProf]

Those 3-dimensional buildings look wonderful, especially compared to all the 2-d structures that more closely resemble painted up cereal boxes. I'll be tempted to climb down from the cab and stroll through the town.

[ozinoz]

Re the 3rd screenshot at Adkins, can somebody knowledgeable explain the signal to those not completely knowledgeable with US signal operation. This will be the first real route with real signalling as opposed to coloured light and it is one thing to look forward to.



Grant

[harryadkins]

The signals at Adkins are train order signals. They are manually controlled by the station agent and used to notify approaching trains of pending orders. If the semaphore is straight up (green light), there are no pending orders for the approaching train crew. If the signal is at a 45 degree angle (yellow light), the train crew must slow down to receive printed train orders. Paper Form 19 orders are tied to a string and picked up by the train crew in motion from a wooden hoop held by the station agent. Both the engineer and conductor must receive copies of the Form 19 train orders. The station agent receives the Form 19 orders from the dispatcher either by telegraph or telephone. Finally, if the signal is down (red light), the train crew must stop and sign for their orders. (I never saw this happen.)

It's ironic that the station pictured is very similar to my hometown of Brundidge, AL. I spent my summers playing baseball and hanging out with the station agent, Mr. E. H. Hayes. Mr. Hayes was the most patient and kind employee the Atlantic Coast Line ever had and he answered all my questions. I would get so excited when the dispatcher bell rang and Mr. Hayes put on the earphones to receive orders. He carefully wrote the orders on "flimsies" that were super thin paper Form 19 orders separated by carbon paper and then repeated those orders back to the dispatcher. Hanging on the wall were several strings tied into a circle with slip knots to insert the folded orders. He would string the orders on a thin wooden frame and the brakeman/conductor would stand on the bottom step and insert their arm into the hoop to catch the stringed orders. It was a HUGE accomplishment when I learned to tie the slip knots and Mr. Hayes let me tie while we visited.

Mr. Leslie Ryals was the postmaster and he would show up twice a day to load and receive mail bags from the local baggage car. It was my honor to help Mr. Ryals carry the mail bags and I loved to hear his stories about any subject I could imagine. Even after the depot was closed and the trains stopped carrying the mail, Mr. Hayes and Mr. Ryals were my lifelong friends. Both of them came to my wedding and were as proud as my parents. It was my privilege to sing for both their funerals in later years.

Growing up in a small town in Alabama was such a blessing.

Harry Adkins

[artimrj]

That was a real cool story Harry. I bet you could write a book about it

[ozinoz]

Many thanks Harry. Now, if I can just annoy you with some more questions

Train Order signal - lit or unlit? How does that work in relation to the screenshot - that shows pitched up so no orders, yet station signal is at red. Does that mean you can have orders to collect at caution but still have a green station signal? Probably just splitting hairs I know,

Thanks for the insight - ours were done on the fly, with the order contained within a leather pouch attached to a metal hoop, which was picked up by either the fireman or a metal collection screw mounted on the engine. Its like the English language - we all speak it, yet countries speak it differently.



Grant

[buzz456]

I believe the red is because the engine has passed the signal.

I remember as a young boy after watching "Bill" no last name giving orders many times one day asking "You want to try this Buzz?". I was so excited and scared at the same time but it went perfectly. After a few times he didn't even walk outside when we had to give out orders.

[harryadkins]

Train order signals in my home town were manually controlled by the station agent. Up (the position shown in the picture) was green indicating no orders. Forty-five degrees was yellow indicating orders to be picked up on the fly. Ninety degrees (down) was red indicating the train crew had to stop and sign for orders. There were no track circuits connected to the signals, just two levers in the station agent's office.

[ozinoz]

If you guys would just drive on the proper side of the road, confusion would be avoided The signal shown in the Adkins screenshot is for traffic heading towards, not away from as in the pic. (therefore it should be at danger) This would allow for traffic to stop by the depot and not half way down the yard

Rick - must be getting close to an April update