Refurbished

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Scribit Bennosvzyk:


>>

I believe the Bristol line is suffering from a significant lack of manpower.  For instance, in Roanoke, the old US&S block signals look to be in good shape, and have fairly recent coats of paint on them.  But on the Bristol line, the signals are so rusty that some of them show almost no color left anymore, except on the target face itself, which received a coat of paint ten years ago.  I guess the Bristol line is "out of sight, out of mind."
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Ben et al:

I don't know how da Hawss has things organized down there, but on every other railroad the painting, aiming, lamp-changing and other items of maintenance on signals is the function of the "section maintainer."  Perhaps da Comp'ny has section maintainers cut back so far that all the few remaining men can do is chase trouble... no time for maintenance.

I spent a good many years dealing very closely with signal departments and section maintainers.  And most of the men I knew had pride in their work and kept things looking nice (e.g. painted,) because they wanted The Bosses going by on the business trains to know that they were doing their jobs.  The one that comes to mind immediately is Al Conrad who had the South Fork (Pa.) section, on the West Slope of "The Mountain," between Gallitzin and Johnstown.  All his signals were painted, all the weeds cut from around his apparatus cases and battery wells, any cracked roundels were changed promptly and all the individual lamps on his signals were properly adjusted and the voltages were always adjusted (i.e. no situation of dim and bright lamps on the same signal arm.)  If Al was caught up on his trouble chasing, he was out greasing switches, cutting brush and painting signals.  And he had three-track territory in a heavy tonnage, pusher district, plus the South Fork Branch, a bunc
 h of r
oad crossings, and a tower that dated from 1889 !

Painting signals became really easy after the adoption of "Maintainer in a Can" (spray paint) on the railroad !

-- abram burnett
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