Lamberts Point in 1968 Question

[NW Mailing List]

An excellent answer, Gordon!
Charlie Long


-----Original Message-----

From: NW Mailing List 

Sent: Apr 21, 2012 7:33 PM

To: NW Mailing List 

Subject: Re: Lamberts Point in 1968 Question










I don't know why VGN people did not use the logical term for 
the H-16-44s, i.e., "Assistant Trainmasters."
 
Gordon Hamilton

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: 
  NW 
  Mailing List 
  To: NW Mailing List 
  Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012 8:38 
  AM
  Subject: Re: Lamberts Point in 1968 
  Question
  

  
  Dare I "open up this can of worms" again. Abe referred to the former VGN 
  Fairbanks Morse H-16-44 #18 (now #118) as a "Baby Trainmaster". I have heard 
  the VGN mechanical people I know say they never called them this. FM built an 
  H-16-66 (not 2400 HP but 1600 6-axle switcher) that was sometimes called a 
  "Baby Trainmaster" but the VGN RWY never bought any of these....... 
  Skip Salmon
---- NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
  wrote:

=============

  
  Pennsylvania is graced to have a plenitude of Amish in its 
  population.  They are hard-working and a credit to society. 
   
  Many of the Amish men, young and old alike, are also fascinated by 
  trains.  Some years ago I was rounding a curve with a local at 
  Allensville, Pa, and caught sight of something alarming up ahead... someone 
  off to the right front of the engine was aiming something at me.  As I 
  drew closer, the "something" was discernible as a rotund older Amishman 
  sitting in a two-horse buckboard, pointing his cell phone camera at my 
  engine!  And while the Amish are prohibited from being "connected to the 
  English [that's us] by wires," they can and do make extensive use of cell 
  phones.  It's quite a treat to visit an Amish farmers' market and see all 
  the young Amish gals playing with their cell phones and texting.  And 
  those Amish fellows who do like trains surf the Internet to learn about trains 
  in the world of "the English" [that's us, again...] 
   
  Once I was working a local and took note of a young Amish fellow on an 
  Amish building crew (if you can get an Amish crew to build your building, then 
  you have quality workmanship) who was fascinated by our engine doing 
  switching.  After an hour or so, his crew took its lunch 
  break and he came over to the engine for some conversation.  I asked 
  him if he would like to ride along the next day, and he accepted.  So the 
  next day, Rufus brought a lunch, worked as my fireman for a day, straw hat and 
  all, and got an experience that he's probably still talking about.  You 
  should have seen the looks from the other train crews when we went by with a 
  full-bearded Amishman hanging out the fireman's window ! 
   
  Some of those fine Amish fellows still send me e-mail, and one of them 
  recently sent me a link to a photograph of N&W Eng 118, an FM Baby 
  Trainmaster, shoving cars over a hump at Lamberts Point in 1968.  
  What interests me is the Position Light signal a dozen car lengths ahead of 
  the engine.  It is obviously being used as some kind of a hump signal. 
  
  
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=395544&nseq=23 
  
   
  Now, here come the questions: 
   
  1.  What Special Instructions covered the use of this signal?  I 
  don't find anything in the Time Table about them. 
  2.  How many of them were spaced back in the yard out of which the 
  trains were shoved? 
  3.  What was the name of this hump? 
  4.  Aspects and Indications seem rather intuitive... Stop aspect = 
  stop; Clear aspect = shove at humping speed; Approach aspect = shove at slow 
  speed.  But what was used to indicate "Back Up" ?   (Perhaps a 
  flashing "Stop" ?) 
  5.  Any other information on the use of these signals, e.g. when they 
  were installed and when they were discontinued? 
  6.  And, of course, there is my longstanding question... someone (Mr. 
  Bundy?) once told me that cab signals were applied for a time to the Fairbanks 
  Morse engines at Norfolk, and the cab signals were somehow used to convey 
  signals to the enginemen.  Hopefully, someone has information on this 
  matter. 
   
  -- abram burnett

--
SKIP SALMON

  
  

  ________________________________________
NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org
To 
  change your subscription go 
  to
http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-mailing-list
Browse the 
  NW-Mailing-List archives at
http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/
  
  

  
  No virus found in this 
  message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus 
  Database: 2411/4951 - Release Date: 04/21/12