Please go to the new blog for the Wiley Railroad Relic Garden.
http://aubreywileyrailroadrelicgarden.blogspot.com/
Be sure to see the entire collection.
Click on "Older Posts" at the bottom
of the page.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
VIRGINIAN RAILWAY DWARF SIGNAL
This General Railway Signal Company (GRS) dwarf signal was made on March 26, 1945 and placed at the west end of a passing track at Maben, West Virginia, milepost 381.7. It governed westbound trains. Having only one lens, the color displayed was controlled by a DC mechanism inside the case. It could display red, amber and green signal aspects (indications).
In the company rule book, a dwarf signal was considered a "Home Signal." A red indication meant stop and do not proceed, unless there was a number plate on its base, in which instance, the train would stop and proceed at restricted speed. An amber/yellow indication meant proceed at slow speed, not exceeding 15 miles per hour. A green indication allowed a train to pass at the maximum speed authorized for that point that was safe for the conditions. However at this location, a green indication would not have been displayed for a train leaving a passing siding.
Seldom is it possible to have a picture of an actual preserved railroad artifact when it was in use, especially on the VIRGINIAN RAILWAY.
The peacefulness of a Sunday morning was broken on July 8, 1901 when continuous, torrential rain caused the nearby Slab Fork to flood. In this area, the Slab Fork and the Virginian railroad were somewhat parallel. Some of the railroad was washed away as were numerous homes and buildings. The railroad remained in place at this location although the fast flowing flood water was about five feet over the track and this signal.
While disassembling the signal during restoration, the primary lens still had a rust colored high-water line mark, made when flood water was trapped inside. The inside of the case had a good amount of rust powder!
