WILEY RAILROAD RELIC GARDEN in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lynchburg, Va

From collecting small datenails found in discarded railroad crossties to actual railroad structures, the passion for railroad history is manifested and displayed in our garden which is shown below. For us, the collection and arrangement of three dozen pieces from seven railroads makes our own Railroad Relic Sculpture Garden. Having 10 plus acres helps keep normal life and the railroad collection in perspective. Our goal is to stimulate our visitors to want to learn more after leaving.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

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.

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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!

Now over seventy years old and no trains passing by, this former Virginian Railway dwarf signal proudly stands at the entrance to the Wiley Railroad Relic Garden, cycling through all indications for all to enjoy.

1 comment:

Paddy FitzAugust 27, 2017 at 10:35 PM
As you are a Railroad Author would you kindly explain why this dwarf signal isn't displaying the proper and Standard shade of green, offically referred to as "Admiralty Green" with a decidedly bluish tint? Is it that you donm't have an actual G.R.S. Type S, or SA or SA-1 relay in it? Also I'd like to see your rule book that say's the color it lights is "amber" as opposed to the officially sanctioned name: yellow. Lastly how does an engiman distinguish this as a "Restricted" indication instead of an "Approach" if both are yellow and the former not Lunar White?

Thank you.
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