Classic Railroad Signals: Semaphores, Searchlights, and Towers

Explore the history quirks and stories behind signals with gorgeous period and contemporary photography. Railroad signals are the link between the steam era and modern railroading. Designed for reliability and durability signals can survive for decades. In fact old semaphores installed during the early years of the twentieth century were still in service during the 1990s protecting trains that were running with the latest modern diesels. Even searchlight-style signals that were the epitome of 1940s railroading continue to work today. Though standards were introduced in the early twentieth century interpretation varied greatly among railroads so even major railroads have individualized signals. Some such as the Pennsylvania Railroad were noted for their distinctive signaling hardware. Others lines became known for their peculiarities in practice. Classic Railroad Signals examines how different railroads developed specific hardware to serve their unique needs in the process tracing the lineage of various types of hardware and highlighting how and where they were used. From nineteenth-century mechanical signals to disc signals upper- and lower-quadrant semaphores three-light electric signals searchlight-style targets positional lights and color-position light hardware author Brian Solomon covers nearly every conceivable piece of North American signaling hardware even the virtually extinct wig wag that was once standard in California and Wisconsin. Gorgeous period and contemporary photography shows signals and trains from around North America. Classic Railroad Signals should be next to Railroad Signaling on every railroad fans bookshelf.