At one time, trackside structure dotted every railroad line. Towers guarded crossings and junctions, crossing gate keeper's
shanties and gates stood wherever busy streets crossed lines, and track workers began their workday at speeder sheds along
the line. You could always tell when you were near railroad tracks by the look of the buildings, even if you couldn't see
the tracks. Then there was theYard Office, the cornerstone of the train yard. To switch crews, the yard office is the center
of the workplace. An indispensable structure in any yard; it's where they get their switch lists, job assignments and safety
briefings.
On most railroads, trackside structures had a family look; they shared similar architecture and common paint schemes. In some
places, you could even tell what railroad you were on by the color of its structures.
Not to be forgotten are the massive shop buildings. Without the Car Shop, a railroad just doesn't run.
With the mechanization of many railroad functions after 1960, the number of trackside structures has declined, but many still
dot rights-of-way across the continent. Some serve the purposes for which they were built, others have been converted to other
uses.
Yard Office, Guard Shack & Gate
Yard Office To switch crews, the yard office is the center of the workplace. An indispensable structure in any yard;
it's where they get their switch lists, job assignments and safety briefings. Outside, the gate lowers the boom on anyone
who isn't authorized.
Interlocking Towers In the late 1850s, John Saxby of England designed a machine to operate several turnouts at once.
Intended as a cost-cutting device, it had the added benefit of interlocking controls. Accidents could be prevented because
the controls for turnouts on conflicting routes were locked and could not be moved at the same time. These "mechanical interlockings"
were operated by hand, using a series of levers, rods (often stretching for hundreds of feet) and cranks. Interlocking towers
were constructed to shelter this machinery.
From the 1880s to the 1980s, interlocking towers could be found alongside most railroad lines. In the steam- and transition-era,
they were used at every major crossing, interchange and yard. Like the Walthers model, most were two-stories high, with the
controls on the second floor. Numerous windows facing the tracks allowed operators to clearly view the turnouts, signals and
passing trains. Directly behind the windows were the levers (and later electrical panels) that operated the system. The first
floor housed the lead out from the interlocking machine, and as more electrical equipment was added (housings for relays,
storage batteries, recharging equipment, terminals and electrical distribution boards), it would be installed here as well.
Some first floors also included a work room for a signal maintainer. Where electrical power was not readily available, a generator
would be added. And in colder parts of the country, a furnace was installed.
Many towers stood by themselves alongside the right-of-way, but the area around them was far from empty. The exposed mechanical
linkages required frequent maintenance, so additional storage sheds were built nearby for track, signal maintainers or bridge
and building crews. Interlocking towers doubled as telephone and/or telegraph stations for the railroad, requiring service
lines and poles. The operator would also issue orders to crews and a tower would be equipped with a train order signal. While
the operator might be trackside to hand up the orders, some lines installed special order racks to simplify the job.
Interlocking towers could also be found near draw or swing bridges. Here, the tower would control the signals protecting the
bridge which were interlocked with the lifting mechanism. In most cases, these were single-track bridges, so a double-track
mainline would require turnouts and signals on each side, which were controlled from the tower.
Although electrical technology made life easier for the operators, it eventually spelled an end to the familiar trackside
towers. With the adoption of centralized traffic control and relay systems, many of the functions were automated and the towers
retired. Some remained standing long-after, housing relays or other equipment. Today, fiber-optics and computer technology
handle the job under control of a dispatcher hundreds of miles away.
Speeder Cars
Milwaukee Road Car Shop Building
Wood Coaling Tower
Hi Rail Truck
Telephone Pole & Shanty
Control Tower
Crossing Signal
Chippewa Swing Bridge
Signal Bridge
Interurban CarBarn
Diesel Fueling Facility
Port Arthur Train Yard
Diesel Fueling Facility
Diesel Fueling Facility Diesel-electric locomotives began appearing en masse on North American railroads in the
1940s. The new locomotives required less servicing than their steam brethren, but still needed a few dedicated facilities.
Initially, diesel fueling facilities were located on the roundhouse servicing leads where steam locomotives were fueled and
watered. At the end of the steam era, coaling towers, ash handlers and water standpipes were removed, leaving the fuel racks
and sanding towers for use with diesels. As diesels became the mainstream motive power, some railroads constructed dedicated
diesel servicing "ramps" which include diesel fueling facilities, inspection pits and walkways, and sanding towers.
Because diesels require far less maintenance, many locomotives remain on their trains at on-line terminals, stopping on the
mainline for crew changes, running inspections and refueling. Since the engines did not need to uncouple from their trains,
refueling became a much faster process.
This Diesel Fueling Facility wass based on prototypes introduced when railroads began the shift from steam to diesel power.
It has everything a complete two-track fueling facility would ever need; storage tank, fuel crane, water crane, pump house
and top unloading rack (for unloading diesel fuel from tank cars). To be extra-specially environmentally friendly, I've added
environmental track "pans" to catch fuel and oil spills. Can never be too careful.
How Diesel Locomotives Work
Railway
Express Mail-Train Sequence & Accidents Will Happen
George Carlin Narrates
Railway Express Agency First came the big decision of what to buy from the mail-order catalog. Then there
was the trip down to the depot to drop your letter into the slot on the side of the Railway Post Office. A few weeks later,
you'd get a message that your package had arrived via Railway Express at the depot, or if you lived in a bigger city, it would
come right to your door in a big green truck. From tiny hamlets to bustling cities, nothing would brighten your day faster
than to receive a package from the Railway Express Agency (REA). High priority packages were moved in baggage cars of most
major trains, and REA also operated its own fleets of specialized cars.
Handling and processing millions of items each day required extensive facilities. To speed priority shipments, REA built its
own transfer buildings alongside the coach yards of most major terminals to permit faster movement of packages between road
and rail. Baggage/Express cars from the railroads and REA's own cars were spotted here for loading and unloading. The other
side of the building provided loading/unloading docks for the REA fleet of green delivery trucks, as well as those from larger
customers without direct rail service and private trucking companies.
Railway Express Agency
Railway Express Agency Trucks
REA Trucks
REA Refrigeration Cars
Rushing priority perishables between stations, express reefers were found at the front of the fastest passenger runs as well
as on specialized mail and express trains. And when some highly perishable crops such as strawberries were in season, solid
trains of express reefers were run, often as second sections of the most important passenger trains.
This Express is based on a series of cars first ordered in 1957, the prototypes were some of the last ice-cooled reefers constructed
and were also unusual for the time in that they were built with riveted instead of welded sides.
Each model features a highly detailed one-piece body with separately applied details including ice hatches, ladders and roofwalks.
Separate wire grab irons are included for more realistic detail. A complete underbody captures all of the special brake gear
needed for passenger service, as well as the bunker run-off chutes. High-speed trucks with metal wheelsets and working knuckle
couplers round out these sleek beasts.
