Bluefield hump (Color Light Switching Signals)

[NW Mailing List]

Well, the term "hump" is kinda stretching it for the flat-switching  done
at Bluefield, but here is the answer to your question...

These were "switching signals," just colored lights used to convey a signal
to an Engineman when the engine was out of sight, around a curve or
whatever.  At the East End of Bluefield, at "RD," we used the switching
lights to make a three-track doubles in getting together eastward coal
trains.  The Conductor of a crew controlled them from the switch on a pole,
but at RD the Head End Brakeman  handled the lights for his double.

At Roanoke, there were such signals at both ends of "South Yard," at the
east end of the Empty Side Yard, at the Radford Division Pull In
Switchtender location, and at WB (the west end of the yard.)  I think Crewe
had them, too, but I cannot recall for sure.

The control device was a large rotary switch mounted inside a steel
telephone box.

The color combinations I recall were Red for Stop, Blinking Red for Back
Up, Green for Ahead, and Yellow for Ahead Steady (meaning, getting close to
coupling.)  The color combinations may have  varied from place to place.

At the Shaffers Crossing Hump, Yellow was a signal to Proceed at Huymp;ing
Speed (meaning cars were being cut over the hump.)  I have seen two old
photographs of Shaffers Crossing Hump where a Semaphore arm was used before
light signals were installed.  It was operated by a lever in the Hump
Shanty.  Just to prove that I am not hallucinating ( ! ) attached is a
photo from the Steamtown collection showing a semaphore employed as a
switching signal at Lackawanna's Secaucus Yard, NJ, near Jersey City and
Weehawken.  The second attachment shows the lever, at extreme right margin
of photo.

-- abram burnett
Tactical Turnip Instructor
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20250629/3c323ff7/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: DL&W_Secaucus Hump_semaphore used as switching signal_1926_Steamtown #X4900.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 886508 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20250629/3c323ff7/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: DL&W_Secaucus Hump_semaphore used as switching signal_1926_Steamtown #X4898_ed.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1395948 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20250629/3c323ff7/attachment-0003.jpg>