I have been restoring a switchman shanty for the Huber Breaker Preservation Society, and would like to know what the signal in the photo below was used for, and what colors were used. The shanty was in the CNJ Ashley yard.
Don
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Perhaps it's a loud speaker rather than a signal to tell a switch tender what switches to line. It's hard to tell from the pic. Just a guess.
I think Gregg is correct. That looks like a talk-back speaker, not a signal.
Yard speakers went obsolete in the eighties when radios took over. Sure looks like a tripping hazard all over the place!
A yard speaker. Seen then before.
Does anyone have a closer photo or at least clearer view of one of these yard speakers? Be a nice, minor project to model one. Also, during what years were they in use? Were they used during the 1940's, 1950's or when?
Paul Fischer
Some yards had them in the 40's, maybe even as early as the late 1930's.
Thanks guys. Would this have taken the place of a phone, or was this used when the switchman was out of the shanty?
Don
fisch330 posted:Does anyone have a closer photo or at least clearer view of one of these yard speakers? Be a nice, minor project to model one. Also, during what years were they in use? Were they used during the 1940's, 1950's or when?
They were in regular, daily use in the P&LE Gateway Yard in Stuthers, Ohio when I hired out there in 1967. They were used into the 70s before the business slowed down with the demise of the steel industry here and radios became more popular. Might have even been used a little into the early 80's...not sure.
it looks to me to be a talk back speaker..the yard master in the tower could call you on the closest one and you would talk back by pushing a button in the post. when personal radios used by workers became commonplace these faded away. When i was with PC we used them all the time. Conrail really brought radios to the forefront. I found a plastic clip which was part of my wifes curler stuff. turns out a close to scale talk back model !!!about ten were in a drawer i couldnt believe it. i will post a picture asap
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I might add that these curler pins are plastic and available with your wifes stuff or if that fails at beauty supply stores. the shape is amazing and has the protrusion on the sides where the push button was. they are positioned up and down the yard lead about every 100 ft or so. a very unique detail. check it out. as far as i know my layout is the only one on the planet which is using this new technolgy !!! conrail john..enjoy
Here is the site for the curler pins http://zabiva.com/le-salon-bru...geants-ba11h9lnuxdxn
Hi John: What a neat idea! I've got to go out an pick up some of those for my layout. At my age, that's about the extent of my construction abilities. Question: Should they be that high? On your photo it looks as if the man on the ground would be to low to "talk into" the speaker. Are they supposed to be high enough for a man on a piece of equipment to use, too?
Paul Fischer
Paul...im six feet and the speaker was at least a foot taller. very powerful sound to be heard over the locomotive sound. the angle of my picture does make it appear tall. maybe the guy is short ? you could hear the yard master cussin you out from thirty feet away !
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