wyoming road trip

Great Pictures! Did you go to Casper, Laramie, or Cheyenne?

Cheyenne, Laramie, and then Rawlins.  All photos are Rawlins.   I have a bit to learn on posting text next to the pics.  A lot of elevation as you can see in the station sign.  The signals were only about 6 feet high, (not the dwarfs in the one photo).  Maybe in deference to the wind.  It seemed to me that there were more "older" power units in Wyoming as opposed to Nebraska.  Still saw an SP unit not repainted yet!

Evanston Wyoming has now restored about 6 stalls of the big roundhouse.  It was hosting a wedding when we stopped by.  The turntable measures about 105 feet.  I noticed that while Neb. has mostly concrete ties, Wyoming had wood yet, at least where we stopped in Rawlins. 

Glad you saw Evanston's Roundhouse, its fun to check out. It's come a long way in the past few years.

I did not capture the ones I wanted to show.  The actual signals at the near end of the yard are only 6 feet tall.  7 at most.  I should have taken a shot with a person in view as perspective.  wondering the why of short signal posts. 

What you are describing is sometimes called a "half mast" signal.  They can be serviced by a Signal Maintainer standing on the ground, which is the best position both ergonomically and for safety.  Most Signal Maintainer injuries involve use of ladders and platforms on mast signals or signal bridges and cantilevers.  Squatting or kneeling to service a dwarf (ground) signal is not ideal for body ergonomics and requires more concentration than standing, diverting more attention away from watching for trains.  Also, the Maintainer can move to safety more quickly when standing if something unexpected should suddenly happen.

Both SP and the pre-MoPac UP used half masts quite frequently on leave-siding signals, usually with searchlights and some of the searchlights had small backdrops the size of those on crossing flashers.  Main track signals require more height for good sight distance from approaching trains.  Half mast signals, when used, are usually in places where train speed is not high, and trains are either approaching them on some kind of an Approach indication or from non-signaled track to enter track governed by a signal system (such as entering a main track from a yard).

UP, to be honest, has been all over the place on its signal practices since they began installing modern modular color light signals, and they probably have at least one of any kind of contemporary signal design you could think of.

Here is a shot of the short masts. East end of Rawlins yard

Thanks for the good explanation of the short ones.