DL&W Abandoned signals....why no re-use?

DL&W Signals lingered around past abandonedment of various lines. What was so oddball about these units that kept them there and not taken down and reused somewhere else in the Conrail Universe? Who made them and what were the model designations?

The DL&W color-light signals were unusual, and I believe unique. The top unit (as far as I remember) had red over yellow, and bottom one yellow over green -- in any event, the top had red & yellow, the bottom yellow & green. This led to some aspects not standard in NORAC: Dark/Green = Clear; Yellow/Dark = Approach; Red/Dark = Stop. It was an economical arrangement, because with only 4 lights they could display Y/G, R/G, R/Y, and even Y/Y, which was Advance Approach on many railroads at the time, but I don't know whether they ever used Advance Approach. However, to make it fail-safe there would have had to be something in the circuitry to make a Y/G or R/G kick down to something less favorable if the top unit failed, to avoid a false clear. I'm sure Conrail didn't want to introduce that to any new territory.

also, when lines are abandoned, (usually) the equipment from that line simply is not needed elsewhere..
its not like new lines are being built!
the remaining lines already had signals, so no one needed the DL&W signals..they had no where to go.

Scot

The DL&W, Erie and EL didn't use "Advance Approach." Where necessary for stopping distance, they used "Approach Medium" to an "Approach Signal." That was slightly ambiguous, because it was also used in the rear of a "Clear Medium" signal. But both instances called for the same response from the engineman at that point. "Clear Medium" was the Erie/DL&W/EL name for the indication more commonly called "Medium Clear." "Clear Medium" has a definite advantage, because when called across the cab of an engine, it is less likely to be mistaken for "Clear" if the first word is not heard.

Some DL&W colorlight signals had two arms with only three lamps, with red and yellow on the top arm and green on the bottom. They could display "Clear," "Approach Medium," "Approach" and "Stop" or "Stop and Proceed" depending on the presence or absence of a number plate. It might appear possible to display a "Clear Medium" on that signal, but that would never work because that same signal would also have to be able to display "Medium Approach" or "Restricting," where a yellow lamp was required in the bottom arm.

I disliked one factor on those DL&W signals. The absence of a light on the top arm upgraded the signal indication. A Yellow over Green was "Approach Medium," but a single Green on the bottom was "Clear." Same with a "Clear Medium," Red over Green. Our signal supervisor at Hoboken explained that the light-out relays always protected against such a false clear, but light-out relays don't detect snow, bird nests or branches obscuring the signal.

- Gordon Davids

Thanks for the information. I wondered how they dealt with the burned-out-bulb problem.