Torpedo Placing Device?? - Sayville

"Torpedo Placing Device 1947." Robert Emery located just west of Brown's River in Sayville.


Located at "1"

What was its use? Ever employed at other locations?

nyandw wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:54 pm "Torpedo Placing Device 1947." Robert Emery located just west of Brown's River in Sayville.


Located at "1"

What was its use? Ever employed at other locations?

From Wiki: "Typical uses of detonators include:

A warning, caution or stop signal in dense fog, when signals are difficult to see
A warning of a train stopped on the line ahead by an incident or accident—the train crew are usually responsible for placing the detonators
A warning of ongoing engineering works ahead
When a signaler or other railway employee requires to stop approaching trains in an emergency
To alert crews working on the rails if a silent runaway train or train carriage is approaching

On a high-speed line, detonators may need to be placed on both rails.

As with all explosives, detonators can become unstable over time and must, therefore, be replaced regularly.

They are triggered by pressure, rather than impact. This makes them safe during transport, as they normally cannot detonate in a bag or storage container. "

I don’t see why a device was needed to place a torpedo on the head of the rail. Surely this is something a crew member would do by hand.

Does little Buggers was fun, my Dad bought a few home for July 4TH , he took a Rail Joint Nut and Bolt, tie rags on one end and the Torpedo on the other and throw it, if a cop came by, he would show his Engineer Pass. they was use when an Engineer would retried.

jhdeasy wrote: ↑Tue Sep 07, 2021 12:32 pm I don’t see why a device was needed to mechanically place a torpedo on the head of the rail. Surely this is something a crew member would do by hand.

In the UK it was standard practice for block operators to mechanically place a torpedo (detonator in local parlance) at a home signal when fog was too thick for the signal to be seen from an approaching train, and left in place as long as the signal was set at stop; presumably it would be removed when the signal was cleared, and restored after the train passed (and removed again after the fog lifted). It was sensible to enable the operator to place and remove detonators by moving a lever in the tower rather than going down to the tracks in person when the fog was too thick to see a signal. Engineers/drivers were instructed that the explosion of a detonator when fog rules were in effect was to be treated as a stop signal. I never heard of this practice being followed in the US, but no doubt there were places on the Long Island where it would have been useful. If anybody has an ett from around 1947 it should give the whole drill. (I can't access the link, so I don't know what it looked like.)

On other carriers they are still in use, but on the Island the stocks are depleting. Only used now for retirements.

I believe they were removed from the LIRR Book of Rules in the late 1960s or early '70's.

I think most railroads today have a provision that in Automatic Block Signal territory adequate protection under Rule 99 exists if it protects against following movements not exceeding Restricted Speed -- which no following train within the same block should be exceeding in ABS territory -- rendering torpedoes and fusees obsolete.

Anyone with a photo of a Torpedo Machine?

GO no.1201 6/02/1947 Torpedo Machine TPM at "Y" Courtesy of Art Huneke

Art always has great stuff.

A google search reveals the original patent for the device. It was intended to be used on a moving train.

That doesn't seem to square with a device placed at a specific location such as Sayville. What's described in the Patent Office material would seem to be intended for installation on a caboose (were they cabin cars on the LI as well as the PRR?) to avoid having to stop the train while the flagman placed torpedoes manually. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing railroads liked to spend money on -- I wonder whether many roads adopted them.

ExCon90 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 8:42 pm That doesn't seem to square with a device placed at a specific location such as Sayville. What's described in the Patent Office material would seem to be intended for installation on a caboose (were they cabin cars on the LI as well as the PRR?) to avoid having to stop the train while the flagman placed torpedoes manually. Doesn't seem like the sort of thing railroads liked to spend money on -- I wonder whether many roads adopted them.

Agree: I just received this:

I believe that, for the most part, torpedoes no longer are used. They are not mentioned in General Code version 4 and subsequently, nor were they mentioned in the CSX rulebook when I was qualified on CSX rules in 2006. They were considered to be dangerous, not only from the possibility of explosion as they aged, but also because the explosion of a torpedo on a rail under an engine or car wheel could shoot material from the torpedo outwards and cause injury to anyone close to the rail.

When CP Rail started coming down to Fresh Pond, Queens in 1999 their locomotives still had torpedos on them. To be fair, they were used more for pranks than anything else

They probably had a more important application before the use of radios etc!