Trainline/Telegraph on the Reading

[amtrakhogger]

I remember a target signal in Newtown (near the old Agway) governing southbound movements, based on your comment I take it that particular signal was a trainorder signal? Based on past readings I always thought that the whole Newtown Branch was signalled with an ABS or APB type system with trainorders.

I know that in the late 70's, there was a DS signal at the Agway, along with its complementary northbound, that was north of State St. These DS signals only indicated switch positions, not block conditions.

Thanks.

[jfrey40535]

I finally made it up to Warminster on a good day to get a shot of the old Trainline Phone box at Street Road. This is a new(er) metal box, maybe the last generation installed by the Reading (if anyone can date this that would be great). The older ones I used to see on the Newtown line are wood, one remains at Fox Chase.

The phone inside is long gone, and one thing I noticed is the lack of line poles along the New Hope line--anywhere. Did a trainline system once exist all the way to New Hope? If so, was it removed under the Reading's watch, or did NHIR take it out at some point thereafter?

The signal at the crossing will soon be a memory as well once SEPTA completes installing the new signals on their half of the line.



And I'm guessing this is what the old phones used to look like. This one can't be much older than the 1970's

[amtrakhogger]

I finally made it up to Warminster on a good day to get a shot of the old Trainline Phone box at Street Road. This is a new(er) metal box, maybe the last generation installed by the Reading (if anyone can date this that would be great). The older ones I used to see on the Newtown line are wood, one remains at Fox Chase.

The phone inside is long gone, and one thing I noticed is the lack of line poles along the New Hope line--anywhere. Did a trainline system once exist all the way to New Hope? If so, was it removed under the Reading's watch, or did NHIR take it out at some point thereafter?

The signal at the crossing will soon be a memory as well once SEPTA completes installing the new signals on their half of the line.



And I'm guessing this is what the old phones used to look like. This one can't be much older than the 1970's

That was the block line. You had to pick up the hand set and crank the bell and then hang up. Then the operator (in this case Wind) would ring back a then you would pick up the handset to talk to him/her. That bottom photo looks like the set up in Warminster Station in the T&E locker room.

[JimBoylan]

The pole line went all the way to New Hope. About 1980, the poles (on the West side of the track) still ran almost to the 1st curve North of Bristol Rd., Ivyland. The metal guy wire ran all this way, but the useful telephone wires stopped at the fiberglass phone box on the South side of Wilson Ave., Ivyland. I don't think there were any phone wires North of there, but I'll look for photos from early NH&I days. They may have continued towards Bristol Rd., but not all the way to the end of the guy wire. The crossing signal cables at Bristol Rd. used the phone line to get across the street.
The phone in the fiberglass phone box at Ivyland was a wood box with crank and attached mouth piece that hinged up and down. The ear piece hung on the switch hook, with spring wire to go over your head. When the passing siding was built about 1980, the phone line was broken and many poles removed between Ivyland and Johnsville. The Ivyland phone was ordered sent to Jimmy McHugh's office in Penndel, and the box was moved a few feet to clear the new switch.
The Johnsville phone was more modern, black metal box instead of wood. There was also a jack on the end of the phone cord, and 3 holes. One was "Power Director", the other 2 were either "Wind" and "Wayne", or "Block" and "Dispr". The Reading, and later ConRail, kept it supplied with 3 large cylindrical cardboard Eveready telephone batteries with spring clips on top.

[jfrey40535]

These photos are from TRENT tower.


I'm guessing this used to be some kind of switchboard that tied into the trainline system. It was kind of hard to read the tags on each jack.



This looks like the older wooden type phone boxes, here on the inbound track at West Trenton. I remember seeing boxes like this on the Newtown line, and you can still find some on the commuter branch lines, such as Norristown, and one still exists at Fox Chase station on the outbound side. This box was in a peculiar location, behind the station building, and not trackside.

[westernfalls]

I'm guessing...

Your picture taken inside West Trenton tower shows a portion of the communication lines patch panel. The towerman, at the direction of the wire chief, would insert plug cords to break the lines or reroute them to other lines or spare pairs. This had nothing to do with the routine operation of the railroad. The towerman had his own arrangement of phones and jacks at his desk for the lines that he used. There might be many more pairs on the poles on in the cable that did not concern him. The outdoor picture appears to be a small cable termination box due to the pipes which go into the ground beneath it. The phone boxes used by trainmen to access the block line or the dispatcher's line were significantly larger. The term "trainline", as it has been used in this thread, is misused; is has no meaning in regard to wayside communications.

[jfrey40535]

I think this is another example of a "splice box" at County Line station on the Newtown Branch. Its mostly intact with the wires still connected to the telegraph poles and going over County Line Road.



I'm guessing this was either related to the crossing protection, or the NB Signal (D8) just south of the crossing.



This looks fairly new and a guess is it was installed or replaced during the 1981 track replacement project.
Here is signal D8 last summer


The crossing protection relay cases are still intact here, and at Byberry Road, and Rhawn Street.

[jfrey40535]

I think I finally found a late style Reading Phone Box, located near Walnut Hill station



I'm guessing the phone was mounted in the middle. I don't know what the two things mounted on the plywood were. There was also a box similar to this up near the northbound signal protecting NK diamond which I remember the engineer using when we'd encounter a stop signal. He said sometimes he had to let the guy know we were there.

[JimBoylan]

Lightning arrestors, one for each telephone wire. They're something like a resistor. The lightning goes to ground, while the telephone signal goes to the phone.

[limejuice]

That was the block line. You had to pick up the hand set and crank the bell and then hang up. Then the operator (in this case Wind) would ring back a then you would pick up the handset to talk to him/her.

An old timer told me that there were also "distinctive rings" that would be used if they were trying to get in touch with a particular location. Any idea what these were?

[jfrey40535]

I found the same exact phone as the one in the crew room in Warminster at Chestnut Hill station in one of the back offices there. I'm guessing that was the station master's office?

[limejuice]

I think this is another example of a "splice box" at County Line station on the Newtown Branch. Its mostly intact with the wires still connected to the telegraph poles and going over County Line Road.

Interesting. I'll have to take a look in there and see if I can identify any of the nomenclature. It's hard to tell if they were crossing start circuits, part of the DS signals' circuit, or remnants of ABS.

I'm guessing this was either related to the crossing protection, or the NB Signal (D8) just south of the crossing.

Definitely crossing protection. The wire is a track circuit connection, and DS signals don't convey block information, so therefore don't use track circuits. Note the fiberglass joint bar, for insulating one circuit from the next.

This looks fairly new and a guess is it was installed or replaced during the 1981 track replacement project.
Here is signal D8 last summer

That's actually "DS", as per NORAC rule 293 and 293a. I'm pretty sure that signal was there in the 70's as listed on the 1976 track chart, but perhaps it might have been moved further south from County Line Rd.

[limejuice]

I found the same exact phone as the one in the crew room in Warminster at Chestnut Hill station in one of the back offices there. I'm guessing that was the station master's office?

Hill East or West? Chestnut Hill West interlocking was controlled from an office in the station at one time, after the old machine in the tower was ripped out, but before it was remoted to A tower, and finally the RROC. Wouldn't be surprised if there was one at CHE anyway. There's probably a roadie office in the station.

[limejuice]

Lightning arrestors, one for each telephone wire. They're something like a resistor. The lightning goes to ground, while the telephone signal goes to the phone.

More like a fuse in reverse. A fuse breaks the connection when there's a surge. A lightning arrestor makes the connection (to ground) when there's a surge. I'm a bit puzzled as to what the thing on the lower right is though. I'll have to take a walk.

[JimBoylan]

Lightning arrestors, one for each telephone wire. They're something like a resistor. The lightning goes to ground, while the telephone signal goes to the phone.

More like a fuse in reverse. A fuse breaks the connection when there's a surge. A lightning arrestor makes the connection (to ground) when there's a surge. I'm a bit puzzled as to what the thing on the lower right is though. I'll have to take a walk.

The round black thing in the middle is probably the "fuse in reverse". The reddish brown rods on either side are a bit like resistors or capacitors that pass telephone electricity better than they allow lightning to pass, so the lightning is more likely to go through the "fuse in reverse".
The "thing on the lower right" is probably a thin box with a spring loaded push button or rod sticking out to detect when the door is open or closed. What it does with that information is up to the design of the system, but I'm sure it helps the life of the batteries, and possibly the temper and hearing of the dispatcher.