Lonoke, Arkansas (15 miles east of Little Rock on I-40/US 70)
still has a semaphore (actually a train order signal) at its original location next to the Rock Island
depot, also at its original site. There is even a small section of Rock
Island track in front of the depot that was never removed when the rest
of the Rock's tracks were pulled up in the 1980s. Below are some
photos. I also took a few shots of the Hazen, Arkansas Rock Island
depot and another type of old Rock Island signal (Hazen is about 20 miles east of Lonoke on the same abandoned Rock Island Sunbelt line)
. There's a whole block of original Rock Island track through downtown
Hazen as well. As I've said in an earlier post on this area,
these two Arkansas towns, plus Carlisle and Brinkley, did a great job
of preserving their railroad heritage by saving the Rock Island's
depots.
Or, to view all photos in a larger size, click on:
http://www.thundertrain.org/semaphore-lonokeAR-bb.html
LEFT- I'm
looking to the east along US Highway 70 in Lonoke, Arknasas early
morning on September 27, 2008. You can see the semaphore (in this case a train order signal) to the left of
the depot. I sometimes imagine a Rock Island train stopping here.
From Tom Balzen via email on September 30:
"The semaphore is actually a train order signal. The operator on duty
would set the signal to the stop position if he had orders to pass up
to the crew. Train order signals as well as operation by train orders
are both now things of the fairly distant past. The train order signal
at Lonoke looks like a semaphore but it is not a signal controlling
train operation. Its position/setting was strictly to let the crew
know that orders were to be picked up at that station. If the operator
was not on the platform with the staff to hoop up the orders or if the
orders were not put on a permanent staff installed for that purpose,
the train then had to stop and get the orders.
The train order
signals at Lonoke are both set to stop, i.e., orders are to be picked
up. Normally the train order signals would be set to proceed unless
the dispatcher issued orders to the operator. When the operator
received notice from the dispatcher the he intended to issue an order,
the first thing the operator did was to set the signal appropriate for
the direction the train would be approaching from to stop. The other
signal would remain at proceed. This way, if the train arrived at the
station before the orders were ready, he would have to stop. I have
seen an exception to this, when there is a passing siding nearby. The
dispatcher could issue orders for two trains, one expected to pass the
station prior to meeting another train at the passing siding and the
other for the train approaching from the other direction from the
passing siding.
BTW, the dispatchers originally issued orders by
Morse Code over telegraph lines, then by telephone over company owned
wires in most cases. On the MoP, in Austin where I used to hang out
with the local operator, the dispatcher occasionally would issue orders
to the operator by Bell telephone landline. Usually when this was
done, there was some problem with the company owned lines." -- RIGHT-Looking to the west with a low, morning sun shining on the Lonoke
depot. The tracks ran to the right of the station.
A
little farther east. This caboose and boxcar were donated by UP shortly
after the tracks were taken up in the 1980s. The tracks under the two
cars were put back to hold the cars and are not original to the area.
The small original section of track is located just to the right of the
semaphore.
LEFT-Between
Carlisle and Hazen, Arkansas. This crossbuck sign was left in place.
I'l standing close to the original main line of the Rock. RIGHT-Section
of original Rock Island track next to a silo just west of Hazen,
September 27.
LEFT-Yellow flowers along the right of way west of Hazen. RIGHT-About
8 a.m. September 27 at Hazen, Arkansas, looking west. This depot was
restored in the 1980s. The section of track here was put in after the
original track was taken up in the 1980s. A block of original track
remains to the right of the trees at left.
LEFT-Another
type of Rock Island signal, also at its original location. The motorcar
has been here for 25 years. RIGHT-The track on the other side of the
road is original.
RIGHT-Jumping
to late afternoon, September 27, on my wan back to Little Rock from
Brinkley, these yellow flowers were all over this grassland. The silos
in the distance are in Hazen and I'm looking to the east toward Hazen
with an afternoon sun. The
area between Carlisle and Hazen is a natural area where the vegetation
is original grassland. This was bought by the Nature Conversancy right
after the Rock Island went bankrupt, sort of a pre-"rails-to-trails"
path. The Rock Island ran right in the middle of this area.
Looking
to the east between Hazen and Carlisle, Arkansas. The silos at Hazen
are in the distance. Note the old railroad shelter.
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