While Hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains recently, I came upon the abandoned old code line parallel to the Union Pacific tracks. Some of the wires were copper, some were steel (galvanized? they weren’t rusty), and some very rusty wire. Additionally there was a very thick insulated black line. Can someone tell me what was the purpose of each wire based on what they were made of?
The very thick black line may have been the “code line” if there was CTC installed. The others would have been for communications (voice, telegraph) or other similar purposes, in pairs. Some may have been for other subdivisions. Likely there may have been a pair of power cables, perhaps at 220V.
I saw evidence of that at a former section house now used as a camp. The power available would have been enough for a few light bulbs, but little else. I understand it was a common practice, particularly for lines running through otherwise remote areas (which this is).
Growing up in KC by the MoPac, I recall talking to a signal maintainer as a kid in the very early 80’s. He told me the outer two wires on the bottom row were 220v. These wires were insulated. The remaining inboard lines were for block, crossing signaling and internal communications. There was a top row that he said used to be used by Western Union or AT&T. The top row was all bare copper with nice green glass Hemingray insulators.
The thick insulated black line may have been a multi-pair bundle, similar to the ones used for telephone wires, but often with larger gauge wire for railroad applications.
Good example of the smaller and larger wire bundles on the Rochelle Web Cam …
http://trn.trains.com/videos/webcams/2014/09/bnsf-and-union-pacific-in-rochelle-il
Not all of that is abandoned. We still have quite a bit of that in use here and there.
ICC Field Notes from the 1920’s would have told you the exact use. (you can still recover those) Assume you are talking about SP codelines. UP practice separated the lines on opposite sides of the track unless it was an insignificant branchline. On most railroad combined lines, power was on the bottom gain away from track in a pair. (if the wire shorted or fell - it wouldn’t drop high voltage into a code line, signal line or communications/message phone line.) Insulators would also give a hint of what the wire was being used for.
Knuckleheaded kids in Colorado Springs discovered that the hard way in 2001. Tragic results (and Darwin proved correct yet again.)