I sometimes take hikes along the right-of-way of some tracks that run by my house. A couple days ago I came across this object and wasn’t sure what it was. My guess is some type of control box, maybe for signals but as far as I know this area has never had signals installed. It was in the trees about 20-30 off the track, and in the same area on each side of the track was a concrete pad that obviously held some sort of electrical component. The area used to be a PRR branch line and is now Norfolk Southern. My understanding is that when the line was PRR it extended quite a bit further than it does now so maybe it was signaled back then and they removed them when the line became a dead end, but I haven’t come across anything like this anywhere else on my walks. There are no switches near this area.
Here’s a picture of one of the concrete pads. There was one on each side of the track, about 50 feet apart.
Anyone have any info? Anything special about this?
Yes, those are for signals. You’d have masts on those pads (see where the four bolts were?) with one set of signals, likely facing one direction each, on them.
It would help to know the specific location and, if possible, the route involved.
Hard details of ‘legacy’ signal systems are not one of my areas of expertise, and I do not know whether this installation might have been for semaphore-type signals rather than the later PRR position-light setup. There are likely to be people on here who can tell you exactly what type and configuration of signal you had by looking at the shape of that case and the components still visible within it. If not – posting on one of the PRR-specific lists or groups would produce hard answers for you in very short order…
Lot’s or skeletal remains of glory exist along tracks and even abandoned rights of way. Saw several on the former Lehigh Valley between Sayre and Towanda PA yesterday including an intact search light body turned toward the track and twisted up! The pictures you show here are for the signal box–relays, wires, etc…and the concrete base for the post which held the signal.
Given the width of many ROWs, even taking the picture of the former signal base was probably trespassing, but I was going to mention the individual standing in the guage…
While a line may not have been signaled per se, a signal would have been used if there was a diamond crossing in the neighbourhood. As well as the home signals, there would be approach signals a fair distance away in each direction. Another less likely possibility is it could be related to a crossing warning system, since these would usually have some form of relay box at the far ends of the approach circuits.
