I find the railroad advertising in Trains Magazine interesting. It can sometimes give some insight into the operations of the railroads. On page 10 of the October issue of Trains Magazine is an ad I don’t understand. It is for a Jumper Keeper Alarm System. “Limit the risk of left-jumpers with our Model 500 Jumper Keeper Rack Unit- the most ergonomic, easy-so-use solution in the industry”.
But… what is it, and what does it do?
It must be this: http://sandcco.com/signal%20accessories.htm
If you are a signal maintainer, and routinely use jumpers to test the proper operation of equipment (lets say you need to simulate the approach of a train), but then forget that you have left those jumpers in place and leave the scene, the consequences could be severe. [:(]
The keeper helps reduce the chances of leaving a jumper in the wrong place.
Good idea , that way you don’t drive away with a jumper installed in a signal cabinet.
I can recall reading of at least one crossing incident in which “left jumpers” may have resulted in a fatal acccident.
It’s kind of a reverse lockout/tagout.
I’m not sure I follow this. The product advertised is to keep signal maintainers from leaving their diagnostic equipment stuck in a signal somewhere?
Pretty much. Kinda like always putting your house key in a certain place in the car, so you are sure you locked the house. No key, no lock.
If you’re familiar with “lock out / tag out” in the industrial world, it would be rather like a technician having a loop on his toolbox where he hung his assigned lock when not in use. If it’s not there, he left it someplace, meaning someone probably can’t do their job.
So it is with the jumpers. I mentioned an incident were a signal maintainer allegedly left a jumper in place which placed the crossing protection out of service. IIRC, a car full of kids didn’t see a train coming, and the gates didn’t drop, either, due to the jumper.