On an N&W whistle post, there is a small group of numbers (17215) just above the large W. It doesn’t seem to be a location as the same number was on a different whistle post. Would these numbers possibly be a part number or catalog number the manufacturer used?
Could it be a milepost loction for the crossing, as in MP 172.15?
There could be a number of advantages to providing the crews with this information.
If the same number is seen on several whistle boards, I’d tend toward the catalog number. Need a new one because the old one got used for target practice? Hey, supply, I need a number 17215…
The milepost idea has merit, though, operationally.
Sorry I missed the part about seeing a couple in different places, so the milepost idea doesn’t hold water (unless two locations were on the opposite side of the same crossing!). Another possibility along those lines would be a crossing identification number (minus any characters that identify the railroad itself).
I felt lucky in our travels these past weeks to see somewhere along the way a neglected old Southern-style bars-and-dot whistle post.
I am wondering where you were when you saw the whistle post with small numbers.
Was this one of the old style N&W whistle posts, or one of those that seem to have been installed recently?
It was one of the old cast iron whistle posts.
Thank you. I do not recall ever seeing such, but I am not a real connosieur of them. BigJim might be able to tell us more.
Incidentally, I have a memory of seeing N&W whistle posts along the former Southern’s right of way when coming out of Washington. This past spring it seemed that almost all of the Southern’s old posts have been replaced with sheet metal signs with a “W” on each one between Washington and Meridian.
Somewhere, in a foundry, resided a wooden master, and that was likely the stock number.
The OP needs to provide a photo so that we can see exactly what he is speaking of. As the “tree” suggests, it is probably a foundry number.
In all of my years on the road I have never seen a number on any whistle board. I have a couple of the cast iron boards and I just checked, there are no numbers on them anywhere.
Would be curious to see what the various iterations of standard plans on both sides of the merger says. (Right now, I’m in rediculously hot and humid TAG/CoG/SOU/CNOTP/N&W country and will take a look if I get a chance)
As of today, there happens to be a picture of one on eBay showing the number 17215. Search for N&W whistle sign.
There are three on eBay at this writing. Two have tags, one does not. One appears to read 17215, the other 17815.
Those tags have the appearance of a metal tag affixed to the wooden (or metal) master. Sometimes that’s done to denote a production run, sometimes a production date, or as we have surmised, an item number.
Thank you everyone for your replies. I appreciate the help.
Is the engineer supposed to start blowing his horn at the whistle post, or is that just a warning to tell him/her that the train is approaching a crossing? I noticed a whistle post on the BNSF mainline through town that seems a long way from the crossing based on the speed of trains at that point.
At the crossing near my house, the lenght of time a train is blowing its horn varies quite a bit.
CSX Rule Book concerning blowing horn for crossings.
Whistleboards are/were placed based on usual speed for that crossing - Theoretically, if the train is moving at the “usual” speed for the line, if the engineer starts blowing for the crossing around the whistleboard, it’ll be just about right.
On our line, there are a number of crossing which have “historical” whistle boards in place for the 50 MPH that NYC used to run on the line. They are WAY out from the crossings.
Larry, what is the allowed top speed on your area?
It varies. The lower parts are mostly 40, the upper parts are 30. I like to run the “scenic trips” at 25.
The Central’s higher speeds also sometimes cause us problems on curves, as a few are still superelevated for 50.