Object found along tracks

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

My buddy picked a couple of these up from behind his shop in a pile o’ junk along the tracks thinking they were horns, but they’re way to big. Anybody have any idea what they are? The word “PREMIER” is written down the length of the tube. The other one is cracked and does not have the box on the end. There is a grade crossing and switch not far from there but I can’t think of where they would go. Maybe I can make some planters out of them :smiley:

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p150/OldCigarette/?action=view&current=DSCF0005.jpg

2

They look like discarded locomotive air horns.

3

They are cablesplice boxes, the horn type pipe is burried in ground with cable coming up trough the pipe, they are used at or near crossings.

4

They are junction boxes used by the Signal Department also known as bootlegs up in Canada. That style up here have been used at Hot Box Detector locations. They may have had a quick disconnect coupler inside or attached to the side of the housing between the buried cable that came up the side hole and any cable heading out to the track side equipment. I used a bunch of these boxes as termination points for cable to the SCC’s (Switch Circuit Controllers) on CN’s Dundas Sub in southern Ontario during 2001/02. Most of the time bootlegs have a smaller top and are used for buried track circuit cable that splices with a crimped sleeve to the larger gauge wire that connects to the rail. The one shown here is more elaborate then the ones we used on CN in Canada. http://www.wch.com/pdf/catalog/bootleg.pdf
I’ve seen the CPR use bootlegs such as shown.

Bootleg; http://www.safetran.com/product/signal.asp
Junction Box; http://www.safetran.com/product/signal.asp

5

signal pedestal…the “horn” end is down in the ballast. Junction box mounted on top. Just missing a little silver paint / now made by the Rails Co.

http://www.railsco.com/~junction_boxes.htm

6

Thanks for the answers everybody! I tried to think of many ways that these might be used but never was close to the right answer. Also thanks for the links to all the catalogs they were fun to look through.