The only way the conductor would know what signal the engine was going past would be if a head end crewmember would call it over the radio. A conductor in a caboose would only see red signals, unless the train was short enough that he could see the signal before it changed after the engine went past it.
Last week after being relieved at Missouri Valley, we had to ride the second unit to Fremont to our tie up point. I had the opprotunity to watch a few block signals go from green to red as the head end passed them.
When a train has an occupied caboose, the crew members are supposed to communicate the signal indication with the person on the tail end. When the conductor didn’t hear them call the signal and couldn’t raise them on the radio he should have pulled the air.
He was the conductor and the conductor is ultimately responsible.
We’re talking F7 era technology here, bailing (actuating) off the independent likely had nothing to do with the alerter.
At the time of the Hinton, AB wreck did the CN not have a rule requirement that some one on the head end call the signal before an absolute signal and the absolute over the radio to the conductor? I know the CP had such a rule in Canada back in the mid '70’s. Up there they both use the same rule book.
A regular brake pipe hose also worked on the deadman pedal, there was always one or two laying around the cab somewhere so it was easy to explain if you had to quickly remove it…