wwwHow to Get By A Red Automatic Interlocking Signal


Back in the good old days on the SP, figuring out how to get by a red automatic interlocking signal often was not a problem for yard crews working at night, after the officers were tucked away in their beds. Few yard dogs carried rule books and timetables to consult upon for a proper course of action, and red automatic interlockings were often treated as 'slow down and see if the coast is clear' signals (signals guarding drawbridges were treated with more respect, however).

One night, when my SP crew was dragging 10 or so cars down the main track to Luther Junction south of San Jose, we encountered a red signal at the former WP Willow Glen Branch crossing at what is now CP Michael. The engineer slowed the cut of cars a little and we peered through the orchards to see if a Wobbly goat was in the vicinity, but of course they NEVER worked their branch at that time of night, anyway. We saw nothing, but just as the hoghead released the air, we caught a flicker of a headlight through the trees. Yikes! The engineer couldn't get us stopped in time, but we narrowly missed a collision, because the WP boys, presumably, were doing a better job circumventing the rules than we were.

The WP crew had big grins on their faces as they crept up to our engine, which was sitting squarely on the crossing. Both crews got down on the ground, had a short laugh over the near miss, and proceeded to the universal topic of inter-railroad interest: the screwed up nature of each's respective railroad. Someone produced a bottle and we had a delightful confab for about 45 minutes before we heard San Jose Telegraph on the radio, asking if we were ready to come back from Luther Junction.