what is the correct method for obtaining an old signal in a local town where the trackage has been torn out. who do i contact to take it off their hands?
Contact the railroad or agency that owns the property.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Which you can probably determine by checking with the county real property office, or its equivalent.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Not to get too complicated here, but -
Depending on the specific legal terms of the original grant of the R-O-W - and how recently the timing of the abandonment was, and its terms - upon abandonment the R-O-W property might have 'reverted' back to the adjoining property owner(s), the heirs of the original Grantor of the R-O-W, or have been kept by the railroad or acquired by a local agency for future trail use. So don't be too surprised if it gets Byzantine-like complicated and vague and uncertain and contradictory, etc. on you. Good luck with that.
- Paul North.
Don't forget to plan on how to remove it from its concrete base - and likely cut off the heavily rusted and corroded tight big bolts there. Got a cutting torch or a heavy-duty saw ?
And then how are you going to get it out of there, wherever it is ? Do you have a truck with a boom crane, or equivalent pieces of equipment ?
How can you get that equipment to the site, and it and the signal back out ? How muddy and overgrown is the former R-O-W ? Any bridges to cross ? Will you have to cross a farmer's field ? Is he now the current owner of the R-O-W, too - or just thinks he is ? Might want to negotiate that as well.
On the other hand, the bolts might have been coated with a rust-prenentive and preservative grease, and the signal might be sitting right next to the shoulder of a decent local road, etc. If so, go buy a lottery ticket today, too . . .
Railroad signals, like their traffic light counterparts, are much larger when in your personal possession than they appear when displayed in the normal habitat.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Is the signal location in a top secret that can not be divulged before somebody steals it?
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
If it is in Montana, on the abandoned Milwaukee Road ROW, leave it alone.
Word is those boys up there are mighty handy with a .270.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Just out of curiosity, what kind of signal are you talking about? Is it a crossing signal, or a semaphore, searchlight or some other form of color light signal. And when the tracks were still in place, what was its purpose?
John
Excellent advice from other forum members, and be ready for a challenge getting it out of there. I imagine the signal can weigh anywhere from 800 pounds to upwards of 1000 pounds!
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
Most signals need a crane to be installed and removed.
it's just a 3 color target, not the whole tower. lol, there's zoning laws in my area!!!
no, the it's a straight double target next to a grain elevator., just sitting there for the taking
All you need to get any single mass signal down it two heavy duty ropes, a trailer, bails of hay, a full size pick up truck, and a few buddies. I've seen it done 40 times from some vets that worked out through trial and error in the early 80's, When we recived permission from in the early 00's to take down some deactivated CTC Single masses. Portable generator angle grinder and electric impact gun helps also.
Here is a photo of how Union Pacific carts away old signals.
So, a person must definitely have some appropriate transporting equipment.
The date was June 6, 2009 during the big signal system cut-over at West Colton Yard in Colton, CA, and shot at the south end of the Slover siding on the Palmdale Cutoff. The photo was originally featured in the "Sunset Route Two-Tracking Updates" thread in this forum.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
I acquired a 3-light block signal from the abandoned Chicago North Shore in the late-1960s. A good friend contacted the company who had the salvage rights, paid the money and he did the hard work of removing it from the mast. He also acquired a few signals for himself. We still have them to this day. I would like to donate mine to a local museum. According to my friend, it was very difficult to remove the signal. And I can attest to the weight. They are made out of cast iron.
Funny that this thread should appear in a timely manner. There are several (presumably ex-ACL/Seaboard) searchlight signals in my immediate area, and I want to be ready when CSX decides to replace them. I'm not so concerned with the mast/tower as I am with the signal itself. As near as I can tell, all three of the ones I'm looking at are still in service, although one of them watches over an industrial siding and never seems to change aspects. The other two preside over the local yard's exit, right next to a level crossing.
The biggest question is, like others have mentioned, who would I ask? I haven't the slightest idea.
For the most part, signals that are being removed from service account being replaced by newer forms of signals are being retained by the carriers as spare parts for signals at other locations that are still of the older form of signals. They are not being scrapped.
BaltACDFor the most part, signals that are being removed from service account being replaced by newer forms of signals are being retained by the carriers as spare parts for signals at other locations that are still of the older form of signals. They are not being scrapped.
That makes me happy that they are not being scrapped.
I acquired a single light target signal from the MKT when the line was being converted to light rail. The mast is 20+ feet tall and the signal looks a reasonable size up there in the air.The MOW people took the signal down for me and had it in the shop for my pick up. I think it had a chemical reaction with the ballast as it was much larger laying on the ground. The target is five feet in diameter. We disassembled it and cut the mast to an 8 foot length. It all fit in the back of my SUV with the mast sticking out the rear window. I installed it at my lake house and had to pour a pad that was 30"x30"x30". Lots of bags of Sackrete and a very sore back. Hooked it up to a DC source and with a DPDT switch can get all three colors. I do recommend getting approval form the owner before harvesting any trackside equipment. Taking it without permission is theft. Fortunately the transit agency who owned it was not using this type of signal and had no use for it.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.