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vane line relays

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  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Ontario - Canada
  • 463 posts
vane line relays
Posted by morseman on Monday, March 3, 2014 1:44 PM

I am in possession of a Union Switch Vane line relay....patented  Aug 19/1913.

This is a relay with connectors to a track & operates the lights, or crossing guard rails at a highway crossing.        The one I have is round thick glass encased, while more modern ones are square glass encased such as the one on CN tracks on the NewMarket subdivision near my home in Bracebridge, Ontario.

I have a few questions .     Are there more advanced Vane Line relays using chips & circuit order boards?       I saw the interior of the box at the crossing on Taylor road.  Wires to the box were all underground. and operated two road crossings     About a mile or so up the track they were connected to telegraph poles at  Keith road   only 1/2 km up the track to the track connection.    1/2 km seems a short distance.  speed limit  on the stretch is 20 MPH.     Doesn't this seem a short stretch to operate the road crossing lights?

Any non-technical info on vane line relays would be appreciated.

 

 

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