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Recently moved to a new house and two of these were left behind by the previous owner. He worked for the railroad for many years. The only thing that I can figure is that it is Morse Code for the letter Z. They are approx 24 inches tall and weigh close to 30 pounds (cast iron?)
Thanks for the help!!
Richard
Until someone else come up with an explanation, I'm going to say aliens.
Likely whistle boards, pre date g-cor, and tell engineer to use two long and two short whistles.
That is all that I could come up with is that it's the letter Z. All of the whistle boards that I can find either have the letter W or the Morse code for "Q". Two longs, one short, one long
You're right about the current standard whistle pattern and boards for approaching a grade crossing. Prior to things like gcor, the individual roads often had their own and distinct whistle patterns. Also, these boards may not be crossing whistle boards, but used somewhere else, such as yards or coaling sites. That they're cast iron suggests 19th or early 20th century.
As indicated by Bruce's link above, it appears to be a whistle post.
I was going to point out, that ─ ─ ●● is Z in International Morse code.
However, almost all US railroads used American Morse, in which Z is: ●●● ●
If you think morse code is becoming a lost art, try finding someone who still knows American Morse.
From that site on "Strange signs". I can only assume that this is a whistle post that is prior to 1930.
Richard
From that site on "Strange signs". I can only assume that this is a whistle post that is prior to 1930.
Richard
How many of you know your engine whistle signals?
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