Dark Signal Question

[qballbandit]

Hello,
On my travels north and south through Minnesota to Ontario last week, I had a lot of exposure to a CN line (not sure of sub, but it's adjacent to Route 53 pretty much all the way out of Virginia up through to International Falls??)
What I noticed, and would like some insite to, is that so many of the signals are dark, not displaying any aspect. This makes it all the more noticable when approaching one that is displaying an aspect.
If my querry doesn't seem clear - for instance, i see a signal (red over red) then I see maybe 10 dark signals, then another red over red - that kind of scenario.
I am just curious of the logisitcs/logic/reason behind this.

Thanks so much,

Neil :)

[Turbo Bill]

Several Class 1's including UP and SP for sure implement what they call "block occupancy indication". What this means is that the signal will only light up if a train is in that block only. One reason is to save energy and increase lightbulb life. Another reason this is done is to try to eliminate targets from idiots that like to shoot at anything they can find. If it's not lit, the hope is they don't shoot at it. In the case of the line you were driving along only the dispatcher controlled signals are lit all the time. In Canada the CP has all their signals lit or at least did a couple years back. Looks really cool at night as you can see three or four signals ahead on the prairies. I've had 2 FRED's shot at with bullet holes in them in my carreer. The shooting was done at night when the FRED's light was blinking. Had a .22 calibre bullet bounce off my side window one day too. Sounded like someone dropping a tie-plate on the floor, it was that loud. According to the company Operations Manager a thirty-ought-six calibre bullet will go thru a FRA Type 22 Glazing window and drop onto the floor. I've never vollenteered to see if that was true.

[qballbandit]

Jesus Bill, what a world we live in. People are that bored, or stupid, they will shoot at anything. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never figure it out.
Thanks for your explanation, it was well presented. I appreciate your response. Do you happen to know the CN Sub name on the line I followed??

Neil :)

[jac_murphy]

Bill, CP uses approach-lit signals like any other Class 1, at least that's what the case is around here and other places I've visited. For all I know, however, it could be different out on the Prairies, since I've never fanned there.

Neil, the line in question is probably the Rainy sub. It runs from just north of Duluth up to Duluth Jct., where it connects with the Fort Frances sub to Winnipeg.

Hope this helps!

-Jacques

[Turbo Bill]

Jacques, the CP line I followed ran east out of the Marshalling yard in Medicine Hat Alberta IIRC. The CN CTC mainline thru Watrous Sask. also has or had it's signals lit all the time as well. Again this is a couple years ago so it would not surprise me if that practice is no longer the rule.

BTW, thanks Jacques for answering the CN sub question, I don't know many of the CN subs as I didn't travel that much when I was still living in Sask. but I did grow up in a town that the CN ran thru. As a matter of fact it was the next sub east of the Blackfoot sub running from North Battleford east thru Bruno (my hometown) and then Humboldt Sask. Not sure were the east end of this sub ends......Watson perhaps.

[ragtimer]

We had a Class 66 running around for a while with a bullet hole in one of the side windows.

[qballbandit]

Jacques,
Thanks my friend! I probably could have made an educated guess, based on the name - Rainy. I drive throught the Rainy River Disrict, Rainy Lake, etc. so it all makes perfect sense.

Take care,

Neil :)

[jac_murphy]

Neil: No problem! Glad I was able to help.

Bill: Looks to me like that would be the Aberdeen sub, which runs east from North Battleford to Humboldt.

-Jacques

[Turbo Bill]

As soon as I read your post it came back to me......I just couldn't put a name to it. Aberdeen is about 30miles from where I lived. I used to work in Humboldt after I graduated. On a trip back in '98 I took a trip to the Humboldt CN depot and they still had a station agent. Told him I was a Hogger from the states and he pointed me to a pair of CN SD40-2's kicking cars in the yard and told me to go have fun. It was surreal as both the engineer and two switchmen were all brothers. After about five minutes of jawing, the engineer vacates the chair and I was on it. Kicked cars for about three hours and had a blast. They invited me to ride with them the next day and run the local thru my hometown, nice. Unfortunetely they died in North Battleford that night and didn't get on the local out of Humboldt 'til 01:00 the next night. As Maxwell Smart would say.....Missed it by that much!!!! Thanks for allowing a little reminiscing.

[jac_murphy]

No problem, Bill... thanks for the story.

-Jacques