Page 21 - September October 2017

A westbound grain shuttle sits next to one of the new PTC, “Darth Vader” signals near Pratt, Kansas on the Union Pacific’s former Rock Island Golden State Route
was pouring rain as New Mexico was in the middle of their rainy season. After crawling our way to Chappelle, the rain stopped, and the signals became emblazoned
in vibrant light, breaking through the clouds in brilliant oranges, reds, and purples; highlighted by shadows and the wet rail passing between the semaphores. It was a spectacular scene, one which we were thankful we got to see; and one which we will not forget anytime soon. After completing the task at hand, It was time to head north- east through the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, following the former Rock Island Golden State Route from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Topeka, Kansas.
With no real plan in place, and pushed by a brisk south- west wind, we made our way northeast; searching for any vestiges of the former Rock Island and any of the rail- road’s “old signals” we might come across. The first and only noteworthy signal we found was at Dalhart, Texas. It was a US&S color light signal or “tri-light” once common on the western railroads, now falling to the signal man’s torch as the new PTC signals are set and come on line. This beautiful example of a classic “tri-light” has stood guard over the Rock Island/Fort Worth and Denver, a CB&Q subsidiary, now UP/BNSF diamond at Dalhart; watching the passage of the Rock Island/Southern Pacific Golden State Limited and Imperial and the FW&D Texas Zephyr and Colorado Special passenger trains. Contin- uing east we came across fewer and fewer reminders of the former railroad that operated the Golden State, most all of the “old signals” that once were are now gone. The remainder of the day was spent watching double stacks, manifests, and grain shuttles ply the Golden State, pass- ing the pedestrian PTC signals that now line the GSR.
Our final day began bright and early as the “Darth Vad- ers” on the GSR showed red for a westbound grain shut- tle, with all the searchlights and tri-lights in this portion of the state gone, I decided to pay a visit to a Santa Fe style cantilever with 4 Union Switch and Signal Co. search- lights mounted on top. Located in Hutchinson, Kansas,
I had lucked out when I came across it 9 months earlier and was able to capture an image of it. When we arrived in Hutch, excitement turned to sadness; the old cantilever was gone, replaced by the new signal that was being set
only months earlier. As we drove home to Topeka, I kept thinking of that old cantilever, how only months before it had stood, stood in the same spot guarding the diamond of the BNSF/UP (Santa Fe/Rock Island) for years. My resolve became clear; this journey would not end at 2200 miles, knowing that there were Pennsylvania Positions Lights, B&O Color Position Lights and NYC Tri-Lights; that would soon meet the same fate as the Cantilever Searchlights in Hutch. Within months, I would have a plan in place, my journey would continue. This time I would head east, on my quest to document the last gasp of the “old signals” before they are gone for good.
. . . part 2 in December 2017 Roundhouse
This article and photographs are by kind permission of Cade Smith. Born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, only a few miles from the Burlington Northern’s former Frisco, Fort Scott Subdivision. At an early age he could be found trackside on Saturdays with Dad watching the parade of coal trains pass the old depot in downtown Lenexa. It was not until 2016 that Cade picked up a camera and began photographing trains and the infrastructure that surrounds railroad operations. Now residing in Topeka with his wife Jenny and daughter Olivia, he can be found on his days off photographing the railroads of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. More of Cade’s work can be found on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137428825@N06/
A set of General Railway Signal Co. “Tri-Lights” guards the BNSF/UP diamond at Dalhart, Texas
October 2017 - ROUNDHOUSE 21