RE: Question number 2...green and white flags.
Green flags indicated that the engine was pulling the first section, or next
to the last section of a train running in two or more sections. If the
train was running in more than two sections each section except the last
would "carry the green". White flags indicated that the engine was pulling
or running as an extra train..ie "a train not designated in the TT by
number".
The use of flags was discontinued in the later years and only the appropriate
green and white classification lights were used...I don't know the exact year
that the use of flags was eliminated, but I have photos of Number 20 (First
No. 20) "green signals "(flags) passing Corning MO in August 1954 with green
flags. Also I have a vivid memory of an incident in summer 1956 when I was
head brakeman on a troop train running as First 43 out of Lincoln. I was
severely reprimanded by an old head engineer for not having a knife to
whittle down a broken flagstick so it would fit into the bracket on the side
of engine 9962C, After rummaging around in the nose of the unit and digging
out the green flags I discovered that one flag had its stick broken at a
point far enough up that what was left wouldn't fit in the bracket. After
reporting this to said engineer he said....."well just take your knife and
whittle the stick down to where it will fit"....I said...in my young
naivette..."But I don't have a knife".....His retort...."....KID!!!!!!! if
your gonna railroad around here you better get yourself a knife".... Just
one of those little "memory flashes" from the past just waiting to be
injected into a totally unrelated topic....
Question No. 1`...someone with greater steam engine knowledge than I will
have a better (ie correct) answer, but I suspect that the "tank" referred to
is the superheater and the stream of steam is it's exhaust.
Someone said..maybe it was in RIGHT OF TRAINS that one of the reasons that
the use of flags was discontinued was that "it is hard to tell the difference
between a dirty white flag and a dirty green flag". Anything located near
the front end of a steam engine couldn't be anything but dirty after a few
miles.
Pete
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