In the CB&Q Cicero Office(I started later when it was BN )on the Main Line
Desk(Aurora to Galesburg) there were Hot Box and Dragging Detectors at
Somonauk, Mendota, Buda, and Galva(same place you hear the detector on the
radio now) The readouts were by Servo on Somonauk, Mendota, and Buda and
had a paper tape with two pens one for each track. While working the
Mainline desk if a train activated a detector you had to stop everything and
turn around and watch the tape till the train cleared the detector. If a
pen jumped on only one side it ment they had a hotbox and if on both sides
it ment a dragging equiptment. Then you counted the squiggles till you got
to the offender and that was the car to be inspected. The Galva detector
had a different read out machine and was all flat paper. Due to the high
cost of this paper Galva was the first (on the Mainline)to get the visual
readout for the Waycar to check.
Both the visual readouts and the waycars did not last long after the
"Technology" got up to BN Standards. There was also a Flashing E Signal
around Cat that was a dragging indicator for eastbound trains for the Aurora
Elevation. The Burlington Bridge also had one.
The Detector at MP 27 caught an eastbound coal train tonite and Leo you
should see 4 or 5 loaded cars of coal in the yard at Downers Grove .
sjh
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