Steam era signals

[nkp_174]

I think I remember reading somewhere that the crews would use lanterns to signal when switching after dark.

Yep. That was primary job of the classic railroad lantern. The wire framed base version was typically for the flagman/rear end brakeman, the heavy base was for the head end brakeman. Lanterns make hand signals visible in the dark. Fuses where the night time equivalent of flags, and torpedos were used where you really wanted to be safe. A retired flagman who was a friend of my father's used to keep fuses, flags, and torpedos in his old caboose for authenticity purposes (it is NKP 1091, a pre-turn of the century wood car on display in Lima, OH). As soon as he passed, my father removed the torpedos and most of the fuses...for wouldn't it be great if someone during an open house got into them?

Interesting insight into the air usage, brakie...after all, every caboose I can recall has/had a release valve on platform.