Steam era signals

[Brakie]

Speaking of sitting the handbrakes that wasn't a fun thing when the ladder was ice covered..Remember,you're hanging on the ladder with one hand with both feet on a rung while cranking the brake wheel.

It really helps you to appreciate the brakemen from before the power brake era...being responsible for 3-20cars each...riding on top of swaying cars through rain, sleet, or snow...having to race up and down ladders...jump from car to car...and tightening the brakes with a club...everytime the engineer called for it...and then reversing the process a few minutes later. Little wonder it was one of the ten most dangerous professions. Life may have been cheaper, but they had courage.

Here's a tidbit of information I came by in book called "Bradford(Oh)..The Railroad Town" by Scott Trostel.

The family of brakemen kept a clean sheet in the event that dreaded knock on the door came..The Brotherhood would take up a collection and present this money and a Bible to the widow..