Steam & Excursion > Glendale Station memories

I recently got a few Kodachromes on Ebay that bring back great memories.  My childhood home was a block from Glendale Tower and a couple of blocks from SP's Glendale (CA) station. .  I saw this action daily but wasn't quite old enough to photograph it. There are no dates,  photographer name or anything else on the slide mounts but I'd gues they were taken around 1952-54.

1.  GS5 4459 on #99, the westbound Coast Daylight.  It's passing the tower as it slows for the station stop. The photo was taken from the Brand Blvd sidewalk in front of the tower.  As kids, we'd stand on the sloping metal covering of the bell cranks for the interlocking rods and see if anyone would chicken out when a train blasted past.  A cab-forward upgrade on a heavy freight was a thrill I still remember.  The semaphore is behind the back fence where I grew up watching the SP.  Wheeling Machine Co. on the right made shell casings and we used to go over there and they'd give us all we wanted.  .38/.45 caliber

2.  GS4 4454 on #76, the eastbound Lark at Glendale station.  It appears to be leaving the station headed for LAUPT.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/20 15:58 by masterphots.

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It's a always a treat to discover images of long-ago scenes that you weren't able to preserve on film yourself.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Gee.....I am not sure if I want to study the steam locomotive first, or the automobiles.  Great picture!

A question for those with knowledge about lower-quadrant semaphores. The miidle arm seems to be halfway between normal horizontal (yellow) and down (green). Don't recall ever seeing a middle or second arm in this position. I believe the roundels on this arm would be yellow-yellow-green. I have only seen photos of a two-warm lower-quadrant in red-over-yellow (stop) both arms at horizontal, green-over-yellow (approach) upper arm down and lower at horizontal, or green-over-green (proceed) both arms down. Is the arm maybe malfunctioning (only halfway down), or is this a 'normal' indication? Maybe it is actually in the process of moving from horizontal to down and was stopped in motion.

Tom



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/20 16:28 by UP3806.

E25 Wrote:
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> It's a always a treat to discover images of
> long-ago scenes that you weren't able to preserve
> on film yourself.

So true. Now if I can just find a Kodachome of the Lark at Glendale station in the snow (1947)

UP3806 Wrote:
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> A question for those with knowledge about lower-quadrant semaphores. ...

I was thinking the same thing. I worked with these signals and that middle signal doesn't look correct. Either that blade is moving and was caught partway or there is an issue with it.

 

Railbaron Wrote:
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> UP3806 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A question for those with knowledge
> about lower-quadrant semaphores. ...
>
> I was thinking the same thing. I worked with these
> signals and that middle signal doesn't look
> correct. Either that blade is moving and was
> caught partway or there is an issue with it.
>

My guess is it was in the process of clearing. When double-arm Bs gave out (green to red), both arms flip horizonal near simultaneously because both home and distant slot coils de-energize simultaneously. In clearing to indication green, first the home slot-coil energizes to push-to-clear the top arm home blade. After clearing the home blade, the circuit controller energizes the distant slot coil and push-to-clear the lower, or distant blade. So clearing a double arm was a two step process, first the upper home blade clears, and then the lower distant blade clears. It seems as if the distant blade is in the process of clearing, and No. 76 looks to be behind the insulated joint.  I could envision the towerman seeing that No. 76 is near ready to make the final dash to LAUPT and lined track 2 signal for an eastward movement. This fine signal, with a Federal top-post siding signal, was a semi-automatic.

That's a derail controlled by the tower between the photographer and the signal?

PHall Wrote:
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> That's a derail controlled by the tower between
> the photographer and the signal?

At first I thought it was the switch onto the third track into Taylor Yard, aka "The Slide".  But looking at some PE slides of cars crossing the SP,  I see the switch to the slide was just across (railroad east)  the PE and Brand Blvd.  It looks like a derail,  There was a pot signal around there controlled by lever No. 2 in the tower.  Why do I remember?  Because none of us kids could move that lever and the tower guys used to challenge us to do so.  I have no idea what No. 2 and the pot signal were there for or if they were related to this derail.

Here's a photo of the tower interior, ca 1956. . The missing levers were the result of PE's demise in June 1955.  Wish I could have gotten that manipulation chart but by the last day of operations in January 1957,  it had fallen off the wall.  Behind it in the frame was the chart for Tropico Tower,  the original name of the tower, before Glendale annexed Tropico.  Tropico also showed faintly on the tower signs, beneath Glendale Tower.  I did get one of those and donated it to Orange Empire museum where it's on display in one of their car barns.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/20 07:14 by masterphots.

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Here's a photo that shows the "distant' blade in its fully lowered position (barely above the stack of the lead Mt class on the westward train)
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3802252,page=1
which supports BCHellman's thought that masterphot's photo captured an 'in-between' moment.

Regarding PHall's question about a derail: yes, that is a single-point "split-rail" derail. If it were a switch, we would be able
to see the matching 'point' on the east rail of the same track.

Looking carefully at the second photo in the posted link, where the rear car of No. 51 is seen 'clearing' the signal control box,
timetable west of the tower, we can see the control rods leading up to the south end of the passenger platform.

Masterphots "mystery" pot signal might have been one governing movements against the current of traffic,
(this was Double Track territory), or quite possibly one of 4 signals on PE's tracks, again, double track territory.
Since its operation required some 'heft', it sounds as if your #2 was one of the several derails controlled by the towerman. 

Looking again at the masterphots photo, a high-stand hand-throw switch can be seen just ahead of the pilot of No. 76's engine.
This switch led to the S.P.-P.E. Richardson interchange which sat parallel to SP's eastward main track and compass north of PE's
tracks prior to their crossing of the 'steam road' en-route to Glendale and onward to Burbank. 

Charlie