Nostalgia & History > AT&SF Signals at La Junta, Colo. on December 17, 1970

AT&SF Signals at La Junta, Colo. on December 17, 1970.  Roger Puta photo

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Terrific shot.  Nice to see the work cars in the background.

What a great night slide !  Thanks for posting this., Marty.  I enjoy slides taken at La Junta and that area on the Santa Fe. 

Anybody have a track chart for La Junta from 1970?  I'm curious if it shows these signals numbered this way, because something odd is going on with those number plates.  By normal Santa Fe practice, the first three digits should be the milepost (554) and the last digit would be, not a decimal distance, but rather the sequential number of the signal within that mile - odd numbers for westward signals and even for eastward.  It was unusual to see a final digit as high as an 8 because it meant there were three other eastward signals within the same mile.  I'm wondering if the "0548" number plate was a compromise the signal department came up with when they needed a signal #10 within the same mile.  Unfortunately, the track chart I have showing the greatest number of signals in mile 554 at La Junta (1950) only shows signals numbered up to 5548.