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Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe

• Topeka, KS. Among the goodies at Santa Fe's signal training center in Topeka, KS in 1990 were an upper quadrant semaphore (Union Switch and Signal Style T-2) and a lower quadrant wigwag. A view from the rear shows the mechanisms. In 1990, there were still plenty of both devices left on the railroad, and maintainers had to be trained in their upkeep.

 
• Independence, KS. A letter from Evan Stair in the "letters" section mentions a surviving wigwag in Independence on the ex-ATSF line (now SKO, South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad) in 1999. The image shows a wigwag in Independence in 1992, but it is not known if it is the same one Mr. Stair refers to.

 
• Superior, NB. Definitely not typical of the majority of surviving wigwags on the former Santa Fe, this signal in Superior, NB appears to be a Western Railroad Supply (WRRS) design. Santa Fe bought its line into Superior from the Chicago & North Western, so this wigwag was probably installed by CNW.

 
• Raymond, KS. Situated on the ex-ATSF Hutchinson Sub (now Central Kansas Ry) between Hutchinson and Great Bend, Raymond, KS in 1990 was home to many ghosts of railroading past. It must have been a picturesque and quaint scene when a depot occupied that space outlined by the remains of the platform, with the magnetic flagman standing by to guard Main St. The current status of this wigwag is not known.

 
• Lewis, KS. One wigwag that almost certainly is not extant is this one protecting Main St. in Lewis, KS. In late July 1990, the new crossing protection was almost ready to take over, dwarfing the diminutive wigwag in the middle of the street. Those middle-of-the-road installations always looked precarious - it's a wonder this wigwag never had a fatal altercation with an automobile. Lewis is on the Santa Fe's old original main line across Kansas, the one used by Amtrak's Southwest Chief.

 
• Holly, CO. Continuing west on the original ATSF main, the first town over the Colorado border is Holly (as in Sugar). This wigwag protects the Main St. crossing just east of the depot, and is another middle-of-the-road installation (note the reflector and striped base). It was intact in 1993, but its current status is not known. The Southwest Chief blows by this location at 79 mph on a daily basis.

 
• Carlton, CO. "Somewhere near Carlton" will have to do for this one - the photographer neglected to write down the exact location. The wigwag is plainly visible from US-50, for what it's worth. Note the large, signal-sized base, similar to the wigwag at Delhi, CO. Its current status isn't known either.

 
• San Felipe, NM. Indian Service Route 84 connects San Felipe and Santo Domingo Pueblos, and this wigwag protects the road's crossing of the old ATSF main about half way between the pueblos.

 
• Chloe, NM. Chloe isn't a town, per se, just Santa Fe's name for its siding in the "town" of Los Chavez just north of Belen, NM on the line to Albuquerque. This wigwag protected the Camino De Los Chavez crossing. It was replaced by flashers in the early 90's.

 
• Lamitar, NM. Another upper quadrant Santa Fe wigwag, this one protecting a rural crossing on Santa Fe's "Horny Toad" line to El Paso near Lamitar, NM. Its current status is not known.

 
• Vista, CA. On the branchline to Escondido, the Guajome Ave. wigwag in Vista, CA had a rare Minneapolis-built motor box when it was photographed in 1998.

 
• Redlands, CA. Two lower quadrant Santa Fe wigwags survive in Redlands, CA on the remaining portion of the Redlands Loop. This one protects the Mountain View Ave. crossing west of town and north of I-10 (freeway overpass is visible in the distance).

 
• Redlands, CA. Here's the Redlands Local cruising past the Mountain View Ave. wigwag with a pair of wood chip cars for a customer in Redlands on December 30, 2000.

 
• Redlands, CA. The same local passes the other wigwag on the line to Redlands at Nevada St. shortly before sunset.

 
• Redlands, CA. The Nevada St. wigwag is also located within sight of I-10 (the bridge in the background). The Redlands line crosses under the interstate between the two wigwags, such that the Mountain View Ave. wigwag is north of the freeway and the Nevada St. wigwag is south of it.

 
• Vernon, CA. In contrast to Redlands, somewhat longer trains pass the lower quadrant wigwag at 49th St. in Vernon. In late 2000, this line was still part of the BNSF Harbor Sub, used by double stack trains to reach the port of Long Beach.

 
• Bakersfield, CA. In 1995, there were two wigwags along the Santa Fe main line in Bakersfield between the depot and Kern Junction. This one, at P St., was gone by 1998.

 
• Bakersfield, CA. The other Bakersfield wigwag was just a few blocks away at K St. The wigwag had less than a month of service left when it was photographed on May 7, 2000. The crossing was already closed and the planking ripped up, but the wigwag was still functional.

 
• Porterville, CA. Santa Fe once had a modest network of branchlines in the San Joaquin Valley. Among them was the Porterville-Orosi District, which left the Santa Fe main at Jastro, used SP trackage rights from Oil Junction to Ducor, and proceeded north to Orange Cove by way of Ducor and Exeter. The line harbored many wigwags into the 1980's, but its sale to the Tulare Valley Railroad (a front company for A&K Railway Materials) in the early 90's saw most of the track ripped up. Only a short segment from Exeter to Lindsay survived into 1999 (the three surviving ex-ATSF wigwags in Lindsay are covered elsewhere). The wigwag shown in the picture was guarding the already embargoed trackage at Mill St. in Porterville in 1995. By 1998, the track was gone and the wigwag had been "decapitated" - the motor housing and banner were gone, but the cantilever and mast remained.

 
• Pittsburg, CA. Amtrak San Joaquin Train 717 whizzes past the endangered Columbia St. wigwag in Pittsburg, CA shortly after sunset in this one-second time exposure. Construction of a new road in the foreground had resulted in the removal of the fence that normally blocks clear views of this wigwag.

 
• Richmond, CA. The westernmost public grade crossing on the entire Santa Fe system, West Richmond Ave. in Richmond, CA, is protected by a pair of upper quadrant wigwags. The signals stand in the middle of the street, and are protected by concrete "planters" that help absorb the impacts of wayward automobiles. The planters had just been repainted solid white when this view was recorded in August 1996.

 
• Richmond, CA. Two months earlier, the planters were still wearing their faded black and white stripes, in stark contrast to freshly painted BNSF 124 approaching with a westbound intermodal train. Richmond yard is actually behind the train at this point, and nothing lies ahead but a few thousand feet of track leading to an abandoned ferry slip. There isn't always enough room on the east end of the intermodal facility to handle incoming westbounds, and trains have run through the classification yard and back into the intermodal area from the west. This maneuver usually involves at least part of the train blocking West Richmond Ave to clear the west yard throat switch.

 
• Richmond, CA. Another intermodal train lead by brand new (and as yet unstriped) BNSF 4743 crosses West Richmond Ave. in the process of pulling down and backing into the yard.

Southern Pacific

• Riverside, CA. This former SP wigwag was located on Mission Inn Road in Riverside, one block south of the Santa Fe passenger depot (the crossing gates for the Santa Fe tracks can be seen in the distance). It protected a weed-eaten industrial spur that appeared to be completely out of service by the time this photo was taken in 1998. Two years later, someone made off with the motor box and banner.

 
• Riverside, CA. The other former SP wigwag in Riverside is on 3rd St., a few blocks east of Mission Inn Rd.

 
• Rialto, CA. A classic Pacific Electric installation on a pole. This signal was one of several that once guarded the PE right-of-way, but has since been removed.

 
• Colton, CA. This classic PE-style wigwag was still guarding the M St. crossing in Colton in May, 2000.

 
• Gardena, CA. Best looking of the four surviving wigwags on this bit of former PE right-of-way in Gardena, the 164th St. wigwag was sadly not functional when this picture was taken in May 2000. The UP local came by a few minutes later, but the wigwag did not respond. The tracks run down the middle of Vermont street beyond the wigwag in this picture.

 
• Gardena, CA. The Hobart Blvd. wigwag, on the other hand, was very much alive as the UP local arrived to do some switching. The track ends at a lumber yard just a few blocks west of this location.

 
• Gardena, CA. Another look at the Hobart Blvd. wigwag, slumbering peacefully in the early morning light.

 
• Gardena, CA. Compared to Hobart, the Denker Ave. wigwag a few blocks to the east looked much less healthy, and the bell clunked instead of ringing, but as of late 2000 it was still on the job.

 
• Gardena, CA. Gotta agree with Steve Crise - the weather-beaten banner on the Denker St. wigwag just begs for close up "character studies."

 
• Gardena, CA. Where the Red Cars once travelled. The former Pacific Electric right-of-way, with the Denker Ave. wigwag on the right.

 
• Anaheim, CA. The Lemon St. wigwag was wagging for no apparent reason when its picture was taken in May 2000. Something other than a train must have been shunting the crossing circuit.

 
• Los Angeles, CA. That this upper quadrant SP wigwag at 55th St. and Alameda survived into 1999 is a real marvel. The crossing was flanked by traffic lights interlocked with the crossing circuits, rendering the wigwag superfluous. The signal was nearly hidden by one of the traffic lights, such that a motorist would have to know the wigwag was there and purposely look for it to see it waving its warning. Somehow, perhaps because it was so well hidden, the wigwag managed to evade the junkman, and was still standing at the ready when this photo was taken on October 11, 1999. The signal finally succumbed in early 2000.

 
• Florence, CA. An even more amazing survivor is this signal at Hooper and Gage in Florence. The spur the wigwag protected had been taken up by late 2000, with only fresh asphalt in the street to indicate where the tracks used to be. Yet the wigwag still stands at the ready, waiting for trains that will never come again. The wigwag is also well hidden by a traffic light.

 
• Florence, CA. The wigwag at Randolph and Wilmington and its accompanying Southern Pacific crossbuck had presumably seen their last trains by the time this picture was taken in December 2000.

 
• Lemoore, CA. Out on the lonely SP Coalinga branch, this wigwag still guards the Fox St. crossing in Lemoore.

 
• Hanford, CA. One of two surviving wigwags in Hanford, CA, the ex-SP wigwag at Brown St. looks after a piece of track that now belongs to the San Joaquin Valley Railway.

 
• Fresno, CA. San Joaquin Valley also maintains four ex-SP wigwags in Fresno. On October 22, 2005, SJVR 2037 and 3048 were on the interchange run to the BNSF Calwa yard, which involved shoving past three of the wigwags. Here, waiting to get on the BNSF, the local stands beyond the O St. wigwag.

 
• Fresno, CA. On the way back from Calwa, the train shoves across Fulton St.

 
• Fresno, CA. The battle-scarred Cherry St. wigwag does its best as GP20E 2037 shoves across the crossing to tie up for the day.

 
• Fresno, CA. The fourth wigwag is on the former SP Exeter branch. The recent addition of crossbucks to the mast and the lack of a Magnetic Signal Co. base give this one a decidedly non-SP look.

 
• Oakdale, CA. Things weren't looking good for the E St. wigwag when this picture was taken in April 2000. The street was "closed for improvements," frequently a death knell for wigwags. Luckily, this one was spared, for now.

 
• Oakland, CA. This wigwag protected a spur that came off the land side of the Southern Pacific main and crossed the Western Pacific at Melrose. By the time this picture was taken, the spur was out of service, and the wigwag was soon removed.

"Other"

 
 
• Tacoma, WA. This unusual wigwag protected the BN crossing of Chandler St. in Tacoma, WA. Here is a view from the other side - note how the crossbuck is bolted to the front of the mechanism case. This wigwag was removed few months after these pictures were taken.

 
• Wall Lake, IA. A well worn WRRS style wigwag was still protecting the Chicago & North Western at Wall Lake in 1992. The current status of this wigwag is not known.

 
• Sullivan, IN. Another WRRS wigwag, this time protecting the Main Street crossing of a former Illinois Central line now operated by the Indiana Railway.