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Roper tries to make the best of highway miles.

    Other than the assembly line of BLW boxcar kits sitting on my workbench which I've worked on sporadically, I haven't done anything layout related of late. With rodeo season in full-swing, my weekends are spent on the road, and I have yet to try and bring something along to work on during the idle moments.
    In the meantime, I will update this blog with interesting articles I've come across (that's if y'all want me to continue to do so) until I can post more layout progress. I'm sure Roper will have something to interject at times also.
    Here are a couple of articles for all the prototype operators out there to apply to your pike:
~ Cowboy Up!

Summit County Journal; Apr 7, 1906;
C&S ADOPTS NEW TRAIN SIGNALS
    On last Sunday, a new system of signals and train orders went into effect on the South Park railroad. Hereafter, the semaphore displayed at all telegraph stations must show "red" at all times, save when a train is at station, and no train is allowed to pass a telegraph station unless signalled to proceed.
    Henceforth, when a train approaches the station, the engineer not only sounds the regular "long" whistle, but must, upon coming in sight of the semaphore, which will show "red", sound four "short" blasts. If the station agent has "no orders" and has no occasion to hold the train, he turns his semaphore to "white", which signal the engineer acknowledges with two "short" blasts of the whistle.
    As soon as the train has departed from the station, the semaphore is turned back to "red", and in that position it remains till the next train comes along.
    The recent D.&R.G. wreck* at Adobe is responsible for this new system of signalling and moving trains, which seems to be much safer than the old service.

* The head-on wreck at Adobe occurred because the operator at Swallows fell asleep (while his semaphore displayed "white") and failed to deliver orders to a passing train, thus resulting in the loss of 35 lives.

Summit County Journal; Mar 13, 1915;
A Fair Sample of Our Railroad Service
    Here is a fair sample of the service the Colorado & Southern is giving this section:

• Tuesday morning a freight left Denver.
• Tuesday night a car was left at Como, instead of being brought through.
• Wednesday morning the passenger train for the west picked up the freight car, and ran as a local freight train.
• At Breckenridge, the freight car was switched on a siding by the passenger engine.
• Before departing for Leadville, the baggage car was pulled up alongside the boxcar and the train crew, assisted by the depot force and Roadmaster, transferred the freight to the express car.

The train was filled with passengers, paying to ride on a passenger train, but getting local freight train service. Thanks Mr. Railroad.