Posted 13 years ago
Gumby
(1 item)
I'm not sure what this was used for. It looks like some kind of switch that the railroad used. It's stamped with C.B. & Q. R.R. on the top. There's a tag on the inside that gives the Drop Away volts and amps, Pick Up volts and amps, and Working volts and amps, and is dated June 28th, 1968. All four sides of the base have glass panels so you can see inside of it. You can see the contacts in the base. There are 4 of them. It kind of looks like telegraph contacts. Is it for sending signals of some sort? I got it from a garage sale. I just thought it looked kind of neat, and I had never seen one before. Sorry if the pictures are bad. I don't have a good camera.
It's 7" wide, 6" deep, and 8" in height.
It is in fact a signal relay. This type of relay was used for crossing lights and block signals. It may have a tag which says either Union Switch & Signal or General Railroad Signal co. on it. For the most part they operated on 32 volts DC.
Railnsail, thanks for the insight! I doesn't say Union Switch & Signal or General Signal Co. on it anywhere. On the tag it says the Drop-Away Volts are 2.0, the Pick-Up Volts are 5.7, and the Working Volts are 6.0. Thanks for your help!