Link Neg, NW1634, Train 17, Birmingham Special at Rural Retreat

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Abram,

The engineer is giving a 'unconcerned/friendly' handwave to Mr. Akers. 
That would seem to indicate to me that he knew what was to take place at 
Rural Retreat that evening.

John Garner




Comrades Stephenson and Garner have been discussing Link Neg.  NW1634, 
showing No. 17 at Rural Retreat, in a famous pose.

What I have always wondered about this negative was what the Engineman 
thought when he saw a man at trackside on the platform, in front of the 
telegraph office, holding up a lantern, at an hour when the telegraph 
office was closed  and the Train Order Semaphore (if it was still in 
service) displayed Green/No Orders.

One wonders what kind of advance information was given to the C&E on No. 
17.  Perhaps a message reading:   "Photographer working at Rural 
Retreat.  Any signals given by man with lantern on platform convey no 
information for your train."  Which would do the job, but seems like a 
dangerous message, in case some dangerous condition developed which 
required the train to be flagged.

Or, perhaps, Agent/Opr J L Akers put the Order Board at Red and wrote 
out a Clearance Card stating, "No Orders." But there would be problems 
even with that, for the rule required that trains be notified if a Train 
Order office were open an at irregular hour.

Anyone know how this whole situation was handled ... ?

-- abram burnett