One of our members has asked for information about Nachod signals. Any good links, yahoo groups, photos, etc. available? I don't know from Nachod, signals, etc. Just passing a request along.

Thanks.

Wesley

Wes.

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum has almost a mile of operating Nachod signaling. I guess we know about as much as anyone about them.

G'day, Art:

I am interested in doing an article for our Minnesota Streetcar Museum quarterly "Twin Cities Lines" on the Nachod signals, which were used in a number of places on the Twin City Rapid Transit streetcar lines. What I really need are photographs of the Nachod signal and control units out of the shell, and good, clear schematics of their products. Might it be possible that you folks would have any of this sort of information you would be willing to pass along, with the understanding that you would be suitably credited for your support and repaid for any expense incurred to copy the information?

At this point, I have an operations manual from Don Leistikow copied from the TMER&L handbook on the subject, and a strikingly similar writeup from Perth and Brisbane courtesy of Noel Reed. I have also been e-mailed some schematics and descriptions scanned from an old Nachod advertisement that are very interesting, but hard to read. The Perth system had the conductor watch the red signal as the car left the block to make sure it counted out properly; TMER&L had an auxiliary green light that faced the motorman of one-man cars at the end of the block so he could see the car was properly counted out. I haven't seen any very thorough technical descriptions or complete schematics other than in the Nachod advert, however, and I'm unsure of a few technical details as a result. The description given in the 1924 Richey handbook is terribly basic and lacks some important points.

Do you know if any of the Nachod manuals still exist, and where copies might be obtained, and some basic description of the different models that they built?

Did West Penn ever use Nachods? I thought they relied on their home-brewed system of plain bulbs and snap switches for their signaling. Did Pittsburgh Railways also use Nachods? In all the descriptions that have been posted on several YAHOO! groups, never has anyone mentioned what forms and types their signaling took.

I'm aware that signals were also made by United States Electric Signal, Forest City, and a few others as well. I believe USES eventually merged into Nachod. I'd love to see a comprehensive history of these suppliers and their eventual destiny.

Best regards, and with wishes for a Happy New Year:

Tom Fairbairn

The accident report of the Milwaukee Rapid Transit & Speedrail crash on Labor Day weekend, 1950 should have information, but there doesn't seem to be an Interstate Commerce Commission investigation. Most of the earlier I.C.C. investigations cited the absence of, and need for, block signals. Since this collision did occur in Nachod signal territory, there may have been no opportunity for preaching.