Hi group,

I was asked to forward this on behalf of Mr. Sykes with Norfolk Southern. Mr Sykes phone number is at the bottom and his email address is bsykes957@bellsouth.net.

Thank You,
Dale Grice


Dear Sir or Madam:



I am an employee of Norfolk Southern who has been tasked with producing a video that illustrates former and present practices relating to the duties of a railroad signal or communication maintainer. This video would be used internally within NS, with NS having no plans to sell or otherwise distribute externally. What NS is interested in is locating old (black and white is OK) videos that depict a C&S maintainer performing his duties. In some cases, the employee may not be a C&S employee but might be an employee of another craft performing duties that involve C&S equipment, such as tower leverman or train order operator. The duties that we are most interested in finding footage are those that are rarely or no longer performed in modern day railroading. These duties include:



- Maintainer riding on or in a motorcar performing inspections, etc

- Maintainer climbing or working on wooden poles used in railroad signal and communication systems (open wire pole line)

- Operator or leverman manipulating levers used in an interlocking tower

- Maintainer installing an older vintage bond wire on rail joint

- Maintainer replacing an older vintage insulated joint

- Maintainer using test equipment to make electronic measurements on C&S equipment & systems, etc

- Maintainer replacing or “building” a storage battery used in trackside battery boxes

- Operator using a telegraph key/sounder for sending or receiving messages in a wayside location (depot or interlocking tower)

- Operator manipulating a train order signal (depot or interlocking tower)

- Train order operator preparing train orders for delivery to train (installing orders in hoop, etc)

- Crossing watchman performing his/her duties

- Picture of Automatic Car Identification (ACI) system or hardware used by ACI systems in the 1970’s of ACI tag on freight car

- Picture of railroad employee standing trackside or in a caboose watching train by looking for car defects (hot journal bearing, dragging equipment)

- Employees placing “hand skates” on the rail in a hump yard

- Car Retarder Operator performing duties in a hump yard (retarding cars)

- Other footage of maintainers working, such as working on older vintage C&S equipment (signal head, power switch machine, interlocking pipeline, crossing signal)



If your museum has in its possession video footage (or alternatively, still pictures) of any of the above activities, NS would like to inquire if it might be possible for an NS employee to inspect these materials to determine if they might be suitable for inclusion in the video being produced. If the museum has materials that might be suitable but which require inspection to determine suitability, NS is willing to make that inspection if the museum desires.



Please advise if your museum would be willing to assist in this effort. For any assistance rendered, NS would be willing to provide a copy of the finished product to the museum for its educational use.



B L Sykes

Norfolk Southern Corp.

404-529-2105

Dale, I thought you were talking about the Colorado and Southern until I read down a couple paras. Couldn't imagine what NS wanted with that stuff.......

I wouldn't be surprised if Blackhawk might have some footage in B&W that would fill the bill.

dave