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- Illuminate us
- I remember it well
- I can't prove it
- Complicated then, forgotten now
- Bryan-Stevenson
- Skinny is as skinny does
- How do you rest in peace
- Riding the footboards
- Alas, hidden from view
- Baldwin Diesels
- Exclusive pump
- Bananas, Oysters and Smokey Joe
- Details, Details
- What's that building to the left of the tower?
- Coal Barges
- Bromo-Seltzer
- Inner harbor
- The Basin
- What a headache!
- Giant stepladder?
- Yeah, it was cold
- Love those coats
- Link & Pin Days Remnant
- Baldwin 62303
- Baldwin VO-1000
- Cold
- No expense spared
- Tough Guys
- What's your hurry, where's your hat?
- Sheriff's Signature
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The Woman in the Window: 1943
May 1943. "Beaumont, Texas. Wartime occupational replacement by women in men's traditional jobs. Lady in signal tower who operates block signals for railroad crossing." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Daddy! That's MY Daddy!
Reminds me of a video I saw where the train engineer (& father) would take the time to lean out & deliberately wave as he passed his home each day. Seeing his delighted toddler son exclaim "Daddy! That's MY Daddy!" while being held in his laughing mother's arms warms the heart.
Casement windows
True industrial type with metal lace-like light frame, suitable for the warmer climate, that I am especially fond of. Contemporary architecture with "industrial windows" employed but with frames thick as an elephant's leg is completely missing the point.
She's leaning
Out to get a better look at the shoe store on the other side of the tracks. Never know, there might be a good sale on TRAINers.
Texas Flyer wanted
Is there a a ladder hidden behind the signal box, or is that what we're seeing on the leg in the foreground? (If so, it looks rather difficult to climb). But regardless, this appears to be a position where getting to work is the hardest part.
[There's also a ladder on top of the signal box. - Dave]
Indeed, but I believe she'd have a hard time reaching it.
Just a Year Too Soon
The film noir "Woman in the Window" premiered in 1944 with an innocent Clark Kent-like Edward G. Robinson becoming involved with a beguiling woman and a murder.
WWII -- Replacing men with women at the railroad crossing.
Postwar world -- Replacing both with automatic machinery.
You kids drive me nuts!
She's clearly yelling at the brakeman to stay off his dang smartphone while he's working
NOT An Easy Job
This is not an easy job.
In my young days before I came to the USA, I was a conductor Guard on British Railways (as it was known then). Part of the training was to observe the signalman in the signal box (as they were called back then), and to see how that job functioned.
The strength needed to pull those levers was tantamount to doing the job correctly.
Kudos to that lady for doing that job.
I wonder
if the lady managed to get his attention. He seems to be engrossed on his phone?
Just add window boxes
Two fallen flags --
MEC Maine Central: The Pine Tree Route
T&NO Texas & New Orleans: a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad
Whether it's a tower to control trains or highway gates, it is well-built, airy, and in need of some flower boxes to complement this sturdy structure
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