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Position:Home>History> Back in the 1860's if a train on the Transcontinental Railroad broke down, hQuestion: Back in the 1860's if a train on the Transcontinental Railroad broke down, how did they call for help!? The Transcontinental Railroad traveled all through the West in the middle of no where!. What happened if the train broke down out there!? It's not like they could just radio for help or anything!. So how would they let the other trains know the tracks were blocked!? How would they take care of all the passengers that were stranded!? How did they repair the locomotives when they broke down out there back then!?
Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The tapping in of the golden spike at Promontory in Utah to complete the transcontinental railroad was transmitted to the world via telegraph!. It was possible to hook a portable telegraph machine into the line anywhere!. also, the need for water and fuel for steam engines meant that there were regular settlements along the length of the line, and the existence of the railroad meant that settlements grew quickly!. It was one of the major economic effects of the railroad!. So the combination of telegraph and settlements meant that there were no huge distances without human settlement!. Repairs were rarely necessary!. The locomotives were simple and robust, but if they did break down another locomotive could pull it to a repair shop!. There were frequent sidings and passing loops where a locomotive could be moved out of the way to open up the line!.Www@QuestionHome@Com By the 1860's, telegraph lines accompanied the routes of most of the major rail lines, and way-stations and water and fuel reloading stations were maintained at regular intervals along the line!. In emergencies, runners (sometimes riders or flatcars) were sent forward or back down the line to the nearest stations to obtain assistance, and/or plant danger flags to warn other trains of a stoppage!. Since the transcontinental lines were passenger lines as well as freight lines, the train had a well-stocked restaurant car and extra provisions, as well as bedclothes and blankets--enough to last for several days, if necessary!. Equipment for minor repair jobs was usually on-hand on the train itself, and crew members were used to dealing with the usual wear-and-tear of train travel, and could replace or jury-rig smaller parts or patches!.Www@QuestionHome@Com As long as they were on the line no one could use it !. also they had a time table so if they were late !. they would go looking!. because other trains would need to use the same line!. also they had morse code !. They could connect to the communication lines that went with the railroad etc and morse code etc!. The line cannot be used untill that train was off the line Www@QuestionHome@Com if the train had not arrived at the appointed time a jigger was sent out to find out what was wrong and the subsequent action was taken, if the pony express was still going, all was well, as well as morse code was in the process of being set up through the westWww@QuestionHome@Com |