Thought you might find Norwood's comments of interest----------
Order Boards
In the early days as a matter of expediting placement of train order signals "Swift" signals were used. I.E. a metal plate either oblate or rectangular. Displayed as a stop signal it was turned across the track directionally and displayed red; Clear - parallel to tracks and approaching train saw nothing. As the railroad matured experience showed that some Swifts were not visible from a train within braking distance. So a standard pattern for a "mast" was set and placed at such points. Cumbres was one such point. When a man named C.R. Lively, a semi-cripple, bid in the job (he was there about 20 years and died there) he could not climb the mast so a Swift was installed. Since Cumbres was a Yard Limit station speed was limited to 15 mph so the Swift was satisfactory. When C.R. died the Swift was removed and the mast reinstalled.
These masts were of an 8"x8" dimension. To it was attached an iron ladder 10" wide. The rungs were spaced a bit too far apart for safe, easy climbing especially when also carrying the lamp. I was young and active, but fair weather or foul I hated to climb that damned thing at Cumbres when train movements were resumed after the snow blockade was cleared.
The lamp was square of sheet metal and there was a small oil and wick giving a flame protected by the lamp sides and a small glass globe that set in a springy brass retaining ring. The metal crown and mechanism of the semaphore bearing arms was somewhere a half and a quarter quadrant and had three glass lenses positioned for the lamp's light to show through. Horizontal the arm displayed "stop" and when in this position a red lens displayed red; at half-quadrant was a yellow lens which displayed yellow with the arm at this position to display the yellow in conformity with the rules; when upright (the arms) a clear glass lens showed clear with the light shining through it.
To use the lamp, the lamp base reservoir was filled with "seal" oil, a clean-burning, slow burning fuel oil; the globe cleaned, the wick trimmed. Supposedly you were to light the lamp when the lantern was in place atop the mast. But all of us usually lit the wick in the office protected from the wind. Vain hope in most cases - it almost always went out before set atop the mast. The base of the lantern had a skirt (flange) about two inches deep. The top of the mast was chamfered to accept this base. Lamps on the Swifts were very similar to a switch lamp. The base was cast iron; the female which fitted over a square fitting, the male. To mount the lamp you had to carry a small bench out of the office to give you sufficient height to place the lamp. That bench was not nearly as frightening as the mast ladder. The positioning levers for semaphores were two levers that locked in notched position. Either cables or rods ran to the display head. The rods were far superior to cables. The "Swift" used a rack-and-pinion system operated by a lever that lay on and was supported by a circular plate. To position the Swift board you moved the lever to the proper position on the plate where a spring loaded wedge locked it into place.
