Rest in Peace
Increasing train speeds meant something to the Milwaukee Road, and the Feds. In the late teens, a few years following the completion of the mainline to the Northwest Coast, the railroad was required to invest in a signalling system to maintain its increasing passenger train speeds. The signals selected were some of the first to successfully use new lens technology that focused the lights for long distance viewing. Called "Type R" signals, these Automatic Block Signals (ABS) were manufactured by US Switch and Signal and remained in operation along Lines West from their installation to abandonment. Near Lennep, MT these Type R ABS devices were in continuous use from 1917 until 1980 when the rails were pulled and vandalism began to take its toll. The original investment for the signals that spanned Harlowton to Lennep was $72,173.31 as reported in November 1917. 96 years have passed now, and the equivalent (inflation adjusted) 2013 dollars is $1.3M. Clearly, speed