Code Lines, Union Pacific Railroad, Harvard, CA, 2010.
All of the pixels, none of the rattlesnakes, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4612902834
#photography
Code Lines, Union Pacific Railroad, Harvard, CA, 2010.
All of the pixels, none of the rattlesnakes, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4612902834
#photography
Telegraph poles like these, with multiple “code lines”, were once a common feature along American railroads. They are distinguishable from ordinary power or telephone lines by their multitude of cables, often occupying several crossarms. They typically carried a power bus plus individual lines for the signals along the route, with more efficient encodings used as technology improved.
They’ve been mostly supplanted by more modern SCADA systems that don’t require so many individual wires.
@mattblaze@federate.social
I have worked on a code line SCADA system for N&W Railroad that used DC signals, some of them I were told were carried along fencing wires. The field stations where they terminated had a wall covered in electromagnetic relays maybe 12" by 18" in size, and REALLY loud.
@resuna@ohai.social Neat!