Wigwag (railroad) - Wigwags in Modern America and Elsewhere

Wigwags in Modern America and Elsewhere

Today, a surprisingly large number of these simple, rugged signals remain in place more than six decades after their use in new installations was outlawed, though that number is rapidly dwindling as crossings are upgraded and spare parts become scarce. Once broken down and sold (or given away) as scrap as modern flashers took their place, they are now railroad collectibles, commanding a hefty price and winding up not in scrap heaps when removed from service, but often in the personal collections of railroad officials. Magnetic Flagman made in Minneapolis after production was moved from Los Angeles are especially rare and are valued by collectors.

According to FRA data from 2004, there were 215,224 railroad crossings in the US, of which 1,098 were listed as having 1 or more wigwags as their warning device. This is a reduction from 1983 information from the Federal Highway Administration that showed 2,618 crossings equipped with wigwags. Of these 1,098 crossings having wigwags, 398 are in California, 117 in Wisconsin, 97 in Illinois, 66 are in Texas and 45 are in Kansas. A total of 44 states have at least one railroad crossing having a wigwag as its warning device. These numbers are probably grossly inflated due to poor record keeping at the FRA. According to Dan's Wigwag Website, there are less than 75 wigwags in active use in the US, with most states having none.

As of 2004, two Magnetic Flagman wigwags in the US remain at main rail lines. One is a lower-quadrant signal at a private crossing in Casmalia, California along Union Pacific Railroad's coastal route and the second is an upper-quadrant at a rural crossing in Delhi, Colorado on the BNSF Railway. Until toppled by a truck in April 2004, a lower-quadrant Magnetic Flagman wigwag protected a private crossing of a BNSF main mostly hidden from public view by a sound barrier in Pittsburg, California. The wigwag, the last "Model 10" in active use, was replaced by standard highway flashers per the aforementioned grandfathering laws. The Model 10 was distinguished by its short, low-hanging cantilever and use of crossbucks mounted higher than the cantilever. They were almost exclusively used by the Santa Fe, although there were also a few of this model on the Southern Pacific. In 2011, working wigwags were installed at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California as part of the upcoming Red Car Trolley attraction. Wigways area also in use at Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee, MN as part of the Minnesota River Valley Railroad ride.

A single lower-quadrant wigwag in the industrial city of Vernon, California protects a crossing with nine separate tracks on the BNSF Harbor Subdivision. A once-busy link between downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, this line currently sees less traffic since the completion of the more direct Alameda Corridor between downtown and the harbor. This same project eliminated many at-grade crossings along the length of Alameda Street and a number of Southern Pacific wigwags remaining from Pacific Electric days. Those remaining protect crossings of lightly used spur lines primarily in California and Wisconsin, the latter state featuring a slightly different signal produced by Bryant-Zinc which was purchased by the Railroad Supply Company which later became the Western Railroad Supply Company.

Wigwags manufactured by WRRS and its predecessors were once numerous in the Midwest, with almost every town using them to protect their main crossings. The most common model was called the Autoflag #5. They functioned in much the same way as the Magnetic Flagmen. They utilized alternating electromagnets to swing a shaft with an attached illuminated banner. Bells were not integral to the devices as with the Magnetic Flagmen. They employed standard bells that were used on other types of signals, and mounted either to the mast or to a bracket on the top of the center harp style, as in the Devil's Lake, WI photo. Autoflag #5s were widely used on the C&NW, CB&Q, Illinois Central, Soo Line and the Milwaukee Road. A few were also used on the Louisville & Nashville and the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio as well as other roads in the US and Canada. Most of these wigwags were removed in the 1970-1980s as crossings were updated. They were made in both a lower quadrant style and a center harp style similar to the Magnetic Flagman's peachbasket style. Early on, there were Autoflag #5s that would hold the banner behind a shield much like the Magnetic Flagman disappearing banner-style. These were replaced as time went on with the standard two-position banner that hung vertically when not energized.

Wigwags were also manufactured by Union Switch and Signal. They were primarily used in the northeastern US, with a few in Florida, although the Frisco had some in the Great Plains. An example was also pictured in a review of Hawaiian sugar cane railroads from the 1940s. They were manufactured in both a disappearing banner style in the East and standard two-position in the Great Plains. While there are a few examples in museums, the sole surviving US&S wigwag in service in the US is a two-position style in Joplin, Missouri on an ex-Frisco industrial spur. It was not destroyed in the May, 2011 Joplin tornado, being a few blocks outside the damage path. These were a bit different in design from the Autoflag #5 and the Magnetic Flagman. They were also magnetic, but the swing of the banner was produced through a drive shaft. Some of them, particularly on the Boston & Maine Railroad, had chase lights mounted above the banner that simulated the movement of the banner. The last one of these was removed in 1985 and US&S wigwags were thought to have disappeared from the US, until the discovery of the specimen in Joplin.

US&S and WRRS wigwags were also used by the CPR on its Canadian lines. The last ones in use on the CPR are believed to have been removed in Chatham, Ontario in the mid-1980s. Two wig-wags remain in service in Canada, located on the CN CASO sub near Tilbury, Ontario. Both are WRRS Autoflag #5s with disappearing banners. Disappearing banners were the only style of wigwag approved for use in Canada. They were slated to be removed in early 2009, although they are still in place as of November, 2009. In 2011, the CASO sub was abandoned & the wigwags will be removed. There are several US&S wigwags employed today in Chile, but little literature about this style has survived. Several movie clips of the wigwags in this area were made in 2009.

The wigwags at the crossing that mark the location of the western terminus of the BNSF in Richmond, California became pawns in a fight over local control in 2003. The two upper-quadrant wigwags are the last of their kind paired together in active use, and are on land that the BNSF plans to develop. The BNSF is also bowing to pressure from the state's transportation authority to upgrade the crossing with modern signals. Richmond is trying to preserve the crossing with historical designation and other planning tools. According to information recently posted at Dan's Wigwag Site (see below), the crossing will be updated with gates, modern flashers and bells. In an unusual compromise, the wigwags will remain as non-operative decorations at the crossing, once the modern gates, red lights and bells are put in place.. In the interest of safety, signs will be posted at the wigwags stating that the signals are non-operational. The ability to be activated by trains will be retained, but only for special events.

In 2011, a water main break caused a catastrophic ground collapse under one of the Point Richmond wig-wags and it was removed for safekeeping while the area was being repaired.