Concrete & Cut Stone Foundations

Concrete and Cut Stone Foundations. . , Throughout the park there are foundations of concrete and one of cut stone that have been used for railroad signals of various types. Unfortunately, over the years during different projects, many of them were destroyed, moved or buried. The best preserved are at the east end of the old trestle near the Woodson House site. They are located on the old railway bed leading to where the old trestle crossed Hungards Creek. There was a railway crossing as well in this area that served the high water road (the main road went under the trestle) then in use during flooding of the river and or creek. The old road is south and east of the old railroad bed and is currently part of the park's trail system. During the construction of the parking area, several foundations where exposed. The best preserved one now rests beside the Woodson House sign., On the west side of the trestle, a few of them are preserved in their proper place and some have been moved or pushed over the embankment. The last site and the most disturbing is here at the tunnel where one concrete (that is not in its proper place) and the only cut stone foundation is all that is evident of the many that must have been here during the 100 years plus use of the now abandon track. Upon close inspection of the mountain in the forefront, one can discern that is was indented to accommodate the cut stone signal foundation. This cut stone foundation dates back to when automatic signals first came into use on the C&O Railway., The first of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railways signals were the manually operated lower quadrant semaphores installed at telegraph cabins or train depots until late in the 1800s and early 1900s when the automatic 3-position, upper-quadrant semaphore signal became the industry's standard. After the advent of the incandescent light bulb in 1914, Color Light Signals came into use and are now the primary signals of the then C&O Railway and now CSX Transportation. In 1928, the first 3-position light signal bridge was installed between Talcott and Hilldale-one on each end of the tunnel. This signal bridge would have been attached to the cut stone foundation in the foreground. It is probable that this cut stone foundation were used for the single mast upper quadrant semaphore, single mast color light signal, and the three position light cantilever bridge., It should be noted that not all of the concrete foundations throughout the park were used to support signals. Other foundations were used for the trestle abutments, railroad crossing, switches, and supports for necessary equipment.