According
to the signal in the control room the light was on so I confirmed
that he could carry on.
“Control,
this is train 548 at Lukosi siding, the signal is out, can I carry
on?”
Again, the
signal in the control room showed it to be functioning correctly so
I confirmed.
This was
during the night so the signal should be visible from some distance,
so I phoned Barry, the standby signal technician.
“OK, I’ll
go and have a look”
Barry had
to come to the station and place his trolley onto the tracks in
order to go to the siding.
Thirty
minutes later Barry stated that he was ready to go and I gave him
the signals and points to depart.
Those of
you who knew these trolleys know that they were very fast, he
whizzed down the track and in no time he came on the radio.
“Boet,
this signal with pole seems to have disappeared, I am going to get
off the trolley and go and have a look”.
The torch
he was holding was not very bright but he kept going.
When he
reached the approximate position of the signal in the gloom he saw
that a tree was standing where the signal was supposed to be.
Putting his hand on the tree, to his amazement the tree moved, he
jumped back in alarm and looked carefully at this tree. Slowly he
backed off when he realised that it was an elephant that had gone to
sleep next to the signal and was blocking the view of the trains to
the signal.
Ref. Rhodesia
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