Bayfield Transfer Railway
As a crappy little backwoods short line with no signals and no intention to ever install signals, there is NO economic incentive to maintain the track to better than Class III standards, is there!
Sounds like Penn-Central's operating mantra in the late '70s
I was going to mention the use of temporary speed restrictions, sometimes these became permanent.
Train-order-19 by Edmund, on Flickr
"account track conditions...speed limit signs not in service"
In addition to train orders there were bulletin orders that crews had to be familiar with as well which would mention "special conditions" that may affect train operation. I remember some train crews would get a stack of a dozen or more speed restriction orders for one trip.
Sometimes speed limit signs were placed if, say an on-going track repair was in progress.
BnLE_Speed-sign by Edmund, on Flickr
These varied railroad by railroad. Often passenger and freight would have two different restrictions.
BnLE_Speed-sign2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I made some speed limit signs for my railroad recently.
Speed-signs-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
