North Star Trail -Crossing - no wigwag Traditional Cache
North Star Trail -Crossing - no wigwag
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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Wigwag is the nickname given to a type of railroad grade crossing signal once common in North America, named for the pendulum-like motion it used to signal the approach of a train.
It is generally credited to Albert Hunt, a mechanical engineer at Southern California's Pacific Electric (PE) interurban streetcar railroad, who invented it in 1909 out of the necessity for a safer railroad grade crossing. The term should not be confused with its usage in Britain, where wigwag is generally used to refer to alternate flashing lights, such as those found at modern level crossings.
Soon after the advent of the automobile, speeds were increasing and the popularity of closed cars made the concept of "stop, look, and listen" at railroad crossings a difficult one.
Fatalities at crossings were increasing. Though the idea of automatic grade crossing protection was not a new one, no one had invented a fail-safe, universally-recognized system. In those days, many crossings were protected by a watchman who warned of an oncoming train by swinging a red lantern in a side-to-side arc, used universally in the United States to signify "stop"[citation needed]. This motion is still used today by railroad workers to indicate stop per the General Code of Operation Rules (GCOR) Rule 5.3.1. It was presumed that a mechanical device that mimicked that movement would catch the eyes of approaching motorists and give an unmistakable warning.
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