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Miskelly
My US loco driver friend has now seen the inside of the box and this is what he now says ----
After looking at the pictures of inside of the box, I have changed by description of the item.
In the 1920’s, there was a new form of main track authority called Central Traffic Control (CTC). It allowed train dispatchers to control train movement by using track signals or also known as block signals instead of train orders by telegraph. Before computers the signals were changed by mechanical levers.
From time to time it was necessary to change the signals to red to protect track maintainers, trains on an adjacent main track or a control siding. The dispatcher would change the levers to indicate a red or stop signal to provide protection for them. He would then place a wooden block to prevent the lever from accidently change from red to green. These wooden blocks would have numbers that would correspond to the signal number. Once the blocks were placed he would advise that train or maintenance that they had block protection. The box is where the wooden blocks where stored.
In today’s time all switches and protection is done by computer but the reference of the phrase’ block protection’ is still used today.
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