WW&F Ry Roadmaster Dana Deering spies the level line on the "spotboard" through the peephole in his "sightblock."
While it may sound like secret code, this simple system used by crews for the last 100+ years to surface track, employs a black board with painted white stripe laying across the gauge, and several "rabbit blocks" in between. The sightblock or peep-block is placed on one rail and the spotboard an appropriate distance ahead on a high point. A short distance ahead of the sightblock, the jacking crew places rabbit blocks on the rail and raises the track. By looking through the hole in the sightblock at the target marked on the spotboard, the jacking crew can be signaled when the top of the rabbit block reaches the line on the target. A level is also used to determine when the opposite rail has been brought to the same height. After tamping the track to hold it
in place, the crew then moves the rabbit blocks toward the spotboard and repeats the process. www.wwfry.org
