A tell-tale, also known as a bridge warning, is a series of ropes suspended over railway tracks to give warning to the engineer, and more importantly the

brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes, brakes on every wagon which could be controlled by the driver, made this role r ...

who may be scampering across the tops of the

cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

, that the train is approaching a low-clearance obstacle, such as a tunnel or a bridge. In the US, a standard tell-tale design had ropes on centers for a width of over the track, the bottom of the ropes lower than the height of the obstruction, and placed at least before the obstruction. Tell-tales are also used to warn trucks and other tall vehicles of low-clearance bridges on roads and highways. In this context, chains are used instead of ropes, and it is frequently the sound of the chains knocking against the truck that alerts the driver of trouble (also called "tattletale").Lyle Muller
Even chains can't help on Iowa Avenue
Cedar Rapids Gazette, May 4, 1997.

References

{{rail tracks Rail infrastructure

See also

References