D Forms, Foul time, out of service tracks. All require paperwork and can get lost in the daily madness of dispatching in a Commuter and high speed track area. One momentary lapse in memory can send a express down an out of service track.

The manual shunt (shown above) takes it above the paperwork, it creates a circuit (shunt) between the two tracks, this fools the signal system into beleiving that the track is occupied. Tyhe block turns red, affecting cab signals, line side signals and the dispatchers board.
It takes the possibility of human error out of the dispatchers hands and places it on the road formans shoulders. If the block isn't closed it's because he didn't place the shunt and check for signal verification.

Photographed by Mark Beebe, October 13, 2007.
Added to the photo archive by Mark Beebe, October 16, 2007.
Railroad: Amtrak/MOW.

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