A ladder going nowhere... This was used till a few months back by the Shindawane station master to visually confirm the status of the signal aspect when the normal vision was obscured by say a train standing on the platform.
Normally, the signals were set by the khalasis in the signal cabins at either end under the station master’s command. However the final responsibility of ensuring the correct aspect is with the station master and hence this ladder to see the set signals over the roof of the waiting train on the platform. These quaint methods are of course a thing of the past with the introduction of the colour light signal and panel interlocking.