In the world of electronics in the days of relay logic controls a stick circuit relay was known as a "self latching" relay. Mechanically latched relays were very rarely used. Power to keep the relay closed came from contacts on the relay itself. A separate relay or switch could open power to the latched relay allowing it to open. Sometimes a timer was involved that turned off the latching power after a preset length of time.

These circuits usually were designed to be fail safe. In case of a power or component failure all relays opened and any machinery involved turned off until it was manually restarted.

Today computers do the same thing as relay logic control systems. They introduce a number of different failure modes. On a railroad I would feel much safer with old-fashioned relay logic control. Relays are very resistant to voltage spikes caused by nearby lightning strikes unlike solid state devices.