There are tons of little signs all over prototype railroads. Is there some kind of guide to tell you what they are and what they mean?
RMax
Just do a search using "Railroad signs meaning". Plenty of hits.
Joe
Here's some kind of guide
Signs begin on page 94.
http://dms.ntsb.gov/public/58000-58499/58167/585157.pdf
Have fun!
Ed
What signs indicate can vary from railroad to railroad and even by era on the same railroad. If you are following a specific railroad or era, try to find an employee time table/special instructions for it.
Jeff
Thanks Ed that helped. Those are the type of signs I was asking about. In the track area there are tons of little signs for things like culverts and crossings. That is what I am looking to find out about.
Robert
Thanks Jeff I travel the old Rock Island Line in Irving Texas everyday and I use it for reference. There are several railroads using the tracks. I model the same area but around the early 1970's. A lot has changed. I use photos from the past and try get a good idea.
Joe I did find some of the signs pictured and I can copy and shrink them to size. Now I have to figure out what they mean.
Thanks Robert
Here's signal aspects and signs used by the UP.
http://signals.jovet.net/rules/UPRR%20Signal%20Rules.pdf
Here's the same for the BNSF.
http://signals.jovet.net/rules/BNSF%20Signal%20Rules.pdf
(Note, neither may be current.)
I don't know who took over the RI trackage in that area, but I bet one of these diagrams, maybe both may be applicable. Neither would be applicable to signs used by the RI in the early 1970s.
One of the signs I saw yesterday was labeled CPT T216 and another was T217. I am guessing that 216 and 217 are track numbers??? I have also noticed location signs. There are tons of little signs. One I noticed was just a Z???
Possibly Control PoinT T216 and T217. Not track numbers but control point names.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
dehusman Possibly Control PoinT T216 and T217. Not track numbers but control point names.
Not sure what that means. CR used CP for Control Point.
Examples. CP East Col/San CP West Col/San.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
There are 2 tracks heading west out of the wye near Dallas union station. One track is marked cpt 216 and the other cpt 217. These tracks go to Ft. Worth. Also I saw a sign with a QZ on it. Have no idea what that means? I am going to start taking pictures of these things and posting them.
CP T216 and CP T217 identify a controlled point. The number relates to the nearest mile post. The "T" is also used for the identification. A simple explanation is that it matches up to specific territories, often (but not always or completely) controlled by a specific dispatching desk. The control points also will usually (UP pratice) have a station name in the employee time table. I bet if you look, either on a signal box or sign, CP T216 is Dallas and CP T217 is JFK Jct.
The QZ means Quiet Zone. The horn is not to be sounded for grade crossings, with some circumstancial exceptions. Usually it is attached to a whistle post, the location where normally you begin to sound the horn. In the UP's case, that location is marked with an X. Most other railroads would use a W.
Thanks Jeff that explains a lot. I figured the QZ signs might be a quiet zone and noticed they had a W on a small sign above them. The CPt signs are at a wye where the UP heads west next to the Dallas triple underpass. There are tons of little sign details all over the place.