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whistle warning signs for railroad enginees.

  • I recently received a US Cab-ride video and would like to know how the engineer is advised to sound his horn. Is there a track side warning sign , and if so, what form does it take ? . OBUKAUST.
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  • being a retired conductor the engineer start to blow when there is a whistle post sigh which is a quarter of a mile from any crossing and he uses the bell along with his horn.
  • Railroads have a sign ususally a W indicating where to blow a whistle or horn. On the PRR they were a white keytsone with a black edge and a black W on them. They were cast iron and about 6" in size mounted on a white post. Since there is no deviation in a route most good engineers learn the routes so they knoo exactly how to handle a train based on tonnage and topography as well as where they need to blow a whistle.
  • On the former Southern Railway whistle posts were white with the following lines painted in black:
    ------
    ------
    --
    ------

    Indicating two longs a short and another long whistle blast was to be sounded on approaching a grade crossing.

  • There are different signs for different roads. In addition to the signs mentioned above, some use an "X" on a sign for a crossing.

    Dave H.

    Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com

  • There are some very old ones here in S. Ontario, left over from the old Wabash/NYC that are concrete, painted white with a black W. They are slab-like with a rounded top and look remarkably like grave headstones
  • An earlier message mentioned an "x." There are some signs lettered either "MX" or "WX." Those appear where there are multiple crossings in a short distance alerting the engineer for the need to deal appropriately.

  • On the PRR they were cast iron keystones about 8" x 8" with a black edge and a white background with a big black W in the center. They were mounted on a length of pipe about 4' above grade.