Sunday I was out for another ride, and found myself stopping for lunch at the UP's Rockyford Road grade crossing west of Rochelle at MP 90.35 on the Geneva Sub. I was surprised to see 2 sets of signals, the usual east/west set, but then for some reason, also a north/south set. One odd thing is that the north/south signals are directly across from each other which would mean they'd block each other from being seen. Even odder is that the north/south set appear to be relatively new, as a check of Maps doesn't show them at all. Is there a new diamond in the future, or will these eventually be rotated to replace the existing east/west signals?
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8358484,-89.3419967,82m/data=!3m1!1e3
Usually signal heads turned at right angles to the track are an indication that they are not yet in service, or possibly they have been taken out of service and not yet removed.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Usually signal heads turned at right angles to the track are an indication that they are not yet in service, or possibly they have been taken out of service and not yet removed.
That's good info. I'll bet they are in the north/south orientation so they can be tested alongside the current signals, then once it's verified they work properly they'll be rotated to east/west and the old ones get removed.
Looks like PTC installation
No, they're turned away because they aren't in service. The day they put them in service they'll turn the new signal heads toward the rail, then turn the old signal heads away until they can be removed.
Jeff
Exactly. They're not "north-south" signals, they're replacement signals for the existing "east-west" signals that aren't in service yet. They turn the heads sideways for the out-of-service signals.
There isn't even an north-south track that the signals could possibly apply to...
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Think this image was the source of the confusion. West/South or East/North as a generic label.
Sometimes "railroad north" is physically/geographically west, etc.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.