RAILROAD   SIGNALS   of the   U.S
aka Train Signals

RAILFAN GUIDES HOME
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME

A -- SIGNAL BASICS
B -- WAYSIDE SIGNALS
C -- OTHER SIGNALS
D -- SUPPORT EQUIPMENT for SIGNALS
E -- OTHER ASSOCIATED RR EQUIPMENT
F -- SIGNAL ASPECTS
G -- MANUFACTURERS
H -- MANUFACTURER and MECHANICAL DRAWINGS
I -- ELECTRICAL DRAWINGS and SCHEMATICS
J -- MODEL / LIVE STEAM/DIESEL RAILROADS and SIGNAL INFORMATION
K -- PERSONAL SIGNAL COLLECTIONS
L -- MUSEUMS WITH SIGNALS
M -- MAPS
N -- SIGNAL LINKS
O -- OTHER NEAT-O NON-SIGNAL STUFF
P -- INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL LINKS


     


For trip reports, signal and non-signal, click here
One of the best signal blogs going is here




Check out my railroad merger and family history charts!




If ya got something to add, ask, correct, or just wanna chat, you can find me via my contact page

If you like U.S. American railroad signals, please consider joining these two signal groups:
     The Railway Signaling group at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Railway-Signaling/
     A signal group just for the Pennsylvania Railroad: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/PRRSignaling/



Looking for a cool letter to use in something of yours?  All of my letter icons are available here


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A
SIGNAL BASICS

Introduction
Signals In Use In The U.S.A. Today
Glossary Of Signal Terms
Reading Signals and Rules 1
Reading Signals and Rules 2
Train Control Methods by Signals
Abbreviations and Circuit and Drawing Symbols
Chromaticity Charts for the railroad and other services
Signal Timeline
Signal Survey - 8/2005


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B
WAYSIDE SIGNALS

Early Signals
-- Ball Signals
-- Banjo Signals
-- Banner Box Signals
-- Smashboard Signals
-- Tilting Target Signals
-- Semaphores
Searchlight Signals
B&O Style CPL (Color Position Light) Signals
PRR PL (Position Light) Signals
Amtrak's PCL (Position Color Light) Signals
N&W PL and CPL signals
Color Light Signals
Tri-Lights (also known as colorlight signals in a triangular format)
Domino Signals (special format of Pennsy PL signals)
Heavy Rail (Subway and Metro) Transit Signals
Light Rail Transit Signals

Styles The various signal styles of American railroads, past and present

This listing duplicates (mostly) what is on the RSUS homepage


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C
OTHER SIGNALS

Hump and Shove Signals
Grade Crossings
Diamond Crossing Protection
Pedestrian Crossing Gates

OTHER NON-SIGNAL FORMS of SIGNALING……
Hand Signals
Whistles and Horns
Flags, Classification flags, and lights
Lanterns
Signs

OTHER OTHER
Collection of random signal pictures from around.....


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D
SUPPORT EQUIPMENT for SIGNALS

Signal Bridges
Relay Huts, Equipment Housings, Battery Boxes, Etc
Mounting Options
Lenses
Signal Relays
Doll Posts
Pinnacles and Finials
Light Bulbs
Batteries
Power Sources and Transformers
Lightning Arresters


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E
OTHER ASSOCIATED RAILROAD EQUIPMENT

COMMUNICATIONS……
Telephones, Telegraph, Poles, and Insulators

TRACK……
Beautiful, Unusual, and Odd Trackwork
Defect, Hot Box and Dragging Equipment Detectors
Switches (turnouts) and switch machines
Switch (turnout) throwing mechanisms (manual)
Switch (turnout) and Track Heaters
Derails
Flange lubricators
Sleepers (Ties)

STRUCTURES……
Railroad Bridges
Stations and Towers of Maryland
Stations, Depots, Tunnels and Bridges - All State Index

MISC……
Traffic Light Signals with Semaphore Lenses!


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F
SIGNAL ASPECTS

Rulebook Signal Aspects


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G
MANUFACTURERS

GE - Harmon   http://www.getransportation.com/na/en/signalingcommunications.html
General Signal   http://www.generalsignals.com/
GRS - General Railway Signal / now Alstom   http://www.alstomsignalingsolutions.com/OurProducts/WaysideProducts/Signals/
Hall Signal
Safetran (Invensys Rail Group)    http://www.safetran.com/
Seermi Products  http://www.serrmi.com/
US&S - Union Switch & Signal   http://www.ansaldo-sts.com/AnsaldoSTS/EN/index.sdo
Western Cullen Hayes   http://www.wch.com/
Western Railroad Supply
Dorman (UK)  http://www.dorman.co.uk/rail/infrastructure/led-colour-light-signal/index.html


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H
MANUFACTURER and MECHANICAL DRAWINGS

US&S
    S & T-2 Semaphores
    Type PL-2 Position Light Signals


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I
ELECTRICAL DRAWINGS and SCHEMATICS

Todd’s own signal driver schematics
Model Railroad Signal Driver by Michael Watnoski
CSX drawings from Carroll Interlocking (Baltimore MD, location of the last known Full CPL)


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J
LIVE STEAM & DIESEL RAILROADS
MODEL RAILROADS
and MODEL SIGNAL INFORMATION

Live Steam & Diesel
Live Steam and Live Diesel Homepage
A great page of links to all Live Steam and Live Diesel Railroads that have websites

Model Railroads
the BSME - the Baltimore Society of Model Engineers – downtown Baltimore MD
The Superior Central RR - A great HO pike in Traverse City MI by John Popa
the Holland Modular Railroad Club A modular RR club based in the Holland and Zeeland area of western Michigan

Model Railroad Signal Stuff
Simple Two Color Lionel Latching Signal Circuit
Have a model railroad pike?  Check out these Model Railroad Offerings - includes signals
Signalist DCC Signal Decoder  It can decode ALL North American signal aspects and programs with a PC!


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K
PERSONAL SIGNAL COLLECTIONS

My own collection  (don't expect a whole lot :-)
A fantastic personal collection by sltower2000
An excellent collection by Scott H
A great personal signal and control panel collection:   http://rrsignal.com/signal.htm

Another great collection of RR signals and (mostly) Virginian Rwy railroadiana by Aubry Wiley: http://junkmanwiley.blogspot.com/


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L
MUSEUMS (etc) WITH SIGNALS

To make it easier on myself so I don't have to update TWO lists, please check here for my list Museums.


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M
MAPS

As above, this page has been merged with my Railfan Guides homepage: http://www.railfanguides.us/


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N
SIGNAL LINKS

These links are in no particular order, usually as I find them or if someone pays me huge sums of money :-)

A most wonderful website with oodles of pictures and documents, take your time… Thank You Zax for all your hard work
      http://www.rrsignalpix.com/

How to start building a signal system for your own model railroad
      http://waynes-trains.com/site/Signals/GettingStarted/SignalsGettingStarted1.html

Aspect Reference for CPL’s and PL’s of the B&O, N&W, Amtrak, and PRR:
      http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Signal/aspects_us_pl.html.... gone

A huge collection of signal collections, also has some great train pix
      http://www.redoveryellow.com/signals/index.html

Dan's Wig-Wig Site:
      http://www.trainweb.org/dansrailpix/WIG_WAG_PAGE1c.htm

All things Semaphore (but hasn't been updated since 2005):
      www.semaphores.com/.... no longer with us, RIP

A great LINKS page at railserve.com:
      http://www.railserve.com/

A nice technical reference section from the Railway Technical Web Pages People:
      http://www.railway-technical.com/US-sig.shtml.... website still here, page may have moved

A nice site from north of the border about his US&S searchlight, very well done!, in both Francais and English:
      http://www.emdx.org/rail/signaux/SignalNain/

Commercial website talking about their LED's used on Amtrak's Northern Corridor
      http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/news/1/11/8/1.... MIA

An outstanding links source for signal signal systems worldwide:
      http://www.thesignalpage.nl/en/data.php

If you're into grade crossing signals, this is the motherlode with over 14,000 pix:
      http://www.rxrsignals.net/.... Sorry, it looks like this website is no longer around.... said loss....

A three page list of signal sites, mine finally got added in April 2010
      http://www.railroaddata.com/rrlinks/Signals/

A great source for info on railroad lanterns, watches, locks, etc, and other things like astronomy, COOL SITE, by Jeff Polston
      http://www.jeffpolston.com/home.htm

Several cool links associated with model RR electronics and electricity by Bill Hudson:
      http://www.hudsontelcom.com/.... looks like this one is gone too....

Not a signal site, but has many signals in Todd Paoni's photos of the MD-VA-WV areas
      http://members.trainorders.com/bucky1986/

Links last checked FEB/2016, APR24/2023.  Reciprocal links greatly appreciated!


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O
OTHER NEAT-O NON-SIGNAL STUFF

TRAIN STUFF
All about the Baltimore Light Rail Vehicles (LRV’s) - Technical Discussion
Light Rail doubletracking in the Riderwood/Timonium MD area
the Marble Ties of the Baltimore and Susquehana RR in Timonium MD
Misc Train & Transit pictures
Lego Trains and accessories:
-- Introduction to the Lego World
-- (Mostly) Lego Train Parts
-- Lego Trains
-- Non-Lego Train Page 1: Mould King, Jiestar, MOC's Etc
-- Non-Lego Train Page 2: Trains via Ali Express - Transit, Freight, Passenger, and Commuter Trains
-- Non-Lego Train Page 3: Train Stuff via Ali Express - Signals, Bridges, Tunnels, and Accessories
-- Stations Page 1: Stuff by Lego
-- Stations Page 2: Non-Lego Stuff
-- Lego and Non-Lego Accessories
-- Signals
-- Non-Lego Block Offerings from the Dollar Tree - Say What?
Railroad pictures from Tim Vermande
My Favorite Railroad Engines - GP-30's, E-33's, RS-11's (aka DL-701's), SD-90's, and last but not least, NKP #759
Railroad Stations around North America  (Includes warehouses, towers, etc)
Some of my Favorite Websites
Old Main Page Pictures
Merger map of North American Railroads, along with a few family maps
Trains, Transit, and Busses on TV and in the Movies A fun page
Graffiti
Locomotive Trucks  A comprehensive page with pictures of all sorts of Diesel Locomotive Trucks
Railroad Photos The parent site to the above page, plenty to keep you busy for a while!!!
Selected Railroad Accident Reports
Prices - How much does all this railroad and railroadiana stuff go for??? PLEASE NOTE: This is not my stuff for sale!!!
The 2017 Ringling Brothers Blue Circus Train
Interlocking Diagrams:
    Chicago Area - Almost All Pennsy
    Other Locations
Interesting train and Electronic stuff!!!

NON-TRAIN STUFF
Funny Stuff Pages (bad language warning!!!):
Page 1    Page 2    Page 3    Page 4    Page 5    Page 6    Page 7    Page 8    Page 9    Page 10    Page 11    Page 12    Page 13    Page 14    Page 15

Random pictures (combined with train & transit pictures)
Having fun with license plates
Todd's Toys
World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial
My Tribute to the Eiffel Tower (two pages, one for the replicas)
My Neighborhood
Halloween 2006
Renaissance Faires and Fairie Festivals I Have Been To
Rant's
My wife's sister-in-law Diane's 40th Birthday Party
Work and play pictures
The movie Oblivion
Some of my Favorite Leading Ladies! :-)
The Model Trains of Hallmark
How NOT to remodel a house for resale - tales from next door! :-)
Irritating Advertisements
My comments on being an Ego ZT owner


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P
INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL LINKS

Please note: It is impossible to keep this list up to date, as new pages come around almost every day, and some of the old ones disappear on a regular basis...

Australia
     Wikipedia's entry for Australian signaling
     Signalbox's entry for Australian signaling
     Vicsig's page of Australian links
     SA Track and Signal
Belgium
     https://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/railway/belgian.htm
China
     Chinese hand and semaphore signals
     Basics
     CRSC
Denmark
     American Style Model Railroading in Denmark
     An intro to Danish signals
     Station Signals
     Entry Signals
France
     Description of the signals used on TGV routes (no pix)
     A detailed website on French signals by Xavier Geillon, en francais
     Another website that just touches on French signaling
     Wikipedia's page on French Signaling
Germany
     An intro to German signals
     More info on German signals
     JB Calvert's Page
     Wikipedia's page on German Signals
Great Britain
     Some info on British semaphore
     Wikipedia's page on British RR Signals
India (the IRFCA has a most excellent website on all aspects of Indian railfanning, BTW)
     Indian Railway signal FAQ's
     Indian Railway signal aspects
     Indian Railway subsidiary signal aspects
Italy:
     General site on Italian signaling, in Italiano
     Wikipedia's page on Italian Railroad Signaling
Netherlands
     The NS signaling system
Sweden
     http://www.signalbox.org/overseas/sweden/signals.htm on older signals, in English, by Per Olofsson & John Hinson
All countries
     http://www.thesignalpage.nl/en/data.php  A master list of almost every railroad signaling website to be found on the net

Links last checked Feb 2016


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1) MY PICTURES ARE NOT COPYRIGHTED, NOR ARE MOST OF THE OTHER PICTURES ON THIS WEBSITE
PLEASE RESPECT MY RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS AS THE ORIGINATOR OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

2) FEEL FREE TO USE MY PICTURES AS LONG AS MY NAME IS NOT REMOVED FROM THE PIX, OR CREDIT IS GIVEN

3) I have reduced the size of most pictures so they can not be used for much more than 2"x3" pictures, thereby making them useless for publication: if you need a larger JPEG of a particular picture for publication, please contact me.


Sorry Webring, I have begun to have problems with the link taking over the page you are viewing and can't shake it loose, so they will be deleted on my pages as I get the chance!

Sorry SITEMETER, for 4-5 months (as of 4/21/13) I have been getting no stats from you, even after repeated attempts to contact you thru your "contact us" section, so, you are being replaced by
Google, nope, we switched again to STATCOUNTER....



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DEC15/2022, APR24/2023, FEB02/2024
Last revised 02/02/2024....OK!