My post regarding a “dictionary” defining the meaning of trackside signage resulted in some suggestions; but no answers (other than “buy a book”).
So, earlier today I took some photos of the signs of which I don’t know the meaning. And after some very frustrating and futile attempts to upload them to railimages.com’s new format, I abandoned them for photobucket.
Here are photos of the signs…
This one looks like an odometer set at “0”.
The sign below is a small orange square with a black bar diagonally (down to the left) across it. There is a pair of these, one for each direction, at opposite ends of a small bridge over a creek. You can see the bridge to the left of the photo; the sign is at the right.
This sign is a black chevron with two vertical white bars (one on each “arm” of the chevron). In this instance, it is shown alone…
…but in this instance, it is shown under a black losenge-shaped sign with two white circles (I understand this sign, with the white circles, to mean that there are objects/structures near the track and plows should lift their blades).
The only one I’m certain about is the second - “Raise Flanger Blades.”
The flanger blades are small auxiliary blades on a snow plow which ride just inside and below the railheads to clear ice and (small) debris that might lift a flange over the rail. I’m sure that bridge has guard rails. Flanger blade vs guardrail is a lose-lose situation, hence the sign.
Other places where they would appear is approaching grade crossings, specialwork or any place where equipment (immovable permanent obstacles) might be found between the rails.
However, this railroad – the Charlevoix RR (a CN subsidiary) – has several of grade-crossings and small bridges (some of which are larger than the one in the photo) along the stretch near my house just east of Quebec City (Canada), yet this is the only instance where I’ve seen such a sign.
BTW a snow plow (though not a rotary type) could have flanges, but usually it was a separate piece of equipment called a “flanger”. The flanger sometimes would be all that was needed to clear snow, other times it would come in after the snowplow to clean up the area around the rails on either side.
If this is a Canadian road the signs could wll be different from US roads. Then is it a real RR or a museum/preservation/muppet road (OOPS [:O])?
The flanger sign (if that is what it is) is not unusual… the others? Why not write/email and ask their PR people? “Don’t ask. Don’t fnd out…” Let us know please. [8D]
The sign in your first picture may be “Mile 00.0”, the beginning point for subsequent mileage posts on the subdivision. My guess is that that chevron-shaped signs are a warning to “retract wing blades”, while the lozenge-shaped sign with it is for “lift flanger blade”
Your fourth photo appears to be a combination sign - the lozenge on top with the two white circles is “private grade crossing ahead, whistle if necessary” as I understand it (two of those, one above the other, is “public grade crossing ahead, blow whistle”) while the lower sign is retract snowplough wings - in this case because you’re approaching a grade crossing.
Some other Canadian on the board may be able to fill in more details.
In the states there are signs with - and 0 that signify the type of signal that is to be blasted form the horn when approaching a crossing,town or whatever. I believe , do not qoute me here, that a dash is a short toot and an 0 is a long toot. In Canada though,I dont know.
