I was making a old US Highway sign with a cutout design (before the black around the edges), and thought I’d share my template.
You need to find a image of a current sign with the number you’d like, cut around it in Paint or similar program, and paste into the middle of the blank white area. Next, size it to your scale. Most highway signs were 18" x 18". Print it out, and cut just a hair on the outside of the black border. I use a square toothpick as a post.
NOTE: This is important for accuracy! These signs were only used from about 1950 into the late '70s. After this they had the black around the edges (on a sign blank). In later years, about from 196? on, the US was omitted. If you find a road sign with the number you’d like, make sure it is a US shield. It is not the exact font used, but the difference is minute. I like to print them on photo paper, because it shines like metal.
Thanks for sharing your template and for the tidbits of information about the highway signs. I’m not quite at the point where I need road signs on my layout yet, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for the past few weeks (long range planning?).
I got to thinking it would be neat to have a computer program that you could use to design and print any kind of road sign imaginable, from the standard stop sign to an interstate directional sign with any combination of city names, arrows, etc you wish to put on it. Why something like that doesn’t already exist, I don’t know. (If it does, I haven’t found it yet).
As for the lettering font on the sign, the US uses a version of what’s commonly called “highway gothic.” Do a Google search for “highway gothic font” and several websites will come up where you can download the font for MS Word for free. This website, for instance.
There are 2 distinct styles of highway gothic - the traditional, and the updated version known as “clearview,” which was approved for use in Sept 2004 and is gradually phasing out the older version as signs are replaced. The “clearview” version was developed to supposedly improve readability from a distance. One of the most noticeable differences between the two styles is in the lowercase letter “g.”
More information about highway sign fonts is here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/fhwa-series-fonts[](http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/146913.aspx)
Thanks for the info. I noticed that a few of the newer signs around here had a different font.