Does anyone know of a site that shows what railway signs mean? such as W, yard limit, grade crossings and many more, I’m seeing more all the time on railway R/W and have no meaning of them. any help? thanks
I don’t have I link or site, but “W” or “WX” means to blow the horn (but the W still stands for whistle, I think.)
I’m not sure if there is a website for railroad signs, did you try a Google search? Here are a few basics. Keep in mind that there are variations from railroad to railroad.
W is a whistle post. It tells the engineer to blow the horn (these days) for a grade crossing. Long, long, short, long.
You may see signs that have 2 numbers, these could be speed limit signs. Something like 69 and 59, the higher number being for passenger, and the lower for freight.
If you see a number only, it is usually a mile post. Often these were placed on the communication poles along the line, but along many lines these days the poles are gone, so a small metal post holds the marker. Signals have numbered signs on them corresponding to the mile marker accurate to the nearest tenth of a mile.
Well I went and took my own advice about the Google search, and came up empty. If it’s out there, it isn’t all in one nice neat place. I did however remember a Kalmbach book on my shelf in the basement. It’s called Trackwork and Lineside Detail for Your Model Railroad. It has a number of different signs, and shows all kinds of other things that one would find along the right of way.