Transition Era Street and Road Striping

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

What color and kind of striping would best fit the transition era (c. 1947-1955) for small-town streets and rural roads in the northwest U.S.? White…yellow…single or double solid lines…dotted lines?

Thanks!

2

In the Transition Era they would be white. You would see single lines, double lines and pass - don’t pass indications with broken vs. solid lines. As I recall, there were few painted lines on the road edges, just down the center.

3

Excellent! Just as I recall too! [;)] Many thanks.

4

Browse around this site, Kerry. There are scans of some of the eleven, vintage MUTCDs and some interesting Power Point slide shows.

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/MUTCD-History.htm

The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices is the reference you want.

Here’s a link to the 1948 edition, Markings chapter:

https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/ghawkins/MUTCD-History_files/1948%20MUTCD/1948-Pt2_Markings.pdf

Good Luck, Ed

5

Thanks, Ed. I found what I needed.

6

Here is an interesting video on the history of highway markings in the US. What I found relevant to my modeling was the dates the various states adopted the standardized markings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KYBaoNPNgA

Jeff White

Alma, IL

7

I love the History Guy, doesn’t do much on trains though.

8

When I saw the title of this thread I was going to post that History Guy video. One of my favorite YouTube channels.

–Randy

9

BTW, don’t forget that in that time frame, octagonal “STOP” road signs were yellow with black letters. Red with white letters started in 1956 IIRC, but it was quite a while before all the yellow ones were replaced.