I recently received a US Cab-ride video and would like to know how the engineer is advised to sound his horn. Is there a track side warning sign , and if so, what form does it take ? . OBUKAUST.
being a retired conductor the engineer start to blow when there is a whistle post sigh which is a quarter of a mile from any crossing and he uses the bell along with his horn.
Railroads have a sign ususally a W indicating where to blow a whistle or horn. On the PRR they were a white keytsone with a black edge and a black W on them. They were cast iron and about 6" in size mounted on a white post. Since there is no deviation in a route most good engineers learn the routes so they knoo exactly how to handle a train based on tonnage and topography as well as where they need to blow a whistle.
On the former Southern Railway whistle posts were white with the following lines painted in black:
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Indicating two longs a short and another long whistle blast was to be sounded on approaching a grade crossing.
There are different signs for different roads. In addition to the signs mentioned above, some use an “X” on a sign for a crossing.
Dave H.
There are some very old ones here in S. Ontario, left over from the old Wabash/NYC that are concrete, painted white with a black W. They are slab-like with a rounded top and look remarkably like grave headstones
An earlier message mentioned an “x.” There are some signs lettered either “MX” or “WX.” Those appear where there are multiple crossings in a short distance alerting the engineer for the need to deal appropriately.
On the PRR they were cast iron keystones about 8" x 8" with a black edge and a white background with a big black W in the center. They were mounted on a length of pipe about 4’ above grade.