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The first signals employed on an American railroad were a system of flags used on the Newcastle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Rail Road in the 1830s. The railroad then developed a more effective system consisting of wooden balls, painted red, white or black, and hoisted up or down a pole on a rope-and-pulley system.
Highball Signal – Historic railroad signal in Delmar, Delaware, US; North American railroad signals; Railway signalling – The principle of signals used to control railway traffic; Train protection system – Railway fail-safe against human error; Train speed optimization – A system that reduces the need for trains to brake and accelerate
As railroad companies eventually began to standardize their rule books via industry-wide committees, the implementation of signal systems between railroads became, if not standardized, at least more similar. Different legacy systems still in use, however, mean that some signal indications can be shown in several different ways.
A Class 66 locomotive (right) is waiting at a red signal while a First Great Western (now Great Western Railway) passenger train (left) crosses its path at a junction. Railway signalling (BE), or railroad signaling (AE), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic.
The first reached by a train is known as the home signal. The last stop signal, known as the starting or section signal, is usually located past the points etc. and controls entry to the block section ahead. The distance between the home and starting signals is usually quite short (typically a few hundred yards), and allows a train to wait for ...
Signals made by the Pennsylvania Railroad that make use of a circular disc with up to eight lights mounted in a circle, with one light in the center. The lights would line up in a straight line to give the indication. [194] [195] Power Move (PM) When multiple locomotives move within a place to get to another without railcars [citation needed]
A single signal may be equipped to function both as a stop signal and a distant signal. Some distant signals are in the form of a 'fixed distant'. That is: they only ever display a 'caution' aspect and never a 'clear' one. Such signals are usually in the form of a standard distant arm fixed in the horizontal position to the signal post.
A British Upper Quadrant semaphore signal. In the days of the first British railways, "policemen" were employed by every railway company. Their jobs were many and varied, but one of their key roles was the giving of hand signals to inform engine drivers as to the state of the line ahead. [3]