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 Railroad
Signals
Not all hand or lantern signals tell the
train to stop and go. Some are friendly greetings. This page shows you
the different light signals, familiar railroad signs, hand and lantern
signals and semaphore signals.
Position Light Signals
The
position of the lights tells the engineer the signal.
Familiar Railroad Signs
and Signals
Make a Signal Lantern
Make
a signal lantern and use it to signal different activities. With a piece
of construction paper draw a line one inch from the top and one inch
from the bottom across the width of the paper. Fold the paper in half
lengthwise, then lay flat. Cut at one inch intervals lengthwise from
the bottom drawn line to the top drawn line. Form construction paper
into a tube lengthwise, tape at top, bottom and center. For a handle,
fashion a pipe cleaner and attach at the top, or cut a strip of paper
and attach.
Semaphore Signals
The position of the arm determines the signal.
Lantern/Hand Signals
The engineer cannot understand you if you just yell at
a moving train. Because of this, the railroad people developed a system
of signals to tell the engineer whether to stop or slow down. These
signals have been in use for more than one hundred years.
By day, a red flag or handkerchief is used to make the
signals easier to see. By night, the lantern is used. Lanterns were
lit by kerosene,but now are battery-powered. Lanterns come with glass
globes that can be clear, green, blue, and red. Often a metal part is
stamped with the name or initials of the railroad.
Not all hand or lantern signals tell the train to stop
and go. Some are friendly greetings. One of these is the proceed signal
(also known as the highball). It is made by puling an imaginary whistle
cord over the head up and down several times.
In the event of serious trouble, railroaders follow Rule
12-h from the rule book: “Any object waved violently by anyone
on or near the tracks is a signal to stop.”
Warning signals should not be given except in an emergency.
However, it is perfectly all right to greet a train by giving the engineer
the highball sign, and if he is not too busy you may be rewarded with
a toot in return.
Lantern Signals
At night, the station master or other railroad worker
would use a system of lantern signals to communicate with the engineer.
Do you know what the following signals mean? To find the answer, move
your mouse over each image.
  
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