Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

AndrewFields wrote:

popibros1 wrote:also go down the line a bit and see this weird searchlight

That's a distant signal. It is used when traveling from a line with no signals onto one that is signalized. Distant signals are indicated by the 'D' placard below the light and always show yellow. They never turn off, never change color and are at least 2 miles before the next controlling signal.
The reasoning is this; when a train comes in from a line without signals (called 'dark territory'), it has to be prepared for the signals ahead so the yellow signal (called 'approach') alerts crews to slow to no more than 30 mph and prepare to stop at the next signal. If the next signal happens to be green (proceed), they may keep going. These are BNSF rules. UP, CSX, KCS, or CP may do differently.
See...my conductor training paid off!

Posted at 02:56 a.m. MST, Not 10:57 a.m.
Thanks for that information.
Is it a regular signal which can change if so wired?
Why bother with the expense of a signal and expense of getting power to it?
Why not just have a tall [o] poetically reading:
Signal Ahead
Be prepared to Stop if RED?

Robert_Gift wrote: Thanks for that information.
Is it a regular signal which can change if so wired?
Why bother with the expense of a signal and expense of getting power to it?
Why not just have a tall [o] poetically reading:
Signal Ahead
Be prepared to Stop if RED?

All the distant signals I've seen have only one indication and unless it's a color-change LED, could not be wired to show anything different. I believe the reasoning for choosing a signal over a sign is this; signs are much smaller and can be easily missed by a train crew that is momentarily distracted. When a crew comes up to a signal, the engineer calls out the indication and its meaning. The conductor then echoes it back to the engineer. This system of checks and balances makes sure that nobody can say he thought the signal was yellow when it was really red.