American Transition Train Set

Signals

The signals that come with the game don't look much like American signals. This needs to change. The following general idea is suggested:

1. Early normal track: Normal semaphores. These are similar to the existing semaphores, except their positioning is somewhat different, and also they have indicator lights on top of them.
2. Later normal track: Lighted signals. Probably not all that much different from the current ones, except the pole should be silver. Maybe some other improvements possible.
3. Later normal track (Tropics): US&S Searchlight Signals. These are simple: they're a black round target, with one light in the middle that changes color as needed.
4. Early electrified track: Pennsylvania Railroad circular position light signals. As it happens, the system was standardized in 1921 (how convenient!) Or maybe we'll just use one system for all electrified track, regardless of era.
5. Later electrified track: NEC standard. This is what's used in Microsoft Train Simulator, and is fairly well known. Here's a rough version as drawn by ChrisCF.

Here are some reference links:

Signalling in the USA

Beautiful diagrams of how the PRR standard worked.

Another summary of the PRR standard system.

Conrail signal aspects card. Basically the inheritors of the PRR system, should be pretty similar, and it's in color.

The Railroad Signal Site

North American Signaling

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