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Signals are most commonly mounted on trackside masts about 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) high to put them in the eyeline of the engineer. Signals can also be mounted on signal bridges or cantilever masts spanning multiple tracks. Signal bridges and masts typically provide at least 20 feet (6.1 m) of clearance over the top of the rail.
The RTC can also issue special permissions to trains via radio. In order to pass signals set at stop (Rule 564), reverse direction within a block (Rule 577) or enter the main line at a manual switch not equipped with a signal (Rule 568), the train crew must copy the RTC's instructions and repeat them back correctly before being allowed to proceed.
When a train is waiting at a signal it is "in rear of" that signal and the danger being protected by the signal is "in advance of" the train and signal. In North American practice, a distinction must be made between absolute signals, which can display a "Stop" (or "Stop and Stay") indication, and permissive signals, which display a "Stop ...
A Magnetic flagman wigwag signal in use in southern Oregon, June 2007. Wigwag is a nickname for a type of railroad grade crossing signal once common in North America, referring to its pendulum-like motion that signaled a train's approach.
An advanced starting signal might be used at a location where it might be desirable to advance a train from a station platform before the section ahead becomes available. In this scenario, the starting signal permits the train to draw forward from the station area toward the advanced starting signal, which controls entry to the section ahead.
CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that controls railroad interlockings and traffic flows in portions of the rail system designated as CTC territory. One hallmark of CTC is a control ...
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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.