Union Pacific signal chart.

[Castor]

...for those interested.

http://signals.jovet.net/rules/UPRR%20Signal%20Rules.pdf

[Yerolo]

My head hurts trying to understand how the signals work on the Pen Corridor. Why do they need a bank of up to 7 columns of lights when other systems get by with 1 or 2 ?

So far I have just been driving with the HUD on with the signal aspect & speed helpers....I honestly wouldn't have a clue what I was doing driving this route with no HUD

[Purno]

US signalling system is confusing as hell.

All I learned that if the top signal is green with only reds below, it's basically green. (clear).

Only when all light are red the signal is at danger aspect. Anything in between is a caution aspect, either warning you for an upcoming danger signal, speed restriction, or diverge to a side track. Seems to apply to all US routes so far.

For PenCorridor I've discovered that yellow flashing is followed by a yellow and is followed by a red. Comparable with the UK signalling (but yellow flashing instead of double yellow). That's enough distance to stop your train before the red signal.

Any flashing red signal on PenCorridor seems to be similar to the European red + white shunting signal (so permission to pass, but slow enough to stop for anything).

I'm not really gonna try to understand all the other signal aspects. I cannot discover an easy to remember logic in them.

[LeadCatcher]

@Purno, I can feel your pain concerning US signaling systems... add into the mix that each railroad has their own signaling system, some are basically block occupancy style systems like the U.K., most are speed indication like the UP, some use tri-color with Red, Yellow, Green, others use positional like the old Pennsylvania Railroad, some through in white (moon) and you have a right proper mess. :-).

Even after all the hours I have spent in the simulation on US roads, I have printed copies of the signal systems on my desk that I have to consult when returning to a route I haven’t run for a while. Does add to the challenge.

[Purno]

Those tiny dwarf signals on LIRR are a pain. Did a SPAD because I didn't notice the two tiny white lights in horizontal position close to the ground. Hard to even spot the signals in the dark between all the other lights and their reflections at stations.

I'm considering to write a short guide about US signalling. Won't be perfect, won't be complete, but might give a little more insight into the signal aspects. As written in my previous post, there's a few aspects that pretty much mean the same on any railroad in the US so far.

[Castor]

Originally posted by Yerolo:

...So far I have just been driving with the HUD on with the signal aspect & speed helpers....

Even so, the speed limit display HUD does not show the speed you should be traveling under a restricted signal. For example, if you cross into a signal block that is yellow over red, you are supposed to slow down to 30 mph. But as of now, the speed limit will still show the route speed and not what your actual speed should be under a restricted signal....

[Jovet]

US (and Canadian) signaling can be confusing, because the way it works isn't intuitive to many people. Check out this page which explains how the system works:
http://web.archive.org/web/20160313144451/http://alkrug.vcn.com/rrfacts/signals/signals.htm

Let me know if you still have any questions, and I'll try to answer.