In General
Foreign Roads
NORAC roads
CROR
CORA
GCOR

RAILFAN GUIDES HOME
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME

This section is the gateway to signal aspects, mostly taken from rulebooks I have come across, borrowed, or stolen.  The older the rulebooks get, the more interesting the reading... try to get your hands on some and check em out!  My favorite so far is the CNW rulebook from 1929.

I would like to thank  the efforts of Allen Miller, who took the time to scan and send me some 64 rulebooks, some of which are exceptionally rare.  It's a labor of love, and we are all in his debt for sharing!


In General

ACL - Atlantic Coast Line 1926  scans courtesy Allen Miller
ACL - Atlantic Coast Line 1926  drawings courtesy Rick Gast
Alton RR  a PDF by CG Tower (also gone - darn-it)
Amtrak Northeast Corridor  ex Pennsy signals between New York City and Washington DC
ARR - Alaska RR 2003  rulebook courtesy Travis Ebner
ATSF - Santa Fe 1909  scans courtesy Allen Miller
ATSF - Santa Fe 1989
BAR - Bangor & Aroostook 1910  scans courtesy Allen Miller
BART Transit 2008
B&LE - Bessemer and Lake Erie 1957
B&M - Boston & Maine 1931  scans courtesy Allen Miller
B&O - Baltimore & Ohio 1931
B&O - Baltimore & Ohio 1941  scans courtesy Travis Ebner
B&O - Baltimore & Ohio 1948  scans courtesy Allen Miller
B&O - Baltimore & Ohio 1969
BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe 2010
BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe 2018
BRC - Belt Railway of Chicago
BR&P - Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh 1915  scans courtesy Allen Miller
C&A - Chicago & Alton 1909  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CB&Q - Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 1916  scans courtesy Allen Miller
C&EI - Chicago & Eastern Illinois 1949  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CGW - Chicago Great Western 1954  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CJRR - Chicago Junction 1927  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CNW - Chicago & North Western 1893  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CNW - Chicago & North Western 1902  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CNW - Chicago & North Western 1929
CR&I - Chicago River & Indiana 1927  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CSS&SB - Chicago, South Shore & South Bend 1930
CSPM&O - Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 1899  scans courtesy Allen Miller
CRI&P - Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 1921  scans courtesy Allen Miller
C&WI - Chicago & Western Indiana 1955  scans courtesy Allen Miller
C&O - Chesapeake & Ohio 1931  scans courtesy Allen Miller
C&O - Chesapeake & Ohio 1958
C&O - Chesapeake & Ohio 1969
CN - Canadian National 1975
CN - Canadian National 2011 (Chicago area CORA Rules) rulebook courtesy Travis Ebner
CP - Canadian Pacific 2005
CP - Canadian Pacific 2021
CR - Conrail 1988
CSX Transportation 1989
CSX Transportation 2014
CTA Chicago L 1959  scans courtesy Chicago-L.org
CTA Chicago L 1973  scans courtesy Chicago-L.org
CTA Chicago L 1985  scans courtesy Chicago-L.org
CUT - Cincinnati Union Terminal Company 1937  rulebook and signals PDF from CG Tower, plus my one page reference
D&H - Delaware & Hudson
D&H - Delaware & Hudson 1914  scans courtesy Allen Miller
DL&W - Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 1918  scans courtesy Allen Miller
DL&W - Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 1925
DRG&W - Denver, Rio Grand & Western 1938  scans courtesy Allen Miller
DMIR - Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 1965  scans courtesy Allen Miller
DTI - Detroit, Toledo & Ironton  rulebook and signals PDF from CG Tower and my one page reference
Erie RR 1952  scans courtesy Allen Miller
EJ&E - Elgin, Joliet & Eastern 1942  scans courtesy Allen Miller
FEC - Florida East Coast 2010
FE&MV - Freemont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley 1890  scans courtesy Allen Miller
Frisco - Frisco 1909  scans courtesy Allen Miller
IC - Illinois Central 1928  scans courtesy Allen Miller
GM&O - Gulf, Mobile & Ohio 1951  scans courtesy Allen Miller
GN - Great Northern 1929  scans courtesy Allen Miller
GTW - Grand Trunk Western 1984 courtesy Kaiden S.
GTW - Grand Trunk Western / Flint Division 1990  courtesy Jack Prange II
GTW - Grand Trunk Western / Flint Division 1996  courtesy Jack Prange II
ICG - Illinois Central Gulf 1974  scans courtesy Allen Miller
ICG - Illinois Central Gulf 1974/1985  link to a PDF signal flow chart by CG Tower and my one pager
KCS - Kansas City Southern 1998
KCT - Kansas City Terminal 1917  scans courtesy Allen Miller
KCT - Kansas City Terminal 1953  scans courtesy Allen Miller
LS&MS - Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rwy 1905  scans courtesy Allen Miller
LIRR - Long Island 1989  scans by David P. Maloln
L&N - Louisville & Nashville 1909  scans courtesy Allen Miller
L&N - Louisville & Nashville 1974  scans courtesy Allen Miller
MEC - Maine Central 1924  scans courtesy Allen Miller
METRA Rock Island District 1997
MC - Michigan Central 1920  scans courtesy Allen Miller
MP - Missouri Pacific 1929  scans courtesy Allen Miller
MILW - the Milwaukee Road 1917  scans courtesy Allen Miller
MILW - the Milwaukee Road  scans courtesy John Smoots
MNR - Metro North 2020
NH - the New Haven 1925  scans courtesy Allen Miller
NKP - Nickel Plate Road  scan courtesy Dennis F.
NKP - Nickel Plate Road 1943  scans and PDF courtesy Bob Milhaupt
NS - Norfolk Southern - Kentucky Division 2000
N&W - Norfolk and Western
N&W - Norfolk and Western 1915  scans courtesy Allen Miller
N&W - Norfolk and Western 1961 new June 2020
NYC - New York Central 1937  scans courtesy Allen Miller
NYC - New York Central 1937/1951 reprint
NYC&HR - New York Central & Hudson River 1912  scans courtesy Allen Miller
NYCTA - New York City Transit System - 1944
NY&LB - New York & Long Branch 1903  scans courtesy Allen Miller
NP - Northern Pacific ~1925  scans courtesy Allen Miller
PC - Penn Central 1968/1971
PM - Pere Marquette 1903
PM - Pere Marquette 1936  scans courtesy Allen Miller
PRR - the Pennsylvania Railroad 1925  scans courtesy Allen Miller
PRR - the Pennsylvania Railroad 1956
PRR - Chicago Union Station Signals
PRR - Penn Station NYC Signals
RF&P - Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
RDG - the Reading 1954
RI - the Rock Island 1921  scans courtesy Allen Miller
RUT - Rutland 1937  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SAL - Seaboard Air Line 1962  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SCL - Seaboard Coast Line 1967  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SBD - the Seaboard System  from a 1989 CSX Rulebook
SEPTA Subway / Heavy Rail  1963
SC&P - Sioux City & Pacific 1890  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SIRT - Staten Island Rapid Transit
SOO - SOO 1912  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SOO - SOO 1928  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SP - Southern Pacific 1907
SP - Southern Pacific 1930  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SP - Southern Pacific 1998
SR - Southern Rwy 1923  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SR - Southern Rwy 1943  scans courtesy Allen Miller
SR - Southern Rwy - Georgia Division 1981
StL&SF - St Louis & San Francisco (Frisco) 1909  scans courtesy Allen Miller
Train Mountain (yes, the Train Mountain Live Steam RR in Oregon! :-)
UCOR - Uniform Code of Operating Rules 1962  scans and PDF courtesy Bob Milhaupt
UP - Union Pacific 1919  scans courtesy Allen Miller
UP - Union Pacific ~1925
UP - Union Pacific 1972
UP - Union Pacific 1988
VGN - Virginian Railway - 1943
WAB - Wabash 1901  scans courtesy Allen Miller
WAB - Wabash 1922  scans courtesy Allen Miller
WAB - Wabash 1958  scans courtesy Allen Miller
WC - Wisconsin Central 1990  rulebook courtesy Travis Ebner
WT - Washington Terminal Company - 1968
WM - Western Maryland 1913
WM - Western Maryland 1939  scans courtesy Allen Miller
WP - Western Pacific 1924  scans courtesy Allen Miller

If anyone has rulebooks they want to share with the world, from some of the western roads, like (I don't know if all of the roads listed below have rulebooks with signals in them):

Additional UP rulebooks from earlier years, and:
     The Cotton Belt,

Roads from the Burlington Northern + empire, such as:
     The Spokane, Portland & Seattle,

Going back to the northeast, I could use a few from the likes of:
     The MBTA, if they have one.....
     The Vermont Central,
     The Providence & Worcester,
     The Long Island RR,
     The Springfield Terminal,
     The Lehigh Valley,
     The Erie-Lackawanna,
     The Central RR of New Jersey,
     The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines,
     The Raritan River

And last but not least, aspects from the heritage roads feeding into CSX and NS:
     The Chessie System
     An early C&O rulebook, way before the B&O days,
     The Clinchfield
     The Georgia RR
     The Atlanta & West Point
     The Monon
     The ORIGINAL Norfolk Southern, pre 1974 before it disappeared into the Southern
     The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac

There are plenty more roads name hanging out there!.....
Please check out my contact page for my current email address.
If anyone can help out, it would be most appreciated!



Foreign Roads

New South Wales Railways - Australia
SNCF - France
Yugoslavia


NORAC roads (Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee)

NORAC was formed in January 1985 with the first five roads and Metro North.  MN later backed out.  The Long Island, B&M, and P&W joined at the second meeting in May 1985.  The rules became effective January 1, 1987.  For more info, check out: http://trains.com/ trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=230

For a very nice interactive signal display of the NORAC rules, check out this page

Conrail 1988
Amtrak
New Jersey Transit
SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
D&H - Delaware & Hudson
D&H - Delaware & Hudson 1914  scans courtesy Allen Miller
Providence & Worcester
LIRR - Long Island 1989  scans by David P. Maloln
B&M - Boston & Maine 1931  scans courtesy Allen Miller
Metro North



CROR (Canadian Railway Operating Rules)

Railroads in Canada follow these rules, and almost all legacy installations use searchlight signals.  Newer installations, and replacement are seeing color light signals because of cost and ease of maintenance.  A few semaphores are supposed to still be around.

The CROR Rules


CORA roads (Chicago Operating Rules Association):

This section covers the signal aspects of the member railroads.  Judging from the thick manual, it appears to cover mostly the signals that are different from what the engineers are used to on their own tracks.  Clarification is still needed on that assumption.

1) Amtrak
2) ATSF
3) BRC - Belt Railway of Chicago
4) BN - Burlington Northern
5) CC&P - Chicago, Central & Pacific
6) C&NW - Chicago & North Western
7) CSS - Chicago and South Shore
8) Conrail
9) CSX
10) EJ&E - Elgin, Joliet and Eastern
11) GTW (CN) - Grand Trunk Western
12) IC - Illinois Central
13) IHB - Indiana Harbor Belt
14) Metra
15) NS
16) Soo Line (CP)
17) UP
18) WC – Wisconsin Central (no signal aspects in the CORA book)



GCOR roads (General Code of Operating Rules)(Western roads):

GCOR has something like 200 members railroads, so I don't know if I'm gonna get em all in here, if you see one not listed, let me know.  The following list I found is dated April 1994: http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/rulebook/title.html 

Obviously, the list is not up to date.  Another list is at (dated 2000):
http://gsee.sdf-us.org/signals/docs/pdf/gcor/gcor_4-2000.pdf

1) ATSF - Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
2) UP - Union Pacific RR
3) CNW - Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
4) BN - Burlington Northern Railway Company
5) SP - Southern Pacific Lines
6) CP -
CP Rail System Heavy Haul-US
7) AT&L Railroad Company
8) Amtrak Western Division Peninsula Commute Service
9) Arizona and California Railroad Company
10) Arizona Central Railroad Company
11) Arizona Eastern Railway Company
12) Border Pacific Railroad
13) California and Western Railroad, Inc.
14) California Northern Railroad Company
15) California Western Railroad
16) Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company
17) Cedar River Railroad
18) Central California Traction Company
19) Central Montana Rail, Inc.
20) Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad Company
21) Columbia and Cowlitz Railway
22) Council Bluffs Railway
23) Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Corporation
24) Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern Railway Company
25) Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company
26) Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
27) Eastern Alabama Railway Company
28) Fox River Valley Railroad Company
29) Gateway Western Railway
30) Grainbelt Corporation
31) Grand Canyon Railway
32) Great Western Railway of Colorado
33) Great Western Railway of Oregon
34) Green Bay and Western Railroad Company
35) Hutchinson and Northern Railway Company
36) Indiana and Ohio Rail System
37) Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation
38) Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd.
39) Jaxport Terminal Railway
40) Kansas City Terminal Railway Company
41) Kyle Railroad Company
42) Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad Company
43) Lewis and Clark Railway Company
44) Little Rock and Western Railway, LP
45) Louisiana and Delta Railroad
46)
McCloud River Railroad Company
47) Meridian and Bigbee Railroad
48) MG Rail, Inc.
49) Minnesota Commercial Railway Company
50) Minnesota Valley Transportation Company
51) Montana Rail Link
52) Montana Western Railway Company
53) Mount Vernon Terminal Railway, Inc.
54)  Napa Valley Railroad Company
55) North Coast Railroad
56) Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation
57) Northern Nevada Railroad Corporation
58) Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc.
59) Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad
60) Railtex Railroad Division
61) Red River Valley and Western Railroad
62) Rochester and Southern Railroad, Inc.
63) San Diego Northern Railway
64) San Diego Railroad Museum
65) San Joaquin Valley Railroad Company
66) San Pedro and South Western Railway Company
67) Sierra Railroad Company
68) South East Kansas Railroad
69) Southwestern Railroad Company, Inc.
70) Southern California Regional Rail Authority
71) St. Maries River Railroad Company
72) Texas Limited
73) Texas Gonzales and Northern Railway Company, Inc.
74) Texas Northwestern Railway Company, Inc.
75) Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Corporation
76) Trona Railway Company
77) Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway Company
78) Twin Cities and Western Railroad Company
79) Utah Central Railway
80) Utah Railway Company
81) Ventura County Railway Company
82) Washington Central Railroad Company, Inc.
83) Willamette and Pacific Railroad, Inc.
84) Willamette Valley Railroad
85) Willamina and Grand Ronde Railway
86) Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad Company, Inc.
87) Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Company
88) Wisconsin Central, Ltd.
89) Wyoming Colorado Railroad Company
90) Yreka Western Railroad



New: 04/24/2007, JUN30/2020, SEP20/2020, MAR09/2021, JUL09/2021, JAN12/2022, JAN17/2022, FEB06/2023, APR14/2023, DEC22/2023
Last Updated: 02/20/2024