Railway Signs and Signals of Great Britain

Welcome!

This website is concerned with the signs and signals that appear by the side of the mainline railways of Great Britain to convey information or instructions to train drivers. The aim is to illustrate every signal indication or lineside sign that exists today or has existed in the past and to explain its meaning. Never before has all this information, which includes historical details as well as modern regional variations and 'one offs', been brought together and made available from a single point of reference.

This site is organised into sections, each one dealing with a specific subject. Some of these sections comprise more than one page. Within each section, new or altered signs and indications are arranged in chronological order according to when they were first used. Where known, the year of introduction is recorded along with an explanation of the reason for the change. Experimental signs or signals are included, provided they have been exhibited alongside a railway open to traffic.

The illustrations on this site deliberately omit any visible detail that has no influence on a sign or signal's meaning (e.g. holes or slots in early signals, to reduce wind resistance). Variations in a sign's shape or colour, but not its size, are recorded. Signals and signs are generally shown as being mounted on straight posts, as is most usual, but it is emphasised that the method of mounting or the position or absence of a post carries no relevance to drivers. Similarly, while colour light signal aspects have been shown on a typical signal head, the shape of the backboard or the position of the aspect within the head can vary without altering the meaning to the driver.

Signalling and signage through the Channel Tunnel and in the vicinity of the Cheriton terminal follows SNCF (French National Railways) practice and therefore is outside the scope of this website. This site does include information relating to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (or 'High Speed 1'). Internal signalling and indicators within train maintenance depots are not included.

The following symbols are used within the main sections of the website:

	Current - Sign or signal is considered current practice, but this does not necessarily imply that any examples exist at the present time.
	Obsolescent - Sign or signal is no longer current practice, but examples remain in use. Further provision has ceased, except where it is desirable to maintain consistency at a given locality.
	Obsolete - Sign or signal no longer exists on the national network (although it may be found on heritage railways).
	Status Uncertain - Generally relates to a 'one off' sign or signal.
	Photograph Available - Clicking on this symbol will open a new window showing a photograph.

More detailed information on a range of related topics can be found in the 'Supplementary Information' section.

I welcome your comments and queries about this website. If you can contribute some new information or if you find an error, please let me know. I can be emailed at this address: