Did SLSF use the 50-degree angled crossbucks at road crossings up through the merger? I can recall seeing some of those old signs back in the mid-1980s West of Springfield on the Ash Grove Subdivision in the area of Bois D'Arc, MO. Did those represent a rarity or the common standard in 1980? I know Frisco used the more-modern 90-degree crossbucks on crossing signal masts. Thanks
Mike, first welcome to the group. As I recall, there were a couple of these crossbucks well into the mid to late 1980s in Chaffee at the Gray Street crossing. Best Regards,
Chris, Thanks for the info. This is good to know for modeling purposes. It's a little detail I was overlooking. I'll be sure to plant some of the old signs at my crossings to add a nice historically accurate touch. I see Blair Line has some new SLSF signage. Now the real fun will come in trying to figure out how to model the posts with the flattened 'blade' at the top. I'll post some pictures once I figure it out!
We'll look forward to the photos. I've always used small dowel that has been filed and sanded to shape at the top. Even when painted, though, it still shows the wood grain. Another alternative may be to take wire or brass rod of the appropriate diameter and file and hammer to shape on a vise or small anvil. Best Regards,
How about soda straws? There are various sizes, large and milk shake sizes for HO scale, down to swizzle sticks for N scale. I think you could heat and flatten a straw, or melt it with plastic cement. Tom
Good thinking, Tom. I'm always intrigued by using readily-available materials. And to think of how many of those coffee sticks I've just thrown away over the years. For what it's worth, FMIG Newsletter #33, April 1982, has Frisco crossbuck diagrams on page 13. Best Regards,
And one more Frisco "standard" crossbuck for good measure. The blind station sign is also a nice touch. http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?1653-River-Division-Motorcars&p=12850#post12850 Anyone who has better eyes or software than mine, please post the motor car number on the appropriate thread. Best Regards,
Or just use a 6" x 6" post. From the July 1, 1914, Rules and Instructions for the Maintenance of Way and Structures.
Link to 1950s version of highway crossing crossbuck sign. http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?2732-Highway-and-Roadway-Signs&highlight=signs
Less material would be my guess. 4' blades on the 90 degree buck verses 6' blades on the 50 degree buck.
Not wanting to get off topic but while traveling along the former Central Division along the Arkansas and Missouri (A&M) I have noticed several of these signs. Attached to the posts on almost all crossing are these little silver license plate like tags. Even on the new crossing they have them and they all have SL-SF punched into the metal at the top. I checked the up the line in Alma and they have them too and they are marked MP. I find it cool they list the previous owners on the tags. Are these tags some sort of ID tag? Ship it on the Frisco! Murphy Jenkins
The change in crossbuck signs was probably a cost cutting move. The earlier signs were hand painted or hand stenciled and the 90 degree signs are factory made. There was a plant in Springfield that manufactured those. It was in the former U.S. Plywood building just west and across the tracks from the Frisco General Office building on East Chestnut Expressway, formerly East Trafficway. Tom
While I haven't seen it in any B&B drawings, there is a color photo in Frisco in Color by Marre/Sommers of a 1500-class Mountain pulling the "Dewey Special" in 1948 as it approaches a grade crossing. The 50-degree crossbuck appears to have an iron/steel pole with the flattened top and a large, black "2" at the top, indicating two tracks. There may be more details but the book is at home. For modelers, the 50 degree versus 90 degree crossbucks can be a small detail that really establish a sense of time on your layout. And, as the prototype has demonstrated, a stray 50 degree sign here and there in the late 1970s is well within the realm of plausibility. Thanks for the extra drawing, Karl. I'll be adding that one to my binder of plans. Best Regards,
Someone once told me that the poles, of the older 50-degree cross buck signs, were made from old boiler pipes or tubing. Can anyone substantiate this and perhaps elaborate some more information? Incidentally, I recall several grade crossings, here in Lenexa, that still had these older signs through the 1980s. As I'm out driving around, I'll see, if by chance, I might be able to spot an older cross buck sign. Bob McKeighan Lenexa, KS
Bob, While many of the crossing signs were mounted on tubing, the diameter typically was larger than what boiler tubing would have been.
This is a very interesting topic. I see post #6 in this thread shows the 50 degree version from a late 1950s handbook. It looks like the older 50 degree signs were phased out as needed over time. Does anyone know when this started? Did the Frisco ever use existing streetlight or telegraph poles to place the crossbuck blades? Were number of track signs ever used with the crossbucks? I haven't seen any pictures of them if they were.
