Bavarian railway signals

Thanks to its construction, the Bavarian distant signal could also be fitted to the mast of a home semaphore signal, so that, for example, the combination of 'proceed slowly' and 'expect clear or proceed slowly' (Hp 2, Vr 102) could be displayed on the same mast using three semaphore arms.

For the 'clear' aspect, the green lens was folded away and a white signal lamp appeared.

The main difference between Bavarian home signals and those of the Reichsbahn was the shape of the semaphore arm.

The predecessor to the second arm was the 'proceed slowly' disc (Langsamfahrscheibe), which could be folded away to the side when required.

[1] Sometimes the arms were bent back at the tips to enable the illumination by signal lanterns at night.

The term 'rest' meant that the railway vehicles were to remain on the allocated track, although shunting was permitted.

If the arm was moved to its default position (Halt) the associated track was to be immediately cleared.

The aspect, 'rest', was indicated by a downward-pointing semaphore arm or, at night, by a blue light.

For those familiar with modern railways, the sense of this signal aspect is hard to understand.

During its period of use, there was often a signal box at each end of the station or there were areas of hand-operated points that were set by pointsmen.

The side of the signal lantern had an almost square milk glass window.