If you watch the Museum’s trains pass by, you may see small metal panels on each end of the train set, usually these are red or green squares. These are railway flags. The green ones in this context mean another section of the train set should be following, while the red means that it is the last section of the train. Sometimes when the trains are not running you may see a blue flag instead.
NRM Volunteer Aiden S. works on the sanders on Locomotive 4024. He needs to be under the locomotive to reach them and would be in a lot of danger if it was moved. Note the blue STOP sign on the side of the locomotive in the left of the photo.
The act of putting up a blue flag is an important safety procedure. It is put on a locomotive to say that the locomotive is not allowed to move because someone is working on it. This protects any workers who may be working underneath the locomotive or someplace out of sight.
There is another type of blue flag which you might have seen while visiting the Railway History Campus. These long posts lay flat between the rails and have a rectangular blue stop sign on top. If one of these is raised up, it means nobody is allowed to move anything on the indicated track.
A blue flag raised on one of the tracks at the Railway History Campus with Locomotive 4012 behind it.
According to the rules set by the railway, a blue flag can only be removed by the trainman who put it up. For the safety of everyone working in or visiting the railway, it is important to always follow the rules. Sometimes members of the public play with the blue flags in the yard and leave them up. This confuses and frustrates railway workers when someone needs to know if they are allowed to move equipment around or not. If the wrong decision is made, it could lead to an accident.
For the safety of yourselves and our volunteers, when visiting the Museum please do not play on the tracks or move things around. Without proper training, it’s easy to hurt yourself and you do not want to be the cause of an injury or something worse for someone else. If tempted to touch one of the blue flags, please read them first and “STOP”.
