The Original Flags

Back in the 90's, I was part of a very active modular group.  We would have week-long public displays setup in the local shopping malls about 10 times a year.  In addition to having a fairly large yard on the outside, we also had a 12-track stub-ended staging yard located on the inside of the setup.  Since this was back in the 90's, DC was the standard for track power.  We had four throttles available: two radio control for the mainline, and two tethered for the yard area.  Block power selection was with rotary switches, and a 12-position rotary switch selected a track in the staging yard.

As is common with DC, it's fairly easy to accidentally put power on the wrong track.  Either you turned the rotary to the wrong track, or you clicked the rotary through the tracks too slowly, or you left the rotary set to an occupied track before walking off.  Either way, it was all too common for a train in the staging yard to suddenly start moving, making a run for the end of track!

The flag on the left is the original design.  When clipped on the rails, it would cause a short if the wrong track was selected.  The design was simple, a piece of .020" brass wire bent so that it securely clipped across the rails and painted black, and a small piece of styrene was attached using detail eye bolts.  The blue square was hand-painted.  The overall style was loosely patterned after a CN prototype that had a bend in the vertical rod.  Since the flag naturally tends to lean over when clipped to the rail, a slight bend near the top keeps the flag itself straight and located roughly over the track center line.

But what if I wanted to use a blue flag without causing a short?  The flag on the right shows a modified design that clips onto a single rail, perfect for DCC!

Here we see the flag protecting tank cars being unloaded on the Office Park Zone.

Construction is quite easy.  There are no critical dimensions.  Everything is done using a pair of needle-nose pliers.

Start with a piece of .020" wire.  Working from one end, make a U-bend with the short leg being about 1/4" long. The width of the U is not critical. I estimated about 1/8" wide.

Next, bend the bottom of the U down like you're forming a grab iron.  The bent part will fit into the web of the rail, so the depth of the bend depends on the size of the rail.  Make adjustments until the bend is a bit larger than 90 degrees.

Next, we need to bend the hook. Using the very tip of your needle-nose pliers, grab the short part of the U and bend the remaining length down. This section wraps over the top of the rail and comes down along the inside.  Then fiddle with the remaining bit of the short end to bend it out slightly.  When done, the whole thing should look like this.

Repeat for the long leg of the U, only this time bending the wire up.  Trim the long leg down to about 2" so it's easier to work with.

Now, we need to test fit and make any adjustments.  You want it to clip on the rail so it doesn't fall over, but don't want it too tight that you can't pull it off afterward.

Here we see how it should clip onto the outside of the rail. The horizontal section tucks into the rail web.  To clip it to the rail, place the horizontal part against the outside web and then rotate it over until the short piece snaps over the inside of the rail.

Here's how it looks clipped onto the inside of the rail. I bent the short end inward a bit to help stabilize it a bit more.  Adjust the tension as needed.  You want to be able to grab the longer wire and pop it off the rail without distorting it.

Finally, finish the flag as appropriate for your prototype.  Some flags had straight rods and the whole thing leaned over at an angle.  Some had straight rods but the top part of the rod was bent to keep the flag level.

Here we see the new flag setup with the old one.  For the new one, I simply cut a piece of blue painters tape and attached it to the wire.

Now your magnetized workers from this thread have blue flag protection they can move around!

Craig

Works in "Large" scales, too!

Several years ago at a Live Steam meet, I needed a way to mark the charging track/bay I was using as occupied while out running.  I had some of these blue marker flags that I had picked up at the local big-box store. Here's one I did for 1/8 (1.5") scale.

The larger size makes it easier to see how the wire is bent to clip on to the rail.

The action shot!

Craig

@Craig re: Elegant!

Hi Craig,

Yours is a truly elegant, simple design -- all the best characteristics! Nicely done.

If you want a slightly more "illuminating" choice to implement Rule 26, you might seek "Barney" for help. You can find him here:  https://issuu.com/mr-hobbyist/docs/mrh12-02-feb2012-ol/78?viewMode=presentation

Have fun! 

@ Craig

Thanks for the thought!  My able to do lis just got one more item!!!  Here’s one from this summer.  I've also seen "Men at Work".  This one was referring to a winch.

Might not be too hard to do on white paper or white decal paper with blue background being the printed part.

Nick

Blue Flag Meaning

Just to be clear on what a "blue flag" is supposed to mean.

A blue flag according to Rule 26 means that a workman, a railroad mechanical employee, is working on, under or about the equipment and the equipment is not to be coupled into or moved.  It can only be removed by the class of employee that placed it.  They are used by car and locomotive department personnel, and are not used by train and engineman.  If the carman is coupling the air hoses of a cut, the track will have a blue flag, if the conductor is coupling the air hoses of the track, the track will NOT be blue flagged.

The blue flag rule has been substantially the same since the late 1800's, its older than yard limits.

Technically, an industry doesn't use a blue flag per Rule 26, because the industry does not have railroad employees, its employees are not qualified on the railroad rules. However the blue flag is so  well known and so respected that industries use it for their signage because they know the crews are trained not to couple into or enter tracks with a blue flag on them.  

Dave, When I worked for BNSF,

Thanks!

@Geoff, thanks for the kind words!  I definitely like what you did with Barney, especially the track contacts. That gives me an idea for Barney's modern replacement (his BFF, a cousin of FRED). I've never heard of the CL2 before, so I'll need to check it out.  Looks like it might also be useful for LED lighting in locos.

@Nick, now that you have all of those hopper cars pretty much done, you need more projects!  The good news is you can bend up the wire for one of these flags in about 5 minutes or less.

@Dave, thanks for the additional details on blue flags per the rules.  From my limited railfanning the last many years, I typically only see blue flags at industries, usually protecting tank cars and some covered hoppers. Since those tend to be common industries on layouts - especially smaller ones - blue flags are a great little addition.

Craig

Utility men

​Utility men are a relatively new development (last 15-20 years or so).  Since they aren't attached to a single crew all the time, them using a blue flag would be understandable.  A train crew is expected to know where its members are and be able to control the movement based on that.  Since utility men (and mechanical forces) aren't necessarily part of a crew, a crew wouldn't necessarily know when they were fouling the tracks without a blue flag.  

Isn't there also a Night rule?

(not from a RR background)  Isn't there also a Night rule?  A blue lantern to close a track?

I'm thinking of adapting this concept to a blue LED    (use a current-limiting diode for miniaturization... a 2 component circuit)  But such a device would be nowhere Near as 'beautiful' as the flag shown in the OP!

I admire the appearance of that little beauty, in all its forms!

Yes, carmen and mechanical

Yes, carmen and mechanical use blue flags and at night a small blue light that has a magnetic base they attach to the rail. The carman would also take the time to lock any switch that would lead another train or car into the track they were working on if that was possible. To the best of my knowledge a Utility Man does not use a blue flag. On NS the process is that before the "U-Man" does any work they must first attach to the crew of the train he is assisting (typically done over the radio). Then that U-Man is able to acquire a Three Step Protection from the engineer of the train so that he is able to safely work the rear or between cars. 

This would be very easy to replicate with a small LED mounted between the ties. You could simulate brake tests on trains prior to departure. Could also be used to stop another operator from adding more cars to a train that is allowed.  

Very nice

Clever design for the flag clip and a great idea. I think I’ll copy a few...

Blue Flags

There should be a blue flag on every entrance to a track.  If its a double ended track you should display blue flags at both ends.

Another blue flag looks like a shepherds crook, its a pole about 6-8 ft long with a hook on the end, and a blue flag sticking out from the pole opposite the hook.  They hook it on the engineer's window or the handrail right in front of the engineer to blue flag a train.  The engineer can't help but see it when he looks forward out the window.

Some of them have both a flag that sticks "in" and one that sticks "out", so its visible to people outside the engine and right in the engineer's field of view.

And more on the ground

Make a few extra and toss them about at your larger yards.  I see NJT leaves them lying about on the ground at the Hoboken terminal...  shortens the walk to retrieve one when needed.

Blue Flag Rules

Dave and Group,  The FRA has changed a few of the blue flag rules. Shepherds hooks are no longer used, a blue tag has to be placed on the control stand of the leading locomotive, with employee name and craft. If the blue tag is placed on the independent or automatic brake handles, nothing can be done with the air brakes until those flags are removed. In yard tracks and all mechanical tracks, Blue Flags are also accompanied by Blue Flag Derails. If a derail cannot be placed on that track, all switches have to be lined against movement onto that track and locked with a mechanical blue flag lock. Remote locomotives without cabs, and cars have to have a magnetic blue flag placed on the knuckle on the end that can be coupled into, which means generally you'll have to put a magnetic blue flag on both knuckles, this rule applies on all mechanical department tracks. On remote locomotives a blue flag tag must also be put on the remote control switch, unless it's part of a consist and not the leading locomotive. Also our blue flags that clamp onto the rail, have a provision to hang a blue light for night use. Since the blue flags that clamp onto the rail are made out of metal, a magnetic blue light can also be applied to them during night time use. As Dave pointed out earlier, train crews use 3 step protection when going in between cars and / or locomotives not blue flags and mechanical department personal use blue flags and not 3 step protection.

Blue flags

True, however for those not modeling the last 10 years or so, the shepherds crook is a easy way to add a blue flag to a train or engines.

I model 1903 and the blue flag law in place then was very much the same as a modern one (the details of type of flag and exact position much more detailed, your tax dollars at work).    Its one that has lasted through the decades.