Proposal talk:Railway Signals

I wonder if this is the correct way to go ahead. The railway signaling systems are so different in every country that I doubt you can mold them into one tagging scheme. I know the Belgian system myself and this scheme doesn't allow for a lot of things to be tagged... --Eimai 11:46, 28 August 2011 (BST)

Good to have someone who knows an other signaling system.

I know about this, and it is event almoast impossible to have a tagging sheme that statifys the needs of only one country. You have many variations of signals. That is why I distinglished between the category the signal has (type, e.g. main, warning signal, ...) and then the actual shape of the signal (exact_type) and the states that it can have (e.g. stop, drive slower, ...).

But I agree that this is not everything that can/should be collected for signals, and there is also the case missing where you can have multiple signals at one point, which could just be done by allowing multiple values. --Michael2402 09:10, 29 August 2011 (BST)

signal direction

How do you define in which direction the signal is placed? I don't see any method to define whether a signal node would apply for going from A to B or from B to A. Almost all railway tracks here can be driven in both directions, and even signals that would by default be placed on the left can be placed on the right in some cases (and in other cases the signals are on the right by default...) --Eimai 11:46, 28 August 2011 (BST)

It could be possible to add the direction to the relation as role of the track, relative to the track it is placed for. --Michael2402 09:10, 29 August 2011 (BST)

Wording

I'd change some wording for signal. And I prefer to use namespace. Change signal_type to signal:purpose (purpose is a clearer word than type here), form to signal:form. Maybe put every form of a signal to its own tag? signal:form:light, signal:form:sign, signal:form:semaphore = yes/no. This is useful for combined signal form on the same pole. --Surly 11:52, 30 August 2011 (BST)

Thanks for that. Yes, multiple signals at one point are a problem, and solving it with different namespaces might eb a sollution. --Michael2402 10:41, 31 August 2011 (BST)

Lights

A list of lamp may be useful. Let's use the letters in the top--bottom order for the colors: R=red, Y=yellow, W=white, G=green, O=orange, B=blue, V=violet, M=magenta; ? for unrecognized color of a signal. -=the same row, | delimits columns.

signal:lights=GRGWG for this Swedish signal.

signal:lights=YR-G for this Finnish signal.

signal:light=?Y-RW for this Japanese signal.

signal:light=R?GRY|YY for this French signal.

I think it's better to get a list for which aspects can be shown on the signal (although this has to be defined in each country separately). Seeing a specific light in a signal doesn't mean that it can actually light up (there are several signals for example which can only show a red aspect but used to be able to show other aspects, but they didn't remove all the other lights). --Eimai 15:22, 30 August 2011 (BST)

(although this has to be defined in each country separately)
Not only it is different in each country, but a user of the map must know how each aspect is constructed. When I can match the lights in nature with the lights on the map, I can match the place on the map with the place in nature. So I get a reference point. But when I see the aspect on the map and can not realize how it must appear in nature, I have no reference point.
So aspects can help for routing or special maps and can not help for orienteering. --Surly 15:06, 1 September 2011 (BST)

Surely any renderer would take care of translating aspects (combined with all the other tags) to the way the signal actually looks. From the railway point of view tagging which lights are on the signal is pretty meaningless. --Eimai 21:42, 1 September 2011 (BST)

I want to give the possibility for any people (not only for railway professionals) to read the tag value (without a renderer) and match the OSM map with the signal before the person in nature. If one knows that the path he needs is located near a signal looking in such manner, then he can find that place on a map using simple tag system, without any professional terms.

I agree, because in Germany, many signals have up to 6 white lights, that all have different meanings. There are also often several lights in one row. -- Michael2402 10:43, 31 August 2011 (BST)

Mark this Proposal as Obsoleted

I suggest to mark this proposal as obsoletet. It has been replaced by the OpenRailwayMap tagging scheme which is much more in use. Do you agree? --Nakaner (talk) 16:27, 12 October 2015 (UTC)