marker /hand flags

[Kevin Kierstead]

I'm looking for info on the flags used by the railway.
What are the dimensions and what size staff are they on.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Hi Kevin,

There is no exact dimensions or sizes for our flags. We make them and use them up as needed.

Rough dimensions are about 12"x12" flags on an 18" staff.

[Kevin Kierstead]

Are the staffs 3/4" or 1" round?

[Ed Lecuyer]

1" with a taper to about 3/4" on the bottom.
(Again, this varies from flag to flag.)

[Bob Holmes]

Just to put this in some practical perspective:

At the end of FWW, Ed Lecuyer found an old green tablecloth in the shop rag bin.  We needed some more green flags, so we cut it up into about 15 x 18 pieces (whatever the tablecloth would let us do).  We found some dowel -- not at all sure what diameter it was.

Steve P rounded down the ends of about 24" length pieces of dowel.  Several of us stapled the scrap green pieces to the dowels.  We made six of them.  They are now positioned in several places that needed green flag.  They probably have a pretty short half-life.  Just another example of WW&F ingenuity.

The problem with flags is that no matter how well they are made, they turn black if not laundered occasionally.  We have some beautifully stitched flags, that are unrecognizable as to color from a distance.

Just another challenge in recreating a historically accurate railroad.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Yes. This came as a frustrating experience at FWW when the dispatcher (me) needed some green flags to indicate a second section - and found none! We ended up using a green bag in which there should have been some green flags.

So on Monday when there wasn't much going on, we made some flags as Bob described. I'm not sure if Bob or I have the dimensions exact - we just made a few and distributed them.

And I suspect that the original WW&F would have probably done the exact same thing.

[Benjamin Richards]

And I suspect that the original WW&F would have probably done the exact same thing.

Well, the WW&F just got an upgrade.

This fabric has been languishing in my basement for some time. Finally got around to sewing...and busted the sewing machine after 3 flags. Thanks to my aunt for finishing off the rest. (3 additional blue flags already in service, not shown.)

[Graham Buxton]

Well, the WW&F just got an upgrade.

This fabric has been languishing in my basement for some time. Finally got around to sewing ...

Nice Flags!

...and busted the sewing machine after 3 flags.

Ouch!  That must be some tough durable fabric!     Hopefully just a broken needle.

Thanks to my aunt for finishing off the rest.

I'll bet that the WW&F Trainmaster could be persuaded  to offer her a free train ride for her efforts. 

[Benjamin Richards]

Ouch!  That must be some tough durable fabric!     Hopefully just a broken needle.

I wish it was just a broken needle. The machine is actually quite suited to the task, when it works. I had it serviced once already, but the adjustment didn't last long. I think it's plain worn out.

As for the fabric, it's either duck cloth (white, yellow) or an outdoor polypropylene (blue, red). No rhyme or reason for one over the other, it's just what was in stock.

I have had a pair each of the red, in both duck and poly, in service since last April, as a sort of experiment to see if one is more durable/fade-resistant/easier to clean than the other.