Another project that wanted to get into was making PRR design signals. I did some research on the web and found this sight. http://www.railroadsignals.us/signals/pl/pl.htm
The design specs on the signals were just what I needed to start building. I used , masonite for the bases; 9/16 inch wood dowel for the poles for rigidity (painted nickel to mimic weathered aluminum); ΒΌ inch grid screen for the ladders; Hobby Lobby wood discs that were just a little less than 1 inch in diameter for the faces. I tried to drill holes in the discs that were properly aligned but even with a template it was quite difficult to do. Then I glued bright yellow paper on the back of the disc. It looked pretty good from a far, but the faces were just a little bit too small and the yellow did not stand very well. Eventually I settled on a different method. I used the drawing feature on the computer and made close to one inch circles, filled black. Then I was able to make very small circles for the lights filled in yellow and dragged them to precise locations on the black circles. I did the same for the lower signal arms and cut them out. The paper was quite thin and was white on the back. I had some 3M spray adhesive that I sprayed on black hobby stiff paper and placed the print out on the black paper. I cut each signal (32 round, 32 arms!!!) then glued the round on the discs for the upper signals and skinny stick pieces painted black for the lower arms. I know that the actual signal displayed are in most cases not appropriate and would result in havoc in the real rail world but I can tolerate the fiction. Here are some pics.
