BNSF to install remote-controlled blue flag system at California yard (10/12/2005)
10/12/2025Next month, BNSF Railway Co. plans to install a remote-controlled blue flag system on three main tracks at its Barstow, Calif., yard.
Controlled from the mechanical high tower, the solar-powered system will enable crews to automatically blue-light track to warn others that employees are working on a train. Currently, crews drive from one end of a train to the other to hang a blue flag on the locomotive’s end.
The system will be similar to one BNSF recently installed at its Temple, Texas, yard.
"The new system will help crews work more efficiently in getting trains in and out of the yard," said Mel Salas, supervisor of the Barstow facility, in a prepared statement.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News