Station sign
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The station sign - sometimes also called a station board - is a sign that names a station .
History in Germany
The marking of stations was different for the railway companies. The first standards for the execution of station signs were published in Germany in 1860 in the Prussian sample sheet Z 289 . Since then there have been repeated changes in the design and color of the signs.
Types of station signs in Germany
Until 1920
The labeling of signs in the 19th century, especially in Prussia, was based on sample sheet Z 289 . Then the station name should be seen on a 1.97 m high post on a wooden plaque. The place name was to be written in black on a white background. Often the sign was also ornate or decorated. In many cases, the station names were also attached to buildings. The antiqua script was mostly used. However, fractures were rare. The sans serif was also widespread; it is most often seen in old photographs . However, there was no uniform shape, so the signs varied from station to station. On the part of the Prussian railway administration, however, there was an attempt to standardize the signage at the latest since the beginning of the 20th century: While until then only capital letters were used, from 1904 the place name should begin with a capital letter and the rest should be written in small letters.
1920 to 1950
From 1928, the use of station signs was also provided for in the railway building and operating regulations. There it said: "At the train stations and stops serving passenger traffic, the name must be affixed in a way that will catch the travelers' eye."
The font was based on the pattern drawing IV 44 from 1906, which was mainly used for the lettering of rail vehicles of the Prussian State Railways . This was stipulated in DIN 1451 in 1931. The chairman of the DIN committee was Ludwig Goller from Siemens .
1950 to 1986
From the 1950s onwards, the Deutsche Bundesbahn first tried to create a uniform appearance for its stations. Signs with station names in capital letters date from this period and are still often to be found today.
At the Reichsbahn in the GDR , the Beutha sign factory was responsible for the production of new signs. Initially, the signs were designed with a height of 60 cm, but later reduced to 55 cm for cost reasons. The place name was burned onto the enamel signs in upper and lower case letters. Since the length of the sheet metal was limited to 1.50 m, several signs often had to be strung together for longer place names. The basis for the design of the signs was the service regulation for the information of trips DV 675 . The font was based on TGL 0-1451, which was based on DIN 1451.
1986 to the late 1990s
In connection with the introduction of the so-called product colors in 1986 , the Deutsche Bundesbahn abandoned the capital letters in order to create a contemporary, uniform appearance at the stations. The new signs were used in particular for new buildings and renovations. The station names were now written with upper and lower case letters and the signs with a distant blue (RAL 5023) border.
After the German reunification in 1990, this design was also transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and finally adopted in 1994 by the privately organized Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG). In a few cases, the old white signs with capital letters were later given a blue border.
Since the late 1990s
At the end of the 1990s, CDC Design GmbH in Frankfurt am Main created the current look , motivated by a new "customer orientation" . The station name is written in white on a blue background. This change was accompanied by a uniform affixing of the signs parallel to the platform . By mounting it near light poles, the legibility and recognizability at night has been significantly improved. The first stations in which these station signs were attached were Westerland and Aschaffenburg Hbf .
The DB Station & Service AG has created a national design for all station signs. This is defined by guideline 183 “Planning passenger stations”. There is also the implementation manual 81393 “Wayfinding and information system” .
particularities
In the settlement areas of the Sorbs and the Frisians , the station signs are multilingual.
The conflict between monument protection and aesthetics is difficult to resolve. Thus, names on buildings under preservation not be removed if current station signs are attached.
Station forecourt signs
Since around 2012 there has also been a largely uniform appearance of the signs on the station forecourts. Left-aligned, white lettering on a blue background with logography is used, which is attached to a red, free-standing, rectangular object. In particular with regard to the provision of buses for rail replacement services , these signs contain information on this.
Angled signs
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In the past, angled signs were also common on the reception building or even a few meters in front of the train station on the floor. Examples that have stood the test of time still bear witness to these special designs.
Web links
- Railway stations - Harzerode 1992. In: sites.google.com. September 6, 2007, accessed April 22, 2017 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of January 9, 1904, No. 2. Announcement No. 21, p. 22.
- ↑ Railway stations - Harzerode 1992. In: sites.google.com. September 6, 2007, accessed April 22, 2017 .
- ^ Frisian station signs: On the train to Weesterlön. In: Spiegel Online . Retrieved May 25, 2017 .