Line for sighting?

Question

On the police radio, I got trains. I hear that 'the switch is line for signting' What does that mean?

( I know what switch they are talking about, and its not a switch to go somwhere else, its just a switch to go on a by pass track, so another train can go the other way)

So does line for sighting mean a trains going into the by pass or going through it..

Answer 1

I think it indeed must be "Lined for siding." On the railroad I work for, if a siding switch is thrown for the siding, this info must be announced on the radio. This is to inform the entire train crew so that everyone is on the same page - so to speak. This is especially important at night when working in the dark. The time mainline switches are thrown is also recorded on a paper form, as well as the time it was restored to its normal mainline position. On many railroads, the switch location and time must also be transmitted by radio to the dispatcher.

Answer 2

Yeah, lined for the siding makes more sense. If it's lined for the straight path, they'll say it's lined for the main.

Here are some other useful switch terms. If a switch is "closed" it means it's lined for the straight path. If it's "thrown" it's lined for the divergent path. If the train is "facing point" it means they're going to traverse the switch from the points to the frog. "Trailing point" is the opposite. If they trail point and the switch is lined the wrong way, they'll split it. If they're facing point and the mechanisms are faulty, they could pick it and derail.