Facing and trailing

Turnouts facing and trailing. Note that this diagram is for left-hand traffic; for right-hand traffic, "F" and "T" would be swapped.

Facing or trailing are railway turnouts (or 'points' in the UK) in respect to whether they are divergent or convergent. When a train traverses a turnout in a facing direction, it may diverge onto either of the two routes. When travelled in a trailing direction, the two routes converge onto each other.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ "Figure 2.12. Facing- and Trailing-Point Movements". Integrated Publishing. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "facing-point switch". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Adams, Braman Blanchard; Hitt, Rodney (1908). The Railroad Signal Dictionary. The Railway Gazette for Railway Signal Association. p. 12 – via Internet Archive.