Re: Daytime signals

No flags were ever issued to any crew to give signals.
The usual routine was to spread the crew out (remember there were either 3 or 4 trainmen per train) alond the train and the signals would be passed from one to another. It sounds crude, but it worked quite well.
If somebody wanted to pass signals for an unusually long distance, you extended your arm by usint a piece of paper, long stick of wood, etc., so that your signals could be seen for a greater distance. Before the common use of hand-held radios, I have used old surveyors sticks (the orange on the end made them REALLY easy to see) large pieces of cardboard, plastic sacks, and timetables
Bye the way, Modern railroads use railroad-specific FM freqencies, not CB or any other common radios.
Rick Steele