Tall Vintage New York Subway Destination Roll Signs Framed as Art in a Home Office

Subway Sign Art for the Tall Space — What are Rollsigns Anyway? (part 2)

(part one of this story is located here)

Route letter (left) and destination (right) rollsigns atop NYC subway car

What exactly is a rollsign? Think of a rollsign as a flexible roll of printed material that went atop a train or bus, usually in the front, to display the destination or route of the vehicle. They also can be placed to the sides of the car.

From the early 1900's to the late 1900's, the most common type of destination sign was the rollsign (also known as a bus blind, curtain sign, destination blind, or tram scroll). A Rollsign is a roll of flexible material with pre-printed route number/letter and destinations (or route name), which is turned by the vehicle operator at the end of the route when reversing direction, either by a hand crank or by holding a switch if the sign mechanism is motorized (late 1900's).

Route Letter sign made of linen attached to the turning or scrolling mechanism. This would be atop the front left of a subway trains first car.

These Rollsigns were usually made of linen until Mylar (a type of PET film) became the most common material used for them, in the 1960s/70s. They can also be made of other material, such as Tyvek.

Destination sign made of mylar attached to the turning or scrolling mechanism. This would be to the sides of a subway trains cars.

The roll is attached to metal tubes at the top and bottom, and flanges at the ends of the tubes are inserted into a mechanism which controls the rolling of the sign or blind. The upper and lower rollers are positioned sufficiently far apart to permit a complete “reading” (a destination or route name) to be displayed, and a strip light is fitted behind the blind, so as to illuminate it at night.

Two Destination rollsigns and a route letter rollsign, both Mylar, on the side of a Redbird NYC subway car.

When the display needs to be changed, the driver/operator/conductor simply turns a handle/crank — or holds a switch if the sign mechanism is motorized — which engages one roller to gather up the blind and disengages the other, until the desired blind display is found. A small viewing window in the back of the signbox (the compartment housing the sign mechanism) permits the driver to see an indication of what display is being shown on the vehicle’s exterior.

Two Destination rollsigns and a route letter rollsign, both linen, on the side of a NYC subway museum car.

to be continued shortly …