# Facing and trailing

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{{Short description|Orientations of railway turnouts}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Turnouts Facing & Trailing.jpg|thumb|Turnouts facing and trailing. Note that this diagram is for [left-hand traffic](/source/left-hand_traffic); for right-hand traffic, "F" and "T" would be swapped.]]

'''Facing''' or '''trailing''' are railway [turnout](/source/railroad_switch)s (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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://armytransportation.tpub.com/Tr06711/Figure-2-12-Facing-And-Trailing-Point-Movements-45.htm |title=Figure 2.12. Facing- and Trailing-Point Movements |publisher=Integrated Publishing| accessdate=June 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facing-point%20switch| title=facing-point switch |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/railroadsignald01assogoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/railroadsignald01assogoog/page/n27 12] |via=Internet Archive |title=The Railroad Signal Dictionary |first1=Braman Blanchard |last1=Adams |first2=Rodney |last2=Hitt |publisher=The Railway Gazette for Railway Signal Association |date=1908 }}</ref>

== Diamond crossings ==
Fixed [diamond crossing](/source/diamond_crossing)s (with no moving parts) count as trailing points in both directions, although in very exceptional circumstances such as propelling a train in reverse over fine angle diamond crossings they can derail wagons as they bunch up.

[Switched diamond](/source/Switched_diamond)s, which contain two stub turnouts in disguise, count as facing turnouts in both directions and are also known as moveable angles (UK).

== Moveable crossings ==
Fixed V-crossings are trailable in both directions.  Moveable crossings are effectively facing in both directions and must be correctly aligned.

== Stub switches ==
Stub switches are effectively facing in both directions and must be correctly aligned.

== Double junctions ==
[Double junction](/source/Double_junction)s are now configurable in a number of different ways, whereby the number of facing and trailing turnouts vary.

== Goods siding ==
The goods siding on a double line (in the above diagram) uses two trailing points and a diamond.  It can be shunted by trains in either direction.

This was widely done in [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), though later on the diamond crossing was replaced with a pair of ladder crossovers; such as:
* [Bredalabane](/source/Breadalbane%2C_New_South_Wales) (S)
* [Jerrawa](/source/Jerrawa_railway_station) (S)
* [Woy Woy](/source/Woy_Woy_railway_station) (N)
* [Newbridge](/source/Newbridge%2C_New_South_Wales) (W)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Railway track layouts}}

Category:Rail junction types

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Facing and trailing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facing_and_trailing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facing_and_trailing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.