Railroad crossing sign (crossbuck)
The railroad crossing sign: two white boards crossed in an X, reading RAILROAD CROSSING. It stands where a road crosses railroad tracks, and in most states it means yield to trains.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The X is reserved for grade crossings in the MUTCD's table of sign shapes, and every road approach to a highway-rail crossing has at least one. In most states the crossbuck requires road users to yield the right-of-way to trains; Pennsylvania's manual treats it as a yield sign. It is the last sign before the tracks, after the round yellow advance warning sign.
Also searched as: crossbuck, railroad crossbuck, railroad crossing sign, railroad sign, rr crossing sign.
Rules vary by state and country. This explains the sign's standard meaning in the U.S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; it isn't legal advice.
Counting the tracks
Where there are two or more tracks, a plaque below the crossbuck gives the number. The 2009 MUTCD left it off crossings with automatic gates; the 2023 edition requires it at every crossing with more than one track. The example in Michigan's manual marks a crossing of three tracks.
Read next
- Next in Road signsCurve signA yellow diamond with a curved arrow. It warns of a curve in the road ahead, bending the way the arrow bends.
- The same shape in Greek lettersQuantum circuit gate symbols (H, X, CNOT, measurement)The symbols of a quantum circuit diagram: each horizontal line is a qubit, a box with a letter is a gate (H for Hadamard, X, Y, Z, S, T), a dot joined by a line to ⊕ is a controlled-NOT, and a box with a meter is a measurement.
More road signs
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with crosses or letters and numbers.
Sources
- MUTCD 2009 Edition, Chapter 8B: Signs and Markings (Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings), MUTCD 2009, Part 8, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 8B.03
- MUTCD 2009 Edition, Chapter 2A: General, MUTCD 2009, Part 2, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 2A.09, Table 2A-4
- Pennsylvania Driver's Manual, Chapter 2: Signals, Signs and Pavement Markings, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, p. 10
- What Every Driver Must Know, Michigan driver manual, Michigan Department of State, Chapter 5, sign 27
- MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 8: Traffic Control for Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings, MUTCD 11th edition (December 2023), Part 8, U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Section 8B.03
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 2, 2026. How we research
Added . Last updated .