My name is Tanner Abernathy, and I am the owner of Asheville District Reproduction Signs, the first Southern Railway aluminum sign reproduction shop. My interest in Southern Railway signs has existed for some time, but restorations weren’t really a thought at the beginning. As my collection grew, I started to obtain some signs that were more and more worn, some to the point that only a slight outline of the letters or numbers remained. My first personal sign restoration took place in April of 2021 and involved the full restoration of an original Southern Railway stop sign. The original sign was faded to white, so I figured it would be the best sign to make a first attempt with. This opened a whole new realm of the hobby for me and started my interest in the restoration of well-worn Southern signs back to their original standards.
Following the stop sign, I began to restore various other signs I owned that were worn down to bare metal. This included a clearance post, a whistle post, a maintenance limit sign, a station 1 mile sign, and even a couple of station signs. While the restoration process was rewarding and interesting in its own right, I slowly inched towards finally creating full reproductions. After locating a reliable metal shop, I created my first reproduction milepost using the 1981 standards book as a reference. The sign came out perfectly and led to the eventual creation of Asheville District Reproduction Signs. This allowed anyone to easily purchase a 1:1 scale perfect reproduction of Southern Railway signage. As costs and production times are finalized, more and more signs will be added to the shop over time. With this in mind, be sure to check back often and see what new releases may have occurred!
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