US-6 or US-6???

[thenetwork]

One of the more odd phenomenons I have seen across this great land of ours is the US-6 shield.

In all the states I have traveled on it, I have seen two versions of the numeral (apologies that I don't have the font names & sizes memorized) with almost as many in this format:



or as I call it the "Skinny 6"

As there is in this format:



or as I call it the "Fat 6"

Which version do you prefer, and is there a state where it's primarily one or the other?  I actually like the Fat 6 myself. 

And since I never spent much time on the east coast, does this happen a lot along the US-9 corridor too (skinny vs. fat 9)?



EDIT: Used another image for the "Skinny 6", even though previous Angelfire image worked in Firefox.

[SignGeek101]

Well, the first one says "Image hosted by Angelfire", the second one is in series F. Notice the top of the six kind of bends downwards near the top.

I personally like Series D. There is a reason F is not used on much anymore.

[hbelkins]

I've seen quite a few of your second example in Pennsylvania.

[KEVIN_224]

I prefer the first one. At least you guys don't have the error "6" shields like we do on I-84 in West Hartford. Conn-DOT got lazy and turned some state route 9 shields upside down. CT doesn't have a state route 6. We do have CT Route 9 which starts a couple of miles to the west in Farmington though.

Although it's been corrected since, I seem to remember a Rhode Island "6" shield in the past on US Route 6 in Foster.

[Mapmikey]

I've seen mostly skinny 9's but am aware of at least one fat 9:



Mapmikey

[Zeffy]

I don't remember where, but I thought New Hampshire also had some "fat" digits (series E I believe, which is much better looking than F) in their US 3 or US 4 shields. Also, while not US Highways, New York's old state highway shields used Series F until they started switching over to D, which they currently use.

EDIT: Rhode Island also has (or had) a version of the fat US 6 shield:
www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=RI19600062

I've seen mostly skinny 9's but am aware of at least one fat 9:

<image snipped>

Mapmikey

That sign still lives, which I guess is due in part to the fact that most motorists only care about the number, not the type of shield used.

[Big John]

A white interstate shield instead of a US shield and undersized lower-case letters?

edit: saw Zeffy addressed this too.

[Scott5114]

Here, have as much six as you want.

[nexus73]

Series E is the easiest one for me to see if I was driving.  I wonder if we could have a poll to see which series is perceived the best by our site's members?

Rick

[hbelkins]

My personal preference is Series D.

I have trouble identifying the different series just by looking at them.

[hotdogPi]

Here, have as much six as you want.

That's seven.

[PHLBOS]

Here, have as much six as you want.

I wonder if we could have a poll to see which series is perceived the best by our site's members?

My vote & preference would be Series D (3rd from left).

[hobsini2]

My preference is C but I am ok with all of them except B and F.

[Road Hog]

For single digits, Series F is fine. White space is almost as distracting as the numeral.

[cjk374]

Series B is what Louisiana uses to put 3 digits in a 2 digit shield.  But for a single digit, I like C or D.

[SignGeek101]

Here, have as much six as you want.

I prefer Series D on all shields, but don't mind C for 3DI's or E for 1DI's.

Quebec uses EM on its autoroute shields, which I don't like.

[ctsignguy]

How about this combination?

[froggie]

Series D is my preference.  I can accept Series C in cases where D would be too wide for the shield (i.e. a 3-digit route on a 2-digit-sized shield).  F looks hideous, B is too skinny, and D-Modified is too thick.

[c172]

I like D. It just looks good against the white shield. The E's and F just look too thick, and very old. I also don't really like A. Too thin (don't they use that on IA state markers)?

On a somewhat unrelated note, when I went to college in VT from '93-'97, I used Bradley Field in CT to fly out of. On I-91, I remember overhead markers (gantries?) had state and US highway markers were just white outlines with white numbers, filled in green, like the whole sign itself. I kind of liked that. You knew you were in CT.

[cjk374]

B is too skinny

I don't think that B is too skinny for a '61 spec shield, but that's just me.

[pianocello]

I also don't really like A. Too thin (don't they use that on IA state markers)?

Iowa uses D for 1 digit, C for 2 digits, and B for 3 digits, which makes it possible to fit everything in a square shield no matter the route number. Since I grew up seeing D for US 6 everywhere (incidentally, that first picture is about 5 miles away from my house), it's my personal preference

[Mergingtraffic]

I like this 6....a perfect shield except for the arrow below.  The arrow isn't bad, just not perfect.

[/url]New US-6 shield on MA-18 NB in New Bedford, MA. Check out that new reflective sheeting! by mergingtraffic, on Flickr

[vtk]

I certainly don't mind Series E or F for single digit routes.

[freebrickproductions]

What would Series A look like for one of these shields? And the various versions of Clearview?

[SignGeek101]

What would Series A look like for one of these shields? And the various versions of Clearview?

Here's the Clearview:

The 'B' variant (except for 1B, which is missing from my computer)



The 'W' variant (supposed to be for positive contrast, but is used in negative contrast where I live):



Pardon my lack of skill in being able to centre the numbers.