These quite ancient shield assemblies are on two different Cracker Barrel restaurants in Maryland and York, PA; that particular chain often ends up with various old non-highway signs in its restaurants, but I guess when these restaurants opened, they each happened to snag a particular batch that had Tennessee highway signs in them. Inspired by that, I got my hands on one of my own for TN 8. Many states used octagons or small shields with R or L in them (or even S) to indicate turns, while apparently TN went with a single rectangle.

Clearly from the same Cracker Barrel batch, just over the line in PA.


Bubble shields (stretched from a narrower one instead of following specs) tend to show up on milepost markers in many states. Like other examples I've seen (not pointing fingers, but try Ohio), they tend to be interspersed with correct shields.


Dayton Pike NB in Soddy-Daisy, old US 27 but clearly not state-maintained anymore based on this sign.


While we're on signs that are just wrong, Washington St. heading east into Tullahoma approaches its underpass of TN 269 and a parallel railroad. If only TDOT could reach down from there and pluck this out.


US 78 entering Memphis, from the Dept. of Redundancy Dept.


A non-standard historical sign along TN 255 WB as it heads toward US 31.


Here's the correct style, on US 129 SB at Louisville Rd. in Alcoa.


Some more historical markers not on highways: Commerce St. WB in Sevierville, Academy St. and then Roberts St. in Murfreesboro.


Traffic signals are like signs, just signs that change periodically and are brightly lit without word messages. They even have the word "sign" in them! So I'll keep this guy here. The left turn faces Bruce St. EB at Court St. in Sevierville, so the first photo is SB.

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