CAPT OF AN MLG INADVERTENTLY TAXIED BEYOND RWY HOLD SHORT LINE DUE TO FADED AND OBSCURED ARPT RWY SIGNS.

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WHILE TAXIING OUT TO RWY 33L FOR TKOF; GND CTL SUDDENLY ASKED IF WE WERE TAXIING TO RWY 33L. FO REPLIED 'YES.' GND SAID THAT WE WERE ON RWY 33L AND TO CONTACT TWR. I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE APCHING RWY 33L BUT NOT YET ON IT. RWY 33L PAVEMENT IS MUCH BLACKER THAN TXWY AND THE GLARE WAS STILL OUT IN FRONT OF US. I THOUGHT BACK TO TAXI OUT; AND DO NOT REMEMBER SEEING A RED RWY 33L SIGN IN GRASS. I SAW A BLACK AND GOLD SIGN IN GRASS BUT DID NOT RECOGNIZE IT AS THE TYPE OF SIGN ASSOCIATED WITH A HOLD LINE. THOSE ARE RED. ONCE IN POS I COULD SEE OFF TO MY L A FADED; OLD; HOLD SHORT LINE SET UNUSUALLY FAR BACK FROM RWY 33L. DEP END OF RWY 33L COINCIDES WITH DEP END OF RWY 28 ABOUT 1/4 THE WAY DOWN RWY 28. SIGNS HAVE NUMEROUS ARROWS GOING EVERY WHICH WAY. I HAVE NEVER USED RWY 33L BEFORE -- ONLY RWY 6/24. THAT PARTICULAR INTXN IS MADE UP OF NOT ONLY RWY 33L AND RWY 28 BUT ALSO TXWY E AND TXWY S. DURING TAXI OUT AT THIS UNFAMILIAR AND CONFUSING ARPT WE WERE STARTING AN ENG AND RUNNING THE BEFORE TKOF CHKLIST. I WAS TAXIING VERY SLOWLY; HESITATED AT INTXN OF RAMP AND TXWY E; TURNED ON TXWY E; NEVER SAW THE HOLD SHORT LINE OR A RED RWY 33L SIGN; BUT DID SEE THE PAVEMENT FOR RWY 33L (COLOR CHANGE) UP AHEAD. WE WOULD NOT; DID NOT; ACTUALLY PLACE AIRPLANE ON PAVEMENT OF RWY 33L. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT SHE WAS NOT SURE WHETHER THE HOLD SHORT LINES WERE REALLY FADED SINCE SHE WAS LOOKING BACK AT THEM AT A DISTANCE AND SHE WAS GOING BY WHAT HER FO HAD SAID. SHE WAS VERY UNFAMILIAR WITH THE ARPT SINCE IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE SHE HAD LANDED AT THAT ARPT. SHE WAS IN A FK100 TYPE ACFT. SHE FURTHER STATED THAT SHE WAS NOT ON THE RWY ITSELF EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD PASSED THE HOLD SHORT LINE. HOWEVER; SHE ADDED THAT THE TWR WAS LEGALLY CORRECT IN STATING THAT SHE WAS ON THE RWY.