FLC OF A DC9-30 INADVERTENTLY TAXIED ACROSS THE ASSIGNED RWY DURING A PRE DAWN TAXI OUT FOR TKOF DUE TO AN UNFAMILIARITY OF THE ARPT LAYOUT AND THE LACK OF OBSERVING THE APPROPRIATE RWY SIGNS OR MARKINGS.

Narrative

RWY INCURSION TAXIING OUT FOR TKOF BEFORE DAWN AT HOU. EXPERIENCED DC9 CREW TAXIING VERY SLOWLY DUE TO UNKNOWN TAXI RTE AND UNFAMILIARITY WITH ARPT. GND CTL INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO TAXI TO RWY 12R VIA TXWY D. IT WAS DARK AND THE MORNING DEW MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE. AS THE CAPT; I HAD MY ARPT DIAGRAM ON THE YOKE CLIP AND WAS FOLLOWING IT EXACTLY AND SLOWLY AS MY COPLT WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY GETTING OUR TKOF WTS VIA ACARS AND OUR COMPANY. IN LOOKING AT THE ARPT DIAGRAM; ONE CAN SEE THAT TO GET TO THE RWY 12R VIA TXWY D; YOU MUST CROSS THE APCH END OF RWY 17 AND THAT RWY 12R AND RWY 17 MEET THERE. IN THE DARK (AND THE LIGHT) IT APPEARED THAT THERE WAS A SMALL AMOUNT OF TXWY BTWN THEM. AS WE TAXIED ACROSS RWY 17; VERY SLOWLY; I WAS LOOKING FOR THE RED RWY SIGNS FOR RWY 12R OR ANY RWY LIGHTS/TXWY LIGHTS TO TELL ME WHEN I WAS APCHING RWY 12R. THERE ARE NO LIGHTS IN THAT AREA BECAUSE THE APCH END OF RWY 12R IN THAT AREA IS A CLEARWAY OF SOME SORT. IN LOOKING FOR THE LIGHTING THAT WOULD INFORM ME I WAS NEARING THE SIDE OF THE RWY; I LOOKED TO MY L AND SAW THE RWY CTRLINE AND EDGE LIGHTS AND DETERMINED THAT I WAS ON THE CLEARWAY/RWY. WE IMMEDIATELY CONTINUED ACROSS ONTO TXWY G -- NO TFC ON FINAL -- AND INFORMED TWR. HE SAID 'NO PROB.' SUGGESTION: BETTER RWY MARKINGS OR WARNING ON CHART PAGE STATING TO USE CAUTION. I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY THERE WERE NO LIGHTS TELLING ME I WAS APCHING THE EDGE OF RWY 12R. IS IT THE FACT THAT BECAUSE THEY START IN THE SAME SPOT THERE ARE NO LIGHTS FOR RWY 12R? IF THERE WAS A SIGN; IT WAS VERY POORLY LOCATED OR CONFUSING. AS WE APCHED RWY 17 WE WERE BOTH LOOKING OUTSIDE FOR SIGNS OR LIGHTS TELLING US WE WERE APCHING RWY 17/12R. WE SAW NONE. THERE ARE NO LIGHTS IN THAT LITTLE AREA AND ONLY WHEN WE SAW THE ACTUAL RWY LIGHTS TO OUR L; IN A DISTANCE; DID WE REALIZE WE WERE ON THE RWY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT HE HAD NOT BEEN BACK TO THE ARPT SINCE HIS RPTED INCIDENT AND THEREFORE; DOES NOT KNOW OF WHAT ACTUAL SIGNS AND MARKINGS EXIST; OR MAY HAVE BEEN CHANGED. HE REITERATED THAT HE AND THE FO WERE TRYING REAL HARD TO DETERMINE THE HOLD SHORT AREA WHEN THEY NOTICED THAT THEY WERE ALREADY ON THE RWY. HE WILL BRING THIS TO THE ATTN OF HIS COMPANY IN AN EFFORT TO HELP PREVENT OTHER FLCS HAVING THE SAME PROB.