A TAXIING DC10 FREIGHTER TURNS ONTO THE WRONG TXWY AND GETS TRAPPED INTO HAVING TO EXIT RWY 27 AT THE OVERRUN FOR A RE-ENTRY TO RWY 9. COMPLAINS OF LIGHTING AND MARKINGS BEING INADEQUATE.

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WE WERE CLRED TO TAXI FROM THE CARGO RAMP VIA TXWYS K; W; S; HOLD SHORT OF RWY 4L. AFTER BEING CLRED ACROSS RWY 4L; THE CAPT FAILED TO SEE THE SLIGHT R TURN ONTO TXWY S AND CONTINUED STRAIGHT AHEAD ON TXWY W. AT THAT POINT THE GND CTLR ADVISED US TO MAKE A R TURN ON TXWY W WHICH DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. WE WERE THEN CLRED TO CONTINUE STRAIGHT AHEAD ON TXWY W; TURN R ON RWY 27 AND DO A 180 DEG TURN AT THE END FOR DEP ON RWY 9. ONCE WE GOT TO THE END OF RWY 27 WE FOUND WE WERE UNABLE TO TURN AROUND BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH ROOM; PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE POOR TXWY LIGHTS AND MARKINGS. AT THIS POINT OUR NOSE IS PROTRUDING INTO THE OVERRUN. NOW BEING UNABLE TO MAKE A SAFE TURN L OR R; WE DECIDE THE MOST PRUDENT THING TO DO IS TO TAXI INTO THE OVERRUN; WHICH IS MUCH WIDER TO DO OUR 180 DEG TURN. GND NOW RECOGNIZES THIS AND ADVISES US OF OUR POS; THEN TELLS US TO CONTINUE STRAIGHT AHEAD ON THE OVERRUN; TURN L ON TXWY B THEN TXWY V BACK TO RWY 9; WHICH WE DO. THERE ARE NO MARKINGS ON THE ARPT DIAGRAM TO INDICATE THE TYPE OF OVERRUNS ON EITHER RWY 9/27; OR RWY 4L. IT WAS NOT UNTIL AFTER WE WERE IN THE OVERRUN THAT WE COULD SEE THE MARKINGS; WHICH ARE CHEVRONS; WHICH MEAN NOT AUTH FOR USE. AS A CREW WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE VIGILANT OF OUR POS WHEN TAXIING; BUT I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT THE TXWY LIGHTING AND MARKINGS AT BOS ARPT; PARTICULARLY IN THAT AREA; ARE POORLY MARKED AND POORLY LIT. TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION THE CTRLINES OF THE TXWYS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE AT TIMES; AND TXWY EDGES ARE POORLY MARKED. ALTHOUGH THAT'S NO EXCUSE FOR OUR ERROR; I DO FEEL THAT IMPROVEMENTS SHOULD BE MADE.