Air carrier flight crew reports inadvertently crossing the hold line for runway 35L at hrl due to it...

Narrative:

Pushed back onto taxiway 'a' at hrl. Completed the after start checklist and before takeoff checklist down to the line prior to commencing taxi. Conditions were cavu; however; the lighting was poor. We were given clearance to taxi to rw 35L via taxiway 'a' and hold short of the runway. I (first officer) had never been to harlingen; so; I was unfamiliar somewhat other than the standard airfield study/prep. As we approached the runway; yet still pretty far from runway 35L; I noticed what appeared to be hold short markings and brought it to the captain's attention. He began to brake as soon as I said it; but the aircraft ended up approximately 20 ft past the hold short marking. The aircraft was still well clear of the runway and there was no conflict with any other traffic. Ground did not contact us on the matter. The hold short is in an unusual location and there is no depiction on the airfield diagram and there are no notes 'spelling this out.' recommend both a note and notation on the airfield diagram. Lighting is also poor (which makes this even more of a hazard).

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew reports inadvertently crossing the hold line for Runway 35L at HRL due to its great distance from the runway.

Narrative: Pushed back onto Taxiway 'A' at HRL. Completed the After Start checklist and Before Takeoff checklist down to the line prior to commencing taxi. Conditions were CAVU; however; the lighting was poor. We were given clearance to taxi to RW 35L via taxiway 'A' and hold short of the runway. I (First Officer) had never been to Harlingen; so; I was unfamiliar somewhat other than the standard airfield study/prep. As we approached the runway; yet still pretty far from Runway 35L; I noticed what appeared to be hold short markings and brought it to the Captain's attention. He began to brake as soon as I said it; but the aircraft ended up approximately 20 FT past the hold short marking. The aircraft was still well clear of the runway and there was no conflict with any other traffic. Ground did not contact us on the matter. The hold short is in an unusual location and there is no depiction on the airfield diagram and there are no notes 'spelling this out.' Recommend both a note and notation on the airfield diagram. Lighting is also poor (which makes this even more of a hazard).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1122639
Time
Date	201310
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	HRL.Airport
State Reference	TX
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	DC-10 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Incursion Runway

Air carrier flight crew reports inadvertently crossing the hold line for runway 35L at hrl due to its great distance from the runway.