I have a Lionel C-420 model and have a question about lighting. On both sides of the headlight are three smaller lights. Lionel makes those on the immediate right and left yellow and the two beyond these white on both sides. I have a suspiciion that these lights may have been for classification and may have been green/red, but can’t find confirmation. Anyone in the know? I’ve posted this question to other forums with no answer. This is my last try.
The 3 lights are each side of the headlights are classifications lights. I cannot think of anything else they would be.
Here is a link showing one side of a C-420. If you look you can see one set of classification lights.
http://www.grahamstrains.com/18592_1492.html
Here is another link from Railpictures showing several different locos and the classification lights.
http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?locomotive=Alco%20C420
Here is one more link showing the classification lights real well.
Thanks , Jim, for all the research. I just wish I could see the color of those lights more clearly. I’m a fanatic about detail.
The last link contained many pages. Scroll those those pic and find one to enlarge. Just click on one to enlarge it. That should be all you need.
We had these lights on our C636, M636C and M636 locomotives. The lenses were red, blue and white from the centre to outside. The blue lens showed up as green with the yellow lamp behind it. They were classification lights. In Australia we only ever used the red and white lights but the blue/green lamp came as part of the package.
Peter
The green lights were vrey seldom used as most trains ran as extras and the green lights meant a second section of a scheduled train was following the first train. This is also the reason that classification lights have gone the way of the caboose.
Rick