Why are ditch lights (on the front end of locomotives or MU cabs) called by that name? What is their purpose? How do those lights help the engineer?
Don’t know if I’m correct but as far as I know, they were first used in Canada. I guess the Canadians named them ditchlights, account their propensity for brightening up the sides of the right-of-way but that is my speculation.
They make trains more visible to the motoring public and to pedestrians and I personally believe they help in lowering car-train mishaps, that and the many more crossings that have flashers and gates along our mainlines than what used to be.
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific both began using them in the 1950s out in western Canada. They were installed at an angle to illuminate the ROW further around corners, giving the engineer more time to react to landslides or other obstructions on the tracks or beside them in mountainous areas.
CN and BC Rail experimented with ditch lights in the 1960’s, but it wasn’t until the late 1970’s that they became standard out west on CN and CP.
Ditch lights are angled in such a way to illuminate the ditches and light up more of the ROW. BC Rail also put “Cornering” lights on their locomotives and RDC’s, the cornering lights shine around corners. They make the locomotive look cross-eyed.
Despite calling them Ditchlights they are Auxiliary headlights in USA.
The Auxilliary headlights in USA are aimed at same angle and straight ahead of locomotive.
Ditch lights are used in Canada and are crosseyed aimed so left light shines in right hand ditch, and right side light is aimed at left ditch, this was done to see rock slides in mountenace regions
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=149918
on picture link you can see both on a canadian locomotive, the ditch lights are upper set and Auxiliary lights are lower set.
On American locomotives the lights are not aimed like the ditchlights.
Just to point out something about that photo, if you look at the lower “auxilary” lights, you can see that they are also crosseyed (not as much so), but they don’t point directly ahead.
Correct but this a Canadian locomotive not a US locomotive.
Locomotives used in Interchange have Auxiliary lights straight as per FRA rules.
TITLE 49–TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER II–FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION
PART 229_RAILROAD LOCOMOTIVE SAFETY STANDARDS–Table of Contents
Subpart C_Safety Requirements
Sec. 229.125 Headlights and auxiliary lights.
(a) Each lead locomotive used in road service shall have a headlight
that produces a peak intensity of at least 200,000 candela. If a
locomotive or locomotive consist in road service is regularly required
to run backward for any portion of its trip other than to pick up a
detached portion of its train or to make terminal movements, it shall
also have on its rear a headlight that produces at least 200,000
candela. Each headlight shall be arranged to illuminate a person at
least 800 feet ahead and in front of the headlight. For purposes of this
section, a headlight shall be comprised of either one or two lamps.
(1) If a locomotive is equipped with a single-lamp headlight, the
single lamp shall produce a peak intensity of at least 200,000 candela.
The following lamps meet the standard set forth in this paragraph
(a)(1): a single operative PAR-56, 200-watt, 30-volt lamp; or an
operative lamp of equivalent design and intensity.
(2) If a locomotive
This is correct, there are turned, or angled down and out. I’m not sure of the degree of angle.
Where the headlight illuminates way out to the front the ditchlights shine closer in to the front and side of the unit.
…Ditch lights or {auxilary lights}, seem to be of help to the public {in my opinion} in identifying an oncoming train at a highway crossing…Especially the set up of blinking lights…
Seeing that “traingle” of lights coming at one seems to imply importance to take note of and the importance of an oncoming train.
Here is the BC Rail application. Note how the headlights/ditchlights/cornoring lights are in relation to each other. Very impressive to see a BCR unit with all those lights.
I read somewhere that it is easier for people to judge that the approaching triangle of lights are a) moving toward them and B) how close it really is, helping to reduce accidents. People would just see the one light, particularly at dusk or dawn, and think that either it was still far away or not moving. Drivers are used to seeing 2 lights on cars and this may be a trigger for them to stop at a crossing when they are distracted. They are, after all, “trained” to stop at road intersections if they see cars, with or without stop signs.
Back in the days before ditch lights, I seem to recall that the train’s headlight rotated in an eliptical fashion, sweeping from side to side. I get the impression that this doesn’t happen any more.
My thanks to all who responded to my query.
I posted this question after observing the lower quadrant lights (aka ditch or auxillary lights) on NJ Transit commuter trains that operate on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. The lights seem to point straight ahead and not to the side. There is a drainage ditch along the four-track ROW, and if ditch lights were to illuminate that drainage ditch, or even the area to either side of the track, I wondered why.
For this line at least, I wondered what benefit ditch lights provided the engineer. My guess is that they provide little benefit. They may help the engineer note track conditions.
There are no grade crossings along the 58 mile route between Penn Station, NYC, and Trenton, NJ, and so there are no motorists crossing the tracks where ditch lights might help distinguish an approaching train from some other source. (In fact, to my knowledge, there are no grade crossings anywhere along the entire 457 mile NE Corridor between Boston and Washington, DC.)
I can appreciate where ditch lights would indeed have a major benefit in regions prone to washouts and landslides, although I truly wonder about their benefit at ungated grade crossings. Engineers could shoot fireworks out of the cab and still drivers would claim they didn’t see the train approaching. To my thinking, using ditch lights to warn motorists is about as useful and effective as a third brake light on automobiles, a so-called innovation which finally has fallen into disuse.
Decades ago, Santa Fe had their locomotives equipped with an extra headlight which rotated at an off angle through 360 degrees. That c
This was a railway specific feature, not a requirement as I believe the ditch lights are.
and thus, the shadow in front of the locomotive is illuminated, defeating any need for noselights. uh… aside from shinign through fog. either way, BNSF is bugging me (BN units should not have lowered headlights! BAD!)
…A few comments re: RJ’s comments on ditch lights…Comparing the ditch lights as non effective and indicating they are about as useful as the 3rd stop lights that have fallen in disuse on automobiles…etc…
I believe the 3rd stop light is still very much in use and in a variety of situations it might be the only stop light one sees up ahead in a traffic lane. It certainly is built into all new cars and light trucks that I’m familiar with…And must be in working order on vehicles that have them. Still very much in use.
I have mentioned previously, to me, and I believe to a great many other motorists the “triangle of lights” on the locomotive front does make it more noticeable of the moving train approaching. I suppose it’s true a certain number of folks won’t stop if the train is just 100’ approaching the crossing…but lets warn the folks that will.
The rotating lights you mention of former Sante Fe units did provide an attention getting display of light that people almost had to take notice…Believe they were called Marrs lights {Not sure of spelling}, and many of the Sante Fe {passenger units}, lights were red in color…35 or so years ago I use to watch them come into the Kingman, Az. station and they would shine light all around {in the trees, etc…}, upon their approach really making them noticeable a train was approaching.
I’m not a railroader but I wonder if auxiliary lights might make a contribution to help the engineer see “just where he is” running in thick fog, etc…just my [2c]
No, the glare and reflection back into the cab from the fog is intensified. We do have a rule that we can turn them off in heavy fog but they will flash when the whistle is blown for the road crossings.
The auxiliary lights on that BCR unit would be the “Cornering” lights I referred to in my previous post. I like getting the ex-BCR units on trains as not only are they in better condition than most of our units but you really see more of the ROW at night on those units.
To my eyes, a triangle of lights adds little to the visibility of an approaching train in daylight or darkness. Nothing before or since has grabbed my attention more than that rotating locomotive light on Santa Fe engines.
I was a frequent rider on the El Pasoan between Albuquerque and El Paso, and often met the s/b train at the station to pick up others. Looking down the straightaway track, the brightness of the main headlight coupled with the rotating white headlight made the train standout more than a mile away. I recall vividly the changing halo of white light below the horizon as the train came up the rise on its approach to the station. Once it topped the rise and still a mile away, the combined light from the headlights was so bright as to be piercing and blinding.
I fail to understand how anyone could misread or misjudge that display at an unguarded grade crossing. To do so either demonstrates diminished capacity or a unfathomable degree of recklessness.
At Albquerque or Lamy, I never witnessed a red rotating light, but few passenger trains passed through in darkness.
I don’t believe the rotating light was used at all in the daytime on any trains. My work in the 60’s often put me in cl
…The era I’m speaking of with the Sante Fe RR and it’s rotating lights would be about '69-70…And thinking back they would have been mostly on F and PA units…Perhaps I witnessed both white and red rotating {Marrs}, lights and yes either one was wildly visible.
Believe I’ve read where these type of lights required quite a bit of maintenance so it’s no wonder they were phased out.
Even with today’s “ditch lights” the fact they blink…{on some RR’s}, that in itself surely helps most people to “notice” something is approaching. Much better than that one light that is aimed way down the track in a pencil thin beam. I agree with an above post that the fact the “ditch lights” add the perspective of two lights comparing that in our mind…being similar to automotive head lights might be a factor.
I notice in a parallel subject that some RR engines have {2}, double “standard” headlights installed and have wondered what “need” promotes that…?