Headlight resistors, RE13 and 14 on EMD.
Randy
I have seen the exact same lights on any loco with front and rear walkways, most have them and yes it’s a walkway light. Most of the time it is lighted enough to be seen but dim enough so that it’s not a head/ditch light of that sort.
The GE locos have the little round ones, the EMDs I think have the narrow rectangular ones. Both are about the same height above the walkway.
Hi All
I’m not sure what it is, but here in Queensland ( Australia ) if the line paralells a road the driver will " dip " their lights on the loco, as I have had done to me. Otherwise it can be very distracting due to the strenght of loco lights. Most of the loco’s here a narrow gauge versions of GM’s with later model GE’s ( C30-8 ) making it onto the rails so I presume it would be on US loco’s as well. Ditch lights here are only a recent additon to loco’s.
G M Simpson
Good info here.
I have to admit though that I miss the old Gyra-lights and Mars lights. The motions that these safety lights made were neat looking attention getters. From what I’ve read, they were also expensive to maintain.
Looks like ditch lights, while expensive, are cheaper in maintenance in comparison since the effect is blinking rather than motion. I do wonder how long a typical ditch light set on a locomotive used for road assignments lasts since the one thing that wears out light bulbs is the constant “ON/OFF”.
That’s not going to be a factor in most cases. A few railroads set the ditch lights to flash under certain circumstances (CSX usually does it approaching crossings), but from what I’ve read here before, it’s not a common practice. Most of the time, the ditch lights are simply on.
Since one of the remaining uses of the caboose is for long reverse movements - does anyone know of cabooses using illumination similar to ditch lights?
dd
…To an above post…Yes, I’ve seen engine headlights dimmed. Near home here we had a CSX line {a trail now}, and some years ago where the road and track paralleled one night I met an oncoming train and playfully dimmed my car headlights and the engineer did the same thing and I snapped my lights quickly off and back on and he did the same thing and then he was gone…Just showed me he could “dim” his headlight too.
Interesting discussion but several of you seem to think that ditch lights are somehow going to help the crew avoid hitting something. [V] These sound like folks who think a train will stop at grade crossings for them.[xx(]
The only thing ditch lights or headlights for that matter will do for the crew in this area is let them see more clearly what they are about to hit.
The ONLY reason for lights on a locomotive is to help others identify it and stay the heck out of the way.
…How about ditch lights supplimenting the main headlights and aiding the crew to “identify” just where they are on less than good visibility nights and to what speed they have to be controlling…
i am looking to find out about ditch lights ,mars lights .I have a model RR train of a Santa Fe F-3 ,the top lamp on the front has a white light over a red light,the bottom lamp has only 1 lamp.Im trying to set up my decoder lighting effects.I dont know whats light are considered ditch lites or if it has these? Can some 1 help me ? Thank you
ditch lights are mounted above each rail below the main centered headlight. An F3 would not have had ditch lights during its operating lifetime - but some of the F’s have had them added to meet current FRA requirements. Generally the ditch lights are mounted just above or below the front platform on freight locomotives. They are mounted higher on Amtrak locos.
dd
Ditch lights improve visability by 100 fold try strapping two flashlights to the hood of your car and driving at night then turn on your headlights and see the difference as an U.P. engineer it makes a big difference. the funny thing is when people driving on the roads along side the track fla***heir brights to get us to dim our lights only problem is most of the time we are going over crossings and FRA laws stipulate we cannot. and yes fog can be harry cuz like driving a car you cant see when it gets thick you just have to know where you are and where the signals are as well as all the crossings.
Thanks for that info [8D][:D][:p]
[quote]
Originally posted by macguy
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Actually, a friend of mine showed me the difference while i was riding in the cab of GN NW5 #192 a year or two back. With the ditch lights on, they improved visibility around 50%. Also up here they are used when going by grade crossing because it is easier to see the flashing lights down on the engine.
…Note not all ditch lights flash at crossings. Believe both NS and CSX engines on their main lines that go through here {Muncie}, do flash at crossings but when a Union Pacific engine is leading the train {especially on CSX}, those ditch lights do not flash. I personally think the flashing lights do call attention of the oncoming engine more so than just steady glowing lights. Adding some safety.
On the BNSF Q line, Metra commuter trains always have them set to flash alternately, while freights of all roads have them on continuously. When freights are stopped on the mainline, the ditch lights are turned off and the headlight dimmed. Besides safety, this makes train-watching easier. Flashing ditch lighs in the distance means a ‘scoot’ is coming and I can continue reading Trains.