I, too, recall reading that British railways, being almost free of highway grade crossings and well fenced, did not develop a need for headlights as American and other railroads did. I also seem to recall that the placement of the lights indicated something about the type of train (as mentioned above, something akin to marker lights) but I can’t find anything about it offhand right now. Maybe someone with A) a better organiazed library (who am I kidding? any organized library…), B) a better memory (again, who am I kidding? any memory) or C) way too much time on their hands (for once, I’m in the clear) can find/post it?
Off-hand I think North-Korea and Bhutan are weirder than the US. And if you pressure me I might admit that my own country (the Netherlands) is as weird if not weirder than the US but I can’t think of more countries. Note that they are all more or less social experiments…
Back to the topic. Remember that British railways and many continental European railways as well were fenced in or had watercarrying ditches like in the Netherlands. Makes it harder for say livestock to wander onto the tracks. Distances between places are small compared to the US so it is easy to guess where you are in the dark from sounds like crossing roads or small bridges in combination with timing. Add to that the fact that most engineers and firemen ran the same routes day in day out, day and night and often many times a day. You get a feel for the road that way and I believe that was part of the training of enginemen.
greetings,
The placement of the oil lamps on the front of most steam trains indicated the class of train, from a class 1 (express passenger) all the way down to a class 9 (unbraked coal train) although the exact classifications and marker lights varied over time and some railways used lights to indicate the route of the train rather than its type.
At one point in time the codes were as here:
http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/basic16.htm
The earliest diesels used the same codes but with white disks, then they went to an illuminated display of the headcode, including the train class, then to pure marker lights.
The main reason the UK’s locomotives didn’t need headlights dated back to the Enclosure Acts, which forced landowners to fence in their holdings, so other than few pockets of “common land,” agricultural land is fenced off, and we don’t have an open range. Likewise, the enabling Parliamentary legislation for railway lines stipulated that lines be fenced off. So trespass by humans or animals is thankfully less common than it might be.
Another factor would have been the the obligation in the Reglation of Railways Acts of 1880 something on drivers to sign a route card to acknowledge which segments of routes on which they were confident to work any kind of train, in any weather, at any time of day or night. So drivers didn’t need a big light to tell them where they were at any time. They were expected to know by experience, which would mean the lie of the land, what lights would normally be visible, also sounds and smells! (I’m told one landmark for Great Western steam enginemen working into and out of London Paddington was the Nestles Instant Coffee factory in the outer suburbs)
The situation these days, however, is somewhat different. Back in the 1970s/1980s, the costs of running the Central Wales line were slashed by relaxing the signalling requirements for road crossings. British Rail accomplished this by turing the route into a “Light Railway” as defined in legislation back at the turn of the last century. Crossing keepers would be dispnsed with, speed restrictions (whose severity depended on ease of sighting) were imposed at what would now become “open crossings,” and trains would be fitted with Headlights to enable road vehicle drivers to spot trains easier.
The working of that same route was later amended by the use of NSKT (non-signaller key token) controlled from just the one signalbox controlling movements along 80 or so miles of route. At the same time, all conventional BR signals (other than those con
All this info regarding British steam engines not to have headlights is really fascinating. It seems all kinds of money was spent to install fences and crossing protection, etc…and I just am amazed some of this {might}, have been done to prevent the need of a headlight on an engine…That boggles the mind…!
None of this was done to “get around having to have a headlight.” Fencing and crossing separations were done because it made for a more efficient, more reliable, and safer railway. If in the 19th century, you needed to mount a headlight on your locomotives, it’s because your railway was cheaply built, inefficient, and unsafe. And considering just how little a 19th century headlight illuminated of the track ahead, it was a desperation move. All that the headlight really enabled the engineer to do was know whether the animal he was about to run over was a deer, a cow, or a mule.
The logic question was never “How do we get rid of the need for a headlight.” The logic question was much more fundamental, and was “How can we make our railways efficient, safe, and reliable.” The answer was “flat, straight, fenced, and grade-separated, so cows and wagons and people don’t wander onto them, get hit, and disrupt our schedules.” British railways being built in a compact and industrialized nation could afford to make the necessary investment in grade-separations. U.S. railways were development railways and could not, so had to suffer with crooked, steep, and unfenced railways. Today, grade-crossing collisions and trespasser collisions are an immense problem for U.S. railways. One of the Class 1s recently told me that it had added up all the causes of train delay and their costs and found that grade-crossing collisions were the single biggest cause of train delay. In the future, all important U.S. railways will be 100% grade separated and fenced.
But we will still have headlights, because now the U.S., auto-centric culture thinks that all proper vehicles have to have them. The decision will not be made on an engineering, scientific, or economic basis, it will be made on a security-blanket basis.
RWM
You are putting the cart before the horse. In Britain the concept of the railways being a private right of way is much stronger, and also historic public rights of way HAD to be respected. Many of the lines were built through already very well settled areas and the train frequency was high. Just about all road crossings were grade separated. Level crossings were very few in number, each fully gated, interlocked with the signals, and manned full time. These gates were normally left blocking the road, and would be opened, if safe to do so, when a vehicle or shepherd with his flock of sheep needed to cross. Waits could be lengthy on major lines, since delaying an express by giving it a caution signal because the crossing was still open was a cardinal sin.
By the time things like electric lights and generators were invented, British railway practice was already well established. As other posters have pointed out, experience had shown there was little real need for headlights so there was no value to add them.
Perhaps forgotten by many, even here in the steam era headlights were often turned off during daylight hours. Their constant use started with diesels. I presume the trains were no longer as visible without the plume of exhaust from the steam engine. So even this side of the Atlantic you can see that a major purpose of the headlight was visibility by others. In Britain, with a controlled right of way, this was not an issue.
John
The “always-on headlight” was indeed a grade-crossing safety device in the U.S., but on many railways it started firmly in the steam era. I think it was more a reaction to the rapidly increasing fatality rate as motor vehicle traffic ramped up than the lack of visibility of the diesel-electric. (And as our steam brethern will tell us, the steam engine was supposed to be fired with a clear exhaust.) In 1938, a D&RGW fast freight pulled by a 4-6-6-4 collided with a school bus at a crossing in Midvale, Utah, during daylight, killing 23 children and the bus driver, the single-worst motor vehicle wreck in the U.S. to that time in terms of fatalities. That was a significant impetus for turning the headlight on during daylight hours.
RWM
Yes, I’m sure our RR’s here in the US will always have headlights…Why wouldn’t they…“security-blanket basis…”, Is that the reason, doubt it.
Having lived next to railroads for all my life, I can’t really believe that the incredibly bright headlight doesn’t help the engineer see ahead. Seems to me in my old house on the tracks that when a train was coming at night, the tracks would be lit up like by a floodlight for a block or more ahead of the engine.
As noted, headlights, Mars lights etc. help people see the engine too. Ditch Lights aren’t really meant to light up the ditches…older diesels had “ditch lights” that shone under the front and rear steps, largely to help crewmen getting on and off in the dark (although they did help light up the area a bit). Modern ditch lights are there to help make the engine more visible at grade crossings etc. much more than to help the crew see ahead.
BTW British engines don’t have bells either.
Agree, “a major purpose of the headlight was visibility by others…” , but come nighttime, another major purpose of said headlight would be to see ahead. In fact, most engines for decades now, have twin sealed beam lights or equivalent…{very strong ones}, and now even ditch lights.
And yes, I too remember when steamers did not use their light during daytime operation.
First in america, we feel the need for dual headlights on our vacuum cleaners. So our perspective is biased.
Now to the issue of trains. At any higher speed, the lights are only useful to be seen, not to see. When going 50mph, by the time you would see something, it’s too late to do anything about it. Headlights are the most useful in restricted speed operations (yards, switching industries, etc). But it is a PITA when an engineer leaves them on when you’re on the ground trying to throw switches or couple cars.
The original canadian ditchlights were used to light up ditches. That’s why they were “cross-eyed”. Today’s ditchlights are actually “axillary” or “crossing” lights. And they are almost never aimed properly, half the time shining up into the trees. They are also usually covered in grime since no one ever seems to take the time to polish them up (I did when I was on the road).
the yard I work with has some lighting, not enough to be bright, but more than enough you don’t really need the headlights on the engines to see the switches or other cars.
As to using headlights by day in this country, I have a memory (I still have not located my copy of the 1943 Southern Railway Bible, which gave me my first knowledge of various rules that are standard) that more than sixty years ago, the locomotive headlight was to be on bright at all times when under way, and was to be dimmed only when in a siding.
The 1950 Rock Island Bible (Rule 17) states that the headlight is to be dimmed only when a train is entirely clear of the main and is moving on the siding (and is to be extinguished entirely when the train is stopped on the siding), when approaching or passing head end and rear end of trains and engines standing or moving on adjacent tracks, approaching signals indicating train orders, when standing on main track awaiting arrival of an opposing train, and when moving on sidings and other than main tracks, in clear of main track. The rule also definitely states that when approaching a public crossing at grade, the headlight is to be shining brightly–which indicates that the light is to give notice to the public that a train is coming.
If you are moving, the headlight is to be on bright if you are on the main at all, and it is to be extinguished only when you are stopped.
Of course, some rules were not standard on all railroads.
Johnny
Looks bright when you’re looking at it. But that light has to bounce off something out there, during which most of the light is scattered or absorbed, and what’s left then comes back to the cab. Very little comes back to the cab. Ride a train at night, you’ll see! (Or actually, NOT see.).
RWM
[color=green]I do ride in the locomotive at night on occasion. At our speeds (30-40 max) you’re not “overdriving” the lights, so they do a certain amount of good. Unfortunately(?) much of our line is so curvy that what’s being lit up is the woods and the sides of the rock cuts…
I don’t mind the ditch lights one bit when I’m walking to a remote switch in what would otherwise be total darkness, except for my lantern. Don’t really want to meet a bear in the dark…
Walking back can be a pain, though. “6076 - can you kill those ditch lights for a minute?”[/color]
Airplane landing lights and locomotive headlights are some of the brighter lights one will see on a moving vehicle and the comparison between that and total darkness has to be wildly different.
Automotive headlight capability has drastically improved too for the better in the past decade. Super bright with some of the newer gas filled bulbs. Some ID’d by the bluish tint.
75 watt bulbs, with LED technology on the horizon.
When cruising, the lights aren’t that good, considering the stopping distances of a train. They’re fine for slower speed stuff, but on the main? Meh. Add in any type of rain/mist/fog/snow, and the glare is BAD in the cab, furthering reducing their usefulness.
Aircraft landing lights? Blind motorists? I can see the FHWA and FRA not going for that one.
Quentin, there is a fundamental fact of railroad operation that hardly anyone outside of the railroad understands, but it’s crucial to understanding that highways and railways are not comparable. Cars proceed on roads based solely on what the driver can see, and the driver adjusts speed to make sure he can brake before he runs into something when it appears in his field of vision. Trains are 100% different out on the main track: they proceed based on what the dispatcher can see. The dispatcher is taking the responsibility for ensuring the track ahead is clear, and the train crew is placing 100% trust in him clearing the track ahead. Out on the main track, outside of yard limits, If the train crew had a display in its cab that told them where it was on the track, and what curves, grades and mileposts were coming up, so it knew when to apply brakes and when to speed up for track curve and grade condition, you could practically paint over the cab windows for all the good they do. (And the PTC systems currently being deployed actually do put that display into the cab.)
The window lets you see the grade-crossings ahead so you can flinch, but rarely are you going to be able to stop the train short of the car that’s stalled there.
RWM
I don’t disagree with any of that…but why on earth would one want to plow on in the dark…? Headlights are available…in our modern age. And we certainly know they are needed to help the driving public know a train is active and slamming towards the crossing. And we know in addition to that, the public can see the flashing ditch lights that assist in that sighting.
RWM: I always wondered if the blackout rules for WWII caused the non use of headlights. Any of you Brits or continental Europeans know?