Hopefully this won’t be a “stump the band” question. I’m looking for pictures on lights, light poles, and light fixtures from the 40s and older. I’ve found a handful of pics perusing through Fallen Flags but I’ve discovered they are either far in the distance to glean any useful information and/or are not the focal point of the picture. I was just curious if someone knew of a good online resource for the different styles and kinds of lights used on the RRs. I’m modeling the New York Central but I’d be glad to find anything at this point. Even the Morning Sun books on track side facilities really didn’t have much. Thanks for the help and suggestions.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe this will help.
This a pic from the east end of hawthorn yard in Indianapolis, but the light is typical of yard lights of that period (I’ve seen it up close and in person) throughout the east coast. There were a few different designs that were used in that time period, but I’ve seen a bunch of this one.
The light itself is next to the road bridge and there is a pickup truck heading towards it. If you use the "birds eye view and zoom in you can see it pretty well, especially if you close the white welcome box on the left. It’s easiest to see if you view it looking towards the east also. Hope this helps.
Here’s another type in New York. This is period correct. This one is halfway between the train in the upper right and the signal bridge in the lower right. It’s a shorter light, so it would be used within the yard, whereas the others are taller and are usually found towards the end of the yard shining in.
If you want city street light poles, try the Cleveland Transit System web site. You will see a lot of old street cars and light poles from all over the city (eastside, westside and downtown). Most pictures have location and date picture was taken.
There is also a link to other street cars in other cities all over the United States.
There are two websites with tons of pictures from the 1920s thru 1960s…
[1] Dave’s Electric Railroads at http://www.davesrailpix.com/ with over 100 traction companies, and as the author says is “a collection of electric railroad, interurban, and streetcar photography from many eras.”
[2] Tom’s North American Trolleybus Pictures at http://www.trolleybuses.net/ has over 65 trolley photograph collections from Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
You will have to sift through the pictures to find light poles, but they are there in some of the photographs in spite of the traction or trolley car and overhead wire as the main emphasis. The ability to go back 50 - 80 years in history was worth the effort as part of my traction and trolley research.
Shot this just this morning with you in mind. The structure has been there for eon’s. Loose the antenna’s and change the rectangular lights for big round ones, and you’re there!
