Do they still use oscillating headlights (main light) on any locomotives?
Are older locomotives converting to LED headlights?
Are all new locomotives (including rebuilt/refurbished) using LED headlights?
I don’t see many trains at night (been many years). How do the main headlights on a train compare (overall light output) compare to the incandescent headlights of cars.
The reason this came up (for me) is that I read that train lights don’t need to be very bright and bright lights might interfere in seeing signal lights.
Any general information about the headlights (the main light) would be appreciated. It seems that the more I learn about trains and railroads the less I seem to know about trains and railroads.
There are a few left. Being mechanical, they are a maintenance headache, which means if they aren’t working the loco is out of service. About the only ones you’ll see are on vintage locos.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I doubt you’ll see a wholesale replacement occur.
Haven’t noticed any, actually. I could be wrong.
They’re pretty bright, especially when you add the auxiliary (often erroneously called ditch) lights are added.
As Balt often points out, trains aren’t “line of sight” vehicles, as such, they don’t need the vision you’d expect from a road vehicle. BUT, it’s no fun hitting an obstruction (tree, large rock, etc) unannounced, if you will.
[quote user=“Perry Babin”]
Any general information abo
Incandescents will be banned shortly. I don’t know if that will affect railroad lamps.
I understand, leave well enough alone.
I don’t know of you’ve looked into handheld LED flashlights but a small flashlight (well, will fit into a large pocket) will flood a large field for hundreds of yards out, running on two 18650 battteries. Some of the new LED lights use a conventional reflector and some use an acrylic lens to focus the beam. The following is a nice light that’s about average, nowadays. It’s a TK35. The reviewer is good because he compares the reviewed lights to a 4D maglight so you have a reference.
For other lights (if you haven’t seen what’s commonly available), try Battery Junction. I’ve never dealt with GoingGear (reviewer) so this isn’t an endorsement but I’ve used Battery Junction a LOT and they’re good to work with. Not train related. Just general FYI.
Metra uses oscillating headlights. The new F59 (?) rebuilds they are now doing have an LED version. MARC used to have some on cabcars, I believe as well.
All the Siemens Charger and Sprinter locomotives I’ve seen are equipped with LED head and ditchlights.
There are LED replacement head/ditchlights that can be used in older locomotives. I’ve seen photos/videos of them, but not yet in person. See the RS3M the Arcade and Attica just bought. Many of the running lights in our older engines (step lights, ground lights, numberboard lights, inside lights) are being replaced with LEDs at a steady rate.
I like bright headlights. Helps to see stuff at night in dark yards/industries/other places. Headlights can be dimmed if you need to.
I have Rigid pod LEDs on my truck. (SAE compliant foglight pattern). They put my headlights to shame at about a quarter of the size. Amazing little things.
I haven’t seen any LED headlights on our units, but LEDs are used for other applications. One such applications on new locomotives is for the number boards. They are brighter then the headlight on dim.
I don’t know if headlight voltage has been standardized at 72 volts, but CSX/Chessie used to use 34 volt bulbs. I once replaced a headlight bulb on an ex Conrail unit with a stock CSX 34 volt bulb. It was very bright for a fraction of a second.
I have seen some CSX units with what appear to be LED headlights.
My experience with household LED bulbs has been that they do not last anywhere near as long as the advertised life. I don’t know if the LEDs fail or maybe the it’s electronics required to run them on 120 volt ac power. There is some savings on electricity costs but the higher cost of the bulbs will probably more than cancel that out if they fail prematurely.
My town within the past two years has changed their street lights over to LED’s. Most are OK, however, some of them have developed a ‘defect’ wherein the light output is very purple.
LED’s of their own nature put out a ‘cold’ light, but purple?
LED life, in general, depends on how hard you drive them. Too many manufacturers try to cater to those who want the most output. To get there, cheaply, they use fewer/smaller LEDs with insufficient heat-sinking and over-drive them. Driven conservatively, LEDs can last a VERY long time.
Like the 32v lamp that was really bright for a few seconds, the LEDs fail prematurely. I have some LED lamps (incandescent replacements) that I purchased when LEDs were something new. 4 of them cost just over $100. One has been on continuously for more than 10 years and still works. The others still work but rarely get used.
The drive circuits are another weak point in cheap LED lamps (especially those that need voltage conversion/control). Cheap circuits with insufficient heatsinks lead to premature failure.
There is more than 1 way to get a ‘white’ LED. You can coat a blue LED with phosphors and that will produce white. If the phosphor coating changed from heat (or for whatever reason) that could have caused the shift in color. Another way to get to white is to use RGB LEDs. The 3 colors are run at the desired ratio to get to the desired color temperature (warm, cool white, whatever… color temperature in degrees Kelvin). This is the configuration used in lighting in electronic displays where you can infinitely vary the color of the LED light output.
My very first LEDs are so old that the circuits have always taken 1.5 - 2.0 seconds to come on. Have 70 - 80 newer. So far not one LED has failed. 2 CFLs left. Basement has dual 8 ft flouroescent fixtures. As they fail disconnect ballast install straight LED 8 ft tubes. I Find only need one LED tube needed instead of 2 flourescent.
I was happy to see the end of CFLs. I’ve had multiple CFLs fail with a bit of drama (sparks and smoke out of the vent holes in the ceramic base).
I had 4 sets of dual 8ft fluorescents that lasted 20+ years in my shop. When they started to fail, I could find no combination of ballast/tube that would last more than about a year. I have a 4ft dual that still works after 30 years (shop built in 1989) and it has had only one set of tubes replaced.
I’ve had quite a few screw-in LEDs fail but they were the cheap big-box types. Most last quite a while. I’ve also had some hanging 4ft shop lights in LED that have failed but they were cheap big-box pieces.
As a reliable solution, I hung an 8ft 2x4 over my bench (inside an old 8ft fluorescent fixture) with 4 ceramic screw-in bases and use screw-in LED lamps. Easy to replace. If I don’t like the color (too warm, too cool), easy to change. If one fails, I still have light but likely have a replacement that I can drop in (buy in boxes of 8).
An even better solution, for even light, is to get some of the LED replacement tubes. Last I looked these came in too ‘flavors’ – those that ran off the ballast output, and those that had you cut around the ballast or substitute an appropriate controller or low-voltage supply wired directly to the lampholders.
Isn’t 200 watts the usual incandescent sealed-beam?
I’ve never seen, and never expect to see, a comparison of the beam candlepower of a car headlight, a locomotive headlight, and an airliner’s landing light.
As far as longevity - one supplier we use they seem to last a very long time. But then we get bulbs from another company, and if they last a week, it seems to be a miracle. And you can tell when they are going to let go - they get a little brighter than they should be. Then later that day/night, you’ll get a quick white/blue “poof” and no more light.