Sorry if this is a dumb question, I am modeling CNW in the mid 70’s, pictures I have seen of what I intend to model have some locos (not all) fitted with rotary beacons, I have started fitting them to the appropriate locos.
My question is how and when were they used? Are they on all of the time the loco is working or just at grade crossings and in yards etc? This is very hard to tell from still photos! Thanks for any input.
The C&NW started using them in the late 60’s. Most of the installations had the beacon ‘on’ most of the time. At least on yard engines, the beacon would not ‘flash’ when the reverser was in neutral, but would flash when the engine was in forward or reverse. I am not sure what they did with road engines, but I suspect they flashed all the time.
Rotary beacons started showing up in the early 60’s(at least in the Mpls/St Paul area) on the Minnesota Transfer Railway, the NP, GN, and Soo Line. The SOO engines has a very bright ‘strobe’ that was blinding if you caught it head on. The GN had a yellow lamp and the NP had an orange color to their beacons. Most of these were of the ‘bubble gum’ type with the lamp/mirror rotating inside the dome. after the BN merger, the BN liked to use a large dome with 4 lamps that flashed in sequence around the dome. The C&NW was ‘late’ to the beacon game, and the Rock Island experimented with some strange paired strobe flashers on the cabs of early GE ‘U Boats’.
Jim
Thanks for the very interesting and informative answer Jim.
I am not familiar with the 4 lamp flasher, were they similar in appearance to the ‘bubble gum’ type? Or something completely different. I have read of the Mars lights on some F units being replaced by a 4 light flasher but I have no idea what one is or looks like or indeed if this is the one they were actually talking about.
Great answer! Thanks!
I am curious when did CN cease using the beacons?
Thanks in advance!
alexP
Generally the rotary beacons were removed when railroads switched to the Canadian-style flashing “ditch lights” in the 1980’s.
They basicly look the same, insted of a rotating becon it had 4 lights inside facing forward, back, left and right that would flash around in a circle sequentially giving the impression of a rotating light… the ones I remember had a slightly larger diameter than the rotating becons and the top of the dome was more flat insted of rounded like the rotating becons
Having only been in Canada a few years I am no expert but last week there were a couple of CN switchers in Calgary and both had operating orange beacons as they worked the yard
Thanks for clearing all that up for me, I guessed that was the case but just didn’t actually know for sure.
They may have been remote-controlled units. These often have beacons on them to identify them as RC units and to serve as extra warning for yard crews.
Wow, didn’t know such things existed. Who controls them and from where? Interesting stuff.
TIA
On the BN in the 1980’s the road units’ lights flashed all the time unless somebody shut them off. THey were set up so that the lead unit of a power consist would have the flasher on. Back in the easier “old days” I would go out to the BN yard in Lincoln and some of the units at the fuel racks and in the power pool would have their flashers going.
To be different the Amtrak F40PH’s used to have a pair of white strobe flashers on the cab roof.
Further, as mentioned the yellow flasher is the current warning for a remore-control unit. These are usually yard engines (at least on BNSF and UP in my area) and are operated by a guy with a radio unit (that looks like an r/c airplane controller) hung on his/her chest. THey can dismount from the unit, set a switch, move cars, then reboard the loco for longer moves.
Gary
Metra engines that took over commuter passenger service on the BN line had/have (not sure about there newest engines) 2 of the 4 lamp becons one red one amber on either side of the cab roof close to where amtrak placed there strobes. Amber was used when the train is in pull mode ive never seen the red becon on.
The cab cars used to have one centered on the roof at the end of the car also not sure if they still do but they were on when the train was in push mode. (same as when BN ran the trains)
I was up watching trains with my sisters son last week at the Clarendon Hills station on the BNSF line and I cant remember for the life of me if any of the 5 Metra trains that went by both push and pull had there becons on… Ill stick to roads along the tracks on my way home from work this morning will update this post when I get home [;)][tup]
So that morning I saw 5 Metra commuter trains, 2 BNSF freights and 1 Amtrak.
Metra engines still have the red & amber becons (4 lamp flasher) but they (amber) are on for both pull & push service now. New cab cars do not have becons, old cab cars have had the becons removed (still have the cage on the roof where they were located) BNSF freight had no becons same for amtrak though I did get to see my first cabbage car in person [:O]