I’m just curious about when dimmable headlights became available, and when they were used on locomotives. Were they used on steam locos? How about early electrics?
Phil
Well I’ve seen picture of a kerosene or oil burning headlight on a steam engine that had a round cover they could put over the headlight to block out the light while waiting in a sidetrack, so I’m guessing it’s been around a long time.
[C):-)]
I did a quick search, this came up on the forum in 2002 and at that time member Fiverings noted that he had a 1915 rulebook that had Rule 17 in it, and that he believed it went back to the 1880’s - only that, as I mentioned above, originally it required the headlight to be extinguished or covered, dimming the headlight when waiting in a siding etc. came later.
The obvious answer is after rule 16 and before rule 18. It might be possible to check those rules and determine from them the timeframe for rule 17.
As far as I can remember trains in passing sidings as always dim their headlights or turned them off and just leave the marker and number box lights on…Also crews will dim their lights when passing another train on double track.As far as the last trailing unit having headlights on dim I have seen the lights turned off.
So,while rule 17 has been tooted by advertisers of DCC its been around for years.
Peter Josserand’s classic, Rights of Trains, includes Rule 19 among the masses of information on the rules in force in the transition era, is based on a 1907 original text and notes that the basic rules go back to 1886. Individual railroads probably had their own rules before that. Exactly how dimming a vaporizing-burner oil headlight was accomplished was not stated, but the rule required it to be done.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thanks for the answers.
While I’m a believer in “it’s your railroad - run it your own way”, I like to have things that are at least semi-plausible. So having dimmable headlights in the 1920’s through the late 1930’s is not totally unrealistic.
Interesting about the extremely early dimming of lights. I’d think they would be dim enough to begin with.
Phil
[#offtopic] - a little bit, but a point to be made.
The vaporizing burner oil headlights were NOT dim like kerosene lanterns - they threw a useable beam of light out to about 600 yards.
A little later, some locos used super-size carbide lamps for headlights. That beam was white, not yellow, and even more effective.
By 1920, all but the most backward railroads were using electric headlights, which could be dimmed by flipping a switch in the cab.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)