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The Southern Railway introduced electric lighting on the Bulleid pacifics to get round the problems of oil lamps blowing out while travellig at speed, but they were only used at night. In daylight hours all SR locomotives carried the headcode displayed with white discs. There was one period when the pacifics would burn out a buld on the road resulting in the train being stopped for inspection. This lead to locos carrying duplicated oil and electric lamps simaltaneously!

The first generation diesels carried discs with marker lights behind which could be switched according to duties. with the later diesels the headcode was illuminated removing the need for lamps, although they still carried red and white markers. Head codes went out of use in 1976 (I think).

I also have a feeling that headlights were introduced partly to aid sighting of trains in brightly lit areas.

That's probably confused the issue completely.

Regards

 

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QUOTE (ME 26-06 @ 15 Aug 2007, 16:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What kinds of duties did these lamps and disk display, and how exactly was it done?

All this sounds a bit complicated to me.

The lamps/discs could be used to show a train was anything from a light engine to a locomotive hauling the Royal train. The discs folded in half so that the white side only showed when they were open, when folded down they covered the lamp set into the disc so that it could not be seen. (with me so far?) The fold down side of the disc was painted in the same colour as the body rendering it invisible when thetrain was in motion. It was only first generation diesels that carried the folding discs, steam locos carried non folding ones that were attached to the lamp irons. An exampe of a head code would be the Royal train, which in steam days would carry 3 lamps/discs at footplate level and a single lamp/disc underneath the chimney to form a triangle.

There were of course regional variations which I will not bore you with as it could take forever, the above is a brief explanation.

Examples of classes of locomotive that carried discs were 20, 22, 26, 27, 31/0 and 40 although there are probably others I have missed.

Hope that helps.

Regards

 

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QUOTE (John Webb @ 16 Aug 2007, 14:14) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>By 1978 the BR Rule book also required every driver to carry a handlamp in working order - I assume that this would have been the battery-operated 'Bardic' torch. But with only diesel locos about with lit instruments by that time this must have been for inspecting things.

As the proud owner of a four aspect "Bardic" there other uses apart from the obvious use as a torch, it can be used for shunting at night and if switched to the red aspect and placed on a running rail facing oncoming traffic can be used to give a very clear danger aspect at night as the light reflects off the polished surface of the rail. This can be visible from several hundred yards away.

Regards