It was a red light, turned on if the train stopped in an Emergency on the Mainline. It could also be used as a rear marker if the engine was used in helper service. The red light would be turned on as the engine was shoving a train over a hill instead of the caboose light.
Thank you Jerry. Just one more question on the topic of SP. Did the grey/red (bloody nose) units have this too or was it only the Kodacrome painted units?
I have a couple of these red lights, and brought one to work and set it where it used to belong on this ex-SP SD45.
Here's a Kodachrome and Grey/Red Tunnel Motor with the red lights. In the late 80's, early 90's these lights started disappearing from engines.
When the illfated SPSF merger was in the works the ATSF folks made their mark on the Espee by removing the headlights between the numberboards on the cab and adding yellow beacon lights to the cab roof. The headlight between the numberboards was a Gyralite that rotated in a 8 pattern. As mentioned the single light above the headlight was red and also rotated. Espee used the Gyralite as a safety device for more visability at grade crossings.
In the Pentrex DVD, "Beaumont Hill Cab Ride," the engines pull out of the servicing area and go to the east end of West Colton yard to couple to the train. As they pass the other waiting engines, one of these emergency lights is in operation. It appears to be blinking (or rotating to give a blinking appearance). That's the only time I have ever seen one operate.
It's called the "PC Light" (Pneumatic Control) When the train went into emergency the light would come on. It was to warn an on coming train, in a siding or double track, to stop. Never used it as a rear marker, by the rule book, anyway. The head light on dim was the rear marker on a helper. In old days, the class light on "red." the class lights could be placed on "white" (extra train, just like white flags) green (section follows) or red (rear marker) SP started taking the class lights off in the early 1980s, the Mars lights started being removed in the mid 1980s. SP lost a big law case involving a grade crossing accident in Oregon (early 1980s). The white Mars light (made by Pile) was not working on the locomotive and that was a detriment to their case. With the white Mars osculating light, you could index it to stop at any position. They went in a circle, the true Mars lights went in a figure eight. I don't believe the Santa Fe merger had anything to do with removing both lights. Knowing the SP, as I did, it was strictly a money matter and it was one less thing the mechanical people had to maintain. You have to remember, at the time of the Duffy Street wreck, Cajon Pass run-a-way; 50% of the dynamic brakes were bad order on the road power and the rear helper. Basically, there were several times the SP had trouble even making their payroll. Most have felt, if Union Pacific didn't have large amounts of coal and grain, they would have gone under also. Their success is not due to an expert management staff. [Moderator edit] Paul McGuffin Paul McGuffin
Can't explain the rear use of this red gyra on a metra but check it out. http://www.rail-videos.net/video/view.php?id=1711
Thank you all. I didn't know why they did that, but it looked cool to model. So it would be rare to get that light on a patched SP to UP loco, correct?
Correct. If an Espee unit was lucky enough to keep its light package (we're talking the red PC/UDE light in the nose, as well as the dual gyralights between the number boards) all the way up to the UP takeover, it would almost have certainly lost them by the time UP got through with it.:tb-sad: There were only a handful of units documented with having their lights by the mid-90s. I've only seen one ex-SP unit in UP paint with a trace of its SP light package, on a GP40-2. The red light was gone, but the dual gyras up top were still there, although the housing was gutted, and they were non-functional.
PC Red Light I think I remember seeing the red PC light on the rear of some SP business Cars. Maybe someone can come up with a photo. Paul McGuffin
Hi Paul, I've also seen the warning lights turn on when trains stop on the mainline to to switch a spur and when a train was running on tracks down the middle of a street. I agree that UP was lucky. In addition to the coal and grain traffic they also had less railroad in a time when it didn't pay to have a lot of railroad. If life was fair the larger SP woulda been able to outlast the UP instead of the other way around.....dave
Business Car Lights Found these photos on Richard Percy's excellent Espee site. They show the marker light set up on SP's business cars. The Sunset and Cascade blunt end 10/6 Pullmans had a similar light package.
