Ditch Lights

What year did the government decree that all locomotives would have ditch lights?
Anyone added them to Atlas SD60 or SD60M and Kato SD40-2s?

Jerry

 

Hi Jerry.

I think the mid 90's (maybe even 97) is when ditch lights were madatory on locomotives traveling more than, etc., etc.

I have added working ditch lights in SD45's and SD40-2's. I have added working nose lights in many other locos (this is all with fiber optics).

I made a post a while back on the fiber optics in an SD40-2, it was about a month and a half back.

 

Jerry,

It depends which government your referring to if you are referring to the US government then yes it was about 1997, but the Canadian government has ordered that ditchlights must be on ALL locomotives except yard switchers since the early 1980's due to a rather nasty accident on the CPR that could have been prevented with ditch lights.

 

Here's a link to an older topic about ditch lights from 'The Ready Track' forum:

Are ditch light the law?

They were required in Canada many years before the USA. There's a good size debate over the usefullness at grade crossing but it seems the engineers like the better visability. I for one think they look neat

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by E&NRailway:
Jerry,

It depends which government your referring to if you are referring to the US government then yes it was about 1997, but the Canadian government has ordered that ditchlights must be on ALL locomotives except yard switchers since the early 1980's due to a rather nasty accident on the CPR that could have been prevented with ditch lights.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


They have been on the rails for alot longer than that in Canada though. Several F Units recieved them and even a few steamers got them on their pilot.

There is so much room in the SD60 I can't see putting ditch lights in there as a problem, althpugh I am sure the SD40-2 must have been a difficult conversion!

Happy Railroading!

Dane

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by E&NRailway:
Jerry,

It depends which government your referring to if you are referring to the US government then yes it was about 1997, but the Canadian government has ordered that ditchlights must be on ALL locomotives except yard switchers since the early 1980's due to a rather nasty accident on the CPR that could have been prevented with ditch lights.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would be interested in knowing how ditch lights could have prevented the accident.

 

Don't have the particulars on the accident in question, but since ditch lights are nominally
equivalent to aircraft landing lights in their intensity, my guess is they would either have lit up what the train was about to hit sooner, giving the train crew more time to react, or else provided better advance notice of the train's
impending approach to who/whatever was on or crossing the tracks.

Not that the ditch lights could have prevented the accident in its entirety......a freight train moving at speed, with its thousands of tons of inertial force, takes a long time to stop, even
in full emergency.

Despite massive publicity given to serious rail
accidents, and education programs like Operation Lifesaver, there are still those foolish people
who try to beat the train to the crossing and
lose their lives prematurely.

Back to N scale............


Don B

 

I added ditch lights to SD 60's and SD 40-2's.You would think the SD 60 would be easier than the 40,but the led in the 60's is closer to the front of the cab thus less room to line up the fiber optics with the led.(I'm talking about the standard cab 60's,I don't have any wide nose units yet)I recomend looking at the post Craig mentioned,they were my inspiration that it could be done!

 

Does anyone know the real story behind the how and why of ditch lights? The version I heard, and it is probably incorrect, was that they were initially thought to keep moose from running in front of a locomotive. Any one know the real story?

 

I had heard that they were originally applied in Canada focused "across the bow" as it were to see better around curves. The fact that their first use was in the Canadian Rockies probably brought about the apochryphal stories about moose. It least with ditch lights, the engineer saw the moose before he hit him!

[ 07 July 2001: Message edited by: Gregg Mahlkov ]

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dangerboy:
I recomend looking at the post Craig mentioned,they were my inspiration that it could be done!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey thanks Dangerboy! I'm glad it helped you, as that was the purpose of it.

Seeing how no more information is being added, a little shameless plug might also be helpfull.

Check out the link below to look at my site (BLMA Detail Parts). I have many styles of both porch mounted and pilot mounted ditch lights. I found a way to make them VERY realistic, even though they don't light up.

1. Paint the inside of the light casing with a bright silver (don't over do it, just line the inside with silver....toothpics work great for this).
2. Take some clear resin (Microscale makes some clear stuff....can't remember its name though) and put it in the crevace you painted earlier and make sure it is filled up flush.

Once everything has dried, you will have a very realistic looking ditch light, even though it's not lit up (but then again, I have seen trains on the main line with ditch lights turned off).

Hope this helps you!

 

#700 MV lenses work well for giving the illusion that your ditch lights are lit up even though they are not.

 

I my self try to stay away from the MV lenses for headlights. The MV lenses look just about the same as painting the light part itself silver (if you have a bright silver) and IMHO, I think it looks unrealistic.

The way I explained above makes the ditch lights look like they are real, and that the engineer has them turned off.

I'll have some pictures of them for you guys soon.

 

Well i found the answer to my question and as I suspected it has nothing to do with moose. It seems that the human eye can judge distance better with a triangle of lights than it could with only one or two lights. Has to do with persective. At least its a better explanation than the moose one.

 

I thought ditch lights were added for safety because they're essentially at eye level, where cab lights are about 2 stories up. A driver of a car might have the headlights on the cab obscured by the roof of the car, especially when looking out the passenger side. Ditchlights, in this case, would be in plain view.

Russ