For Engineers - Headlight Placement

Hey Group,



Nose-mounted, or on the roof.

Which gives better visibility at night?

Which do you prefer, and why?





    TheBoyFromNewYorkCity™




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TheBoyFromNewYorkCity wrote:Hey Group,



Nose-mounted, or on the roof.

Which do you prefer, and why?

 .

I don't care as long as it's bright.

Some guys say they prefer nose over roof, as they give off less glare or something like that.

jz441 wrote:
I don't care as long as it's bright.

Ditto

I've never experienced any glare off the nose. The black anti skid coating on the top takes care of that.

No difference in illumination, as far as i ever noticed between the two. But, nose mounted lights can cause major headaches for crew members getting on and off the front of the locomotive, such as skin burns when brushed against and eye irritation if looked upon will trying to get on or off the engine. Some railroads like nose mounted for ease of maintenance, while some prefer roof mounted for the reasons stated above. Me, I prefer roof mounted lights 100%

Definately, a nose mounted light produces less 'reflected" light, off the nose, railings, sand filler hatch, etc, making it eaasier on the eyes, at night. In fog, rain or snow, the lower position allows for easier line of sight, with less glare, or reflected light, of the precipitation. The trainmen might not enjoy walking out into the highbeams, and losing their night vision, but it's nicer when your in the cab. Those high mounted lights, in a heavy snowstorm, make a very hypnotizing effect, that could make one fall asleep........... My own preference, on the Dash nines, is to turn off the front computer screen, at night, and dim the side one fully. much less strain on the eyes, from staring over that glowing screen all night long.........

Made little difference to me, especially given the advent of ditch lights.

I'm with Golden. And with the maintenance program on our railroad, some of the older unit will lose the glare guard under the roof mounted lights and cause light to glare on down to the grab irons, sand fill caps and the roof of the walkway into the cab. When I was a conductor and smoked I liked the nose mounted ones on those cold days and nights as I could stand in front of the nose light and keep my head warm.

A Locomotive Descrepancy Report sounds in order for the missing glare guard. This could be a FRA defect, to boot or, at the least, a safety issue.

Other than the minimum illumination candellas, at prescribed distances, and height above rail, and distance off centerline requirements, that glare guard is a convenience, not required under law. Sometimes you see a unit, with the headlight assembly mounted upside down, with some idiot installing it, with the shields on top. (rain guards, I guess )

Another favorite is when your running in pitch black like we do here in the desert and you notice that one of your lights is cocked over to the far right or left. If you look at the bulb, it has an arrow indicating up so the filament and director are pointed straight ahead. I guess some of the guys just lopp them in and don't care.

This might be slightly off topic but how do railroads determine if thier enigines are going to have ditch lights at both ends. I've seen that NS has them but other railroads don't. Is it just a company preference if they are going to be running the locomotives long hood forward often, or are other factors involved?

Railroads that REGULARLY operate a loco in both directions, are required by law, to illuminate both ends, as per FRA Part 229.125. The newer locos, with the wide nosed "comfort cabs" aren't designed to run in reverse, except for the NS locos, built with conventional AAR control stand, for ease of bi-directional operation. Some other carriers are also now ordering locos equipped likewise, for simular reasons, as well as ergonomic considerations........