Question about UK locomotives

Michael_Evans

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I have a question about UK locomotives. How come they all have yellow paint on the front of them? Did all the railroads just agree on that? Is it a safety feature?
Michael
 
All what railroads? There was only one at the time. From about 1962 or so small yellow panels were painted on the noses to make the loco more visible. Later (about 1967) the whole nose was painted yellow. Shunters generally had 'wasp stripes' applied, from about 1960.

Paul
 
In more recent times the yellow panel has become more discreet, with the mandatory use of fixed beam halogen headlamps on traction units (three on most recent builds such as the Class 66 freight loco and Class 175/180 etc. DMU's).
 
In more recent times the yellow panel has become more discreet, with the mandatory use of fixed beam halogen headlamps on traction units (three on most recent builds such as the Class 66 freight loco and Class 175/180 etc. DMU's).

As already pointed out, it is a safety feature introduced to make them more visible from a distance. The problem with most locos at the time is that they didn't carry any headlights (early 1960s), even if they did, they weren't sufficently powerful enough to be recongisable from a distance.

The colour green didn't particulary help with visibility.


As time went on, lights became brigher and the first ones were added to the Class 313 EMUs and Class 56 locomotives, which got replaced with more modern ones on square basis. After about 1986 - 1988 (Not sure what year), it became a requirement to fit High Intensity Headlights (or HIH) to all cabs that have the capability of leading a train on the mainline. All stock had marker and tail lights as well. Yes, I know there are certain circumstances where head and tail lights weren't use, southern units and locos had roller blinds, but this doubled as both a head and tail light!

Now since most trains use much more powerful head and marker lights, there seems to be little need for a warning patch, so this may get even smaller as years go by and possilby disappear completely, quite simply because the headlights do a better job of it.
 
No headlights till sometime after the 60's?:eek: How the heck do you see anything when its night and your driving a 1500t freight on a heavily trafficed mainline?
 
No headlights till sometime after the 60's?:eek: How the heck do you see anything when its night and your driving a 1500t freight on a heavily trafficed mainline?
Why do you need to see anything apart from the signals? In England we used to arrange things so that two trains didn't try to use the same bit of track at the same time. We found it was safer that way.

Paul
 
WileeCoyote! I have done quite a few miles on steam loco footplates in the dark and can tell you that the need for a headlight is not very important for the driver, (although a bright light on the front of a train enables it to be better seen by other people). All drivers know the "road" very well, dark or not. The beam given off is no-way bright enough to illuminate the stopping distance of a train.

Steam locos on the main line also have to have a high intensity light, which is achieved by using a portable lamp, similar to a modern battery tail lamp. The ones I have come across are painted black and are quite unobtrusive . Until recently paraffin lamps were normal, although a few classes of steam loco did get electric marker lamps (about as bright as a 5 watt side light on a car)

What I find more interesting is the lighting of signals. In the UK semaphore signals were traditionally lit by a paraffin lamp (a small flame!). When the arm rose or fell a pair of coloured lenses moved in front of the lamp, showing either green or red (in a distant signal- yellow). Some were later lit by electricity. Drivers have to know every signal and a signal with the light out has to be treated as a red even if not visible in the dark!

Colour light signals are much brighter, but even these can raise problems. One I have noticed is how many roads are now lit by steetlights with a strong orange light, similar to a yellow aspect on a colour light signal.

At Settle Junction at the bottom of the Settle Carlisle line there is a colour light signal between the railway and the parallel road, quite a few railwaymen tell you that "one day I stopped at this "peg" (signal) and a car had stopped on the road thinking it was a traffic light". And the story is always true!

John
 
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Why do you need to see anything apart from the signals? In England we used to arrange things so that two trains didn't try to use the same bit of track at the same time. We found it was safer that way.

Paul

id have thought being able to read speed boards and sound whistle signs would be one good reason for having lights?

and its always nice to see what you are about to run over too!:hehe:
 
I heard somewhere that another reason many Brit locomotives didn't (or don't) have headlights was because much of the tracks were protected by fencing on both sides so nothing could get on the lines.
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LadyNight18
 
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Up until the early-mid 80's at least, speed restriction signs on the UK rail network were of the yellow cut out non reflective type. It was up to the driver to "know the road" as to where speed restrictions commenced and finished - even on the darkest night. Often drivers would use aural cues - a particularly noisy piece of track - to help in determining where they were. Obviously that has diminished with 80% of the UK rail network now having welded rail and High Output ballast cleaning and tamping assisting in providing a quiet and uniform track bed. Trains generally run much faster than they did 25 - 30 years ago.

The modern reflective style speed restrictions should be picked up by a fixed beam headlamp but that does not discharge the driver from having his/her route knowledge.

Interestingly, I have watched a number of European and US cab ride videos where it is quite apparent from tunnel sections that the headlights provide very little in the way of forward illumination. Given the stopping distance of a real train you would be hard pressed to illuminate far enough ahead to see an obstruction anyway!
 
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A friend of mine sent me a video taken while running a train in the tube. It shocked me just how little the driver really can see. In fact in portions of the vid, you can only see the signals and not much else.
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Hi,

Even during daylight, the driver of any kind of locomotive normally has no chance to see an obstruction to stop his train train in time to prevent a collision. Exceptions may be found with narrow gauge railways and industrial railways, where speeds are very low. Therefore provisions had to be taken to ensure that there are no obstructions on the tracks. That is the objective of the elaborate signalling arrangements which were developed by railways from about 1840 all over the world.

Even in Germany the headlights of a locomotive only had the objective to show bystanders, that a train is approaching. Originally these lamps were fuelled by petroleum. Between the 1890ies and about 1930 gas was commonly used. Since the 1930ies electric lighting was used. Steam locomotives were therefore fitted with turbogenerators to provide electricity for the headlights, instrument lighting as well as electic lamps helping inspection of bearings of drive rods etc. during night time operation.
Those signals, which a driver needed to see from a distance were lighted. Of course headlights did illuminate unlighted signal tables in passing, helping the locomotive crew in identifying signals and mile posts.
In Germany lighting was initially done by petroleum or other liquid fuels, later by propane gas. When electric signalling was introduced, gas gave way to electic lighting.
Drivers always had a plan with them, showing each milepost, curve, bridge, tunnel and signal (lighted or not) along the track. Part of the plan was a timetable telling the driver where he was supposed to be at any moment. That is why the watch slung from a silver chain and fastened to the vest was the most important instrument of a locomotive driver.
If the night vision is not disturbed by excessive brightness of the instrument lighting, even an unlighted signal can be seen from a cab at night if it is passed by a locomotive. Even under unfavorable weather conditions a driver and his mate, the fireman therefore always new, where they were and, what kind the next signal was supposed to be.

As petroleum or other suitable fuels were expensive, the use of lighted signal lamps was rather restrictive. Only in recent times with electric lighting prevailing one can see lighted signal lamps even during daylight hours.

Cheers,

Konni
 
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