Re: (erielack) Mars Lights (was re: OEM Horns)

[A Samostie <quahog_@_sprint.ca>]

Dear Group,

Some further confirmation, based on photos in Sweetland's "Lackawanna
Railroad in Color":

A Samostie wrote:
 
> The DL&W passenger F3s and at least some of the steam locomotives used
> in passenger service also had Mars lights.  In the case of the F3s, the
> Mars light may have been a single white bulb rather than the dual bulb
> assembly found on the E8s. (I haven't been able to find a good enough
> photo of a passenger F3's headlights to know for sure).

I still can't tell for sure, but the passenger F3s seem to have had a
single white bulb and reflector dish in the upper headlight (Mars)
casing.  
 
> After the EL merger or as the mechanical components of the Mars
> assemblies failed, they were replaced by normal headlights.  Some of the
> ex-DL&W E8s also lost their trademark lower headlights (Erie E8s didn't
> have them) when the nose doors were replaced for various reasons
> (including wreck damage).

The photo on p. 122 of Sweetland's book shows post-merger passenger F3
#8421 with its lower headlight blanked, and a fixed headlight mounted in
the upper casing.

> DL&W FTs and freight F3s were not equipped with Mars lights, but many of
> these units had a red "bullseye" light (smaller than a standard
> headlight) mounted in the nose door.  These gradually disappeared after
> the EL merger as the older units were dropped from the roster.  I'm not
> sure if any of the late-model F3s or F7s has bullseye lights; I'm
> guessing not.

MY GUESS WAS WRONG!
I thought the bullseyes may have been a detail that only appeared on
*earlier* units.  Krause & Crist's "Lackawanna Heritage" (1947-1952) has
numerous photos of FTs and freight F3s without bullseyes.  The builder's
photo of FT #604 A-B-C on p.7 of Sweetland's book confirms that the
bullseyes were added later by the railroad.  However, nearly all the
freight units in Sweetland's book are shown with bullseyes, and the F7s
did, indeed, have them.  So, it would appear that bullseyes are, in
fact, a *later* period spotting feature; headlight visors, however, are
definitely from the early period.  

QUESTION:  By merger time, did ALL Lackawanna freight F units have
bullseyes?

> Additional questions:
> 
> 1) Does anyone have a DL&W ETT that includes rules governing the use of
> Mars lights?  If so, copying it to the group would be helpful.

Still waiting on this one... when MUST the Mars light be activated,
according to the operating rules?  Or, was it entirely at the engineer's
discretion?

Cheers,
Alan <quahog_@_sprint.ca>

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