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Re:(erielack) DL&W FT "sky lights"

The New Haven train was the Comet, built by Goodyear-Zeppelin in 1935 in Akron, Ohio (list content?) Once delivered (how from Akron?  Erie/Maybrook/New Haven?) it made a run from New Haven to Boston, doing 157 miles in 143 minutes and reaching a speed of over 110 mph.  An articulated train designed for the Boston-Providence run, it consisted of a power/coach unit at each end with a coach in the middle.  Can we imagine such a device running between Hoboken and Scranton seversal times a day?

The "sky light" also appeared on at least UP M10,000, if not several later siblings.  Its visibility would depend on the presence of some atmospheric condition which would offer a medium for the light to be seen. In other words -- fog or clouds or ?

Randy Brown
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Hi folks,

    On my flight out to San Francisco, I was reading an article about a mini-streamliner built for the New Haven by the
Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp. (seriously!) called "The Comet." While I won't bore you with details of this train, one thing stuck out to me - it had a safety feature where it had a strong beacon light atop the cab that shined straight up into the sky. The assumption was that people driving towards a railroad crossing would see this beam of light approaching them at night and know they had to stop.

    Now, I remembered reading about this many moons ago, but didn't the DL&W have one or two FT's with a similar beacon light installed atop their roofs? I even remember seeing an overhead photo of one that shows the bolt holes where the beacon was once installed? (apparently they were pretty short-lived).

    Does anyone else have details about why they were installed (I assume the same as the aforementioned Comet), or whose idea it was? Better yet, are there any photos that show the beacon in action? (yeah, doubtful, but it never hurts to ask :)  It would certainly make for an interesting model, too!

    - Paul


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