Western Railroad Discussion > headlight re-arrangement: GE vs. EMD

Just observing over the decades, it's pretty interesting to compare how often EMD headlight switch spots compared to GE's. At least with ATSF or BN alone, up to today, I think the SD40-2's have had more switches of lighting placement than anything else I recall. Then you look at most GE's over time and their headlights have usually stayed in the as-delivered location.
Any further examples or thoughts? Perhaps one explanation relates to EMD's sticking around longer and going through more rebuilds and second-hand sales.

Wasn`t the high by the numberboards arrangement preferred due to the possibility of a crewman being burned by a nose placed headlight?

I noticed today the BNSFs new 70 ACes have a blank plate by the numberboards instead of a smooth panel,(Lousy grab shot)

If only they could bring gyralights back...

Ct97

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Fizzboy7 Wrote:

> Just observing over the decades, it's pretty
> interesting to compare how often EMD headlight
> switch spots compared to GE's. At least with
> ATSF or BN alone, up to today, I think the
> SD40-2's have had more switches of lighting
> placement than anything else I recall.

Other than ex-Frisco SD40-2's that had a single gyralight in the nose (removed soon after BN took them over), I think BN's SD40-2's all came with headlights between the numberboards.

SLSF: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2318746,2318746#2318746
BN: http://www.trainpix.com/BN/EMDORIG/SD40-2/6809.HTM

Except for ATSF 5058-5070 that came with a three-bulb Oscitrol array in the nose, Santa Fe's SD40-2's likewise came with just headlights between the numberboards.

Oscitrol: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2091157
Ordinary ATSF: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/attachments/fullsize/413000/02_atsf_5119_010480_sanbndo.jpg

Santa Fe began relocating headlights to the nose on all their power, EMD and GE, in 1988 (except for the 200-class SD75M's - don't know why they showed up with headlights above the cab).

SD40-2 with noselight: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2808064,2808075#2808075

After the BNSF merger in 1996, ex-BN units slowly started getting the same modification.

ex-BN SD40-2 with noselight: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2764708,2764708#2764708

That one cab-to-nose switch for Santa Fe and BN(SF) power is the only major headlight modification for their SD40-2/C30-7 era power I'm aware of (not counting the disappearance of classification lights). Were there other changes?

> Then you look at most GE's over time and their headlights
> have usually stayed in the as-delivered location.

The only pre-1988 GE's that hung around on Santa Fe for any length of time after 1988 were the last order of C30-7's, the SF30C's, B39-8's, and B23-7's. All were built with headlights above the cab, but many got noselights after 1988.

C30-7: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1683870,1683870#1683870
SF30C: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2175295,2175295#2175295
B39-8: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1332117,1332222#1332222
B23-7: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2066632,2066632#2066632

Even a few short-timer U36C's and B36-7's got noselights before they were shuffled off the property:

U36C: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2635903,2635903#2635903
B36-7: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2319751

The only BN-painted GE's with cabs that made it through the merger were C30-7's. Off hand, I can't think of any BN C30-7's that got noselights or BNSF paint. Darn few even got BNSF sublettering before the fleet was purged in 2002.

As a former resident of the San Joaquin Valley and railfan, the lower headlight was more of a safety factor due to the Tule Fog that used to hang around the valley between November and March. I had a friend who was a Santa Fe engineer tell me the high headlights would reflect back into the eyes of the engineer in dense fog.

Any body know if Reggie Kenner is still working for BNSF or has he retired ?



Jay

Several C30-7's did get repainted into BNSF Heritage 1 paint including BNSF 5177

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/Locopicture.aspx?id=4268

I wrote:

> Off hand, I can't think of any BN C30-7's that got noselights or BNSF paint. Darn few even
> got BNSF sublettering before the fleet was purged in 2002.

Hilinenine Wrote:

> Several C30-7's did get repainted into BNSF Heritage 1 paint including BNSF 5177

Yes, but all four of them were ex-Santa Fe (Heritage 1-painted BNSF 5165, 5174, 5175, and 5177 were ex-ATSF 8122, 8131, 8132, and 8134). My comment above was specifically about BN C30-7's, none of which were painted and only a handful of which even got BNSF sublettering. All of Santa Fe's C30-7's got new numbers under BNSF, but none of BN's did, so there was less urgency to patch the BN units to BNSF.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=8443

Some ex-BN C30-7's may well have gotten nose-mounted headlights, but I've never seen a photo of one. The paint schemes, though, are pretty well documented in Del Grosso's books and Jim Czarnecki's site:

http://www.qstation.org/Repaint-Patch/5000.html

The standard placement for a headlight from EMD is up top unless the ordering railroad specifies the headlight be placed in the nose which the SP always did.

JDE