Nostalgia & History > Unknown Photographer - WP 2002

WP 2002 was photographed by an unknown photographer in September 1973 in an unknown location.
Bob

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Very nice roster photo.  WP was late in adopting seal beam headlights.
Thanks for sharing this photo.
ALLEN

Did this style headlamp come from steam locomotives?

The story was WP had a LARGE inventory of single bulbs for steam engine headlights so it remained standard thru the GP35’s. BSB

Posted from iPhone

BigSkyBlue Wrote:
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> The story was WP had a LARGE inventory of single
> bulbs for steam engine headlights so it remained
> standard thru the GP35’s. BSB
>
> Posted from iPhone

The 1966 GP40's also had them.

Posted from Android

The “excess amount light bulbs” might be an old wife’s tale.  A more logical explanation is the “golden Glow” headlights gave a wider field of light, important in the confines of the Feather River Canyon.  Perhaps the same reason the DRG&W and WP later ordered Gyralights.

Location might be along Middle Harbor Road in Oakland.

Looks like Oakland.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

SN711 Wrote:
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> Looks like Oakland.
>
> Gary
>
> Posted from iPhone

Great minds think alike.  ....and at the same time.

boejoe Wrote:
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> Did this style headlamp come from steam
> locomotives?

No. CN used the same design too.

Yukon you are quite right. Virgil Staffs book goes into great detail about headlights and lenses and bulbs and the effects in the canyon. FTs actually had a prism lens applied in Oroville and taken off in Portola to give more light in the canyon. From Portola east the crews didnt like the dispersed light as why they were removed. WP tested sealed beam lights and found in the begining, Sealed beam lights tended to burn the bulb in the center reducing the avalible light. It was decided that the golden glow provided better light and current technology on seald beams was not superior. That was taken form WP mechanical department records. Now as for the change after 68 to seald beam, either the bulbs were better or bean counters finally prevailed since that was the beginning of the Christy/Flanery/Perlman era.


YukonYeti Wrote:
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> The “excess amount light bulbs” might be an
> old wife’s tale.  A more logical explanation is
> the “golden Glow” headlights gave a wider
> field of light, important in the confines of the
> Feather River Canyon.  Perhaps the same reason
> the DRG&W and WP later ordered Gyralights.