Nostalgia & History > WP Head light question.

I have a friend who worked for the WP in the past.  I have often seen the "non standard" headlights on some WP units. On a recent post  Monday Memories - WP Zephyrette RDC At Oakland 12/59 (images 557k) it was mentioned that it might be a gyrating light.  However, the photo for the new loco there is no other light.  We wonder about the very large head lights.
Thanks.
  

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The large headlights on the locomotives were just that, headlights. They were the same headlights that were used on steam locomotives, one incandescent bulb and a reflector.
Most were converted to dual sealed beam headlights with the use of a Pyle conversion plate. The light on the front door of the RDC-2 was a portable Mars light. WP's passenger diesels all had Mars lights.
For whatever reason all WP freight locomotives up to and including the first order of GP40's were ordered with the Pyle incandescent headlights.

They are very large headlighs.  They are basically steam locomotive headlights in a custom enclosure.

Why WP chose to do this is a bit debated, but the custom lasted into the late 1960s on new orders, including their first GP40s.  Even the WP SW9s got them, which is hard to spot unless you know that SW9s were factory equipped with dual sealed beams.  

Only a handful of these lights still exist.  WP GP7 707 in Portola has one.  The WP Museum holds a couple sets of internals and is working to replicate the lights.  And look at rebuilt WP GP35s and early GP40s and many sport big round covers with dual sealed beams inside them, which were conversions from the original large single bulbs.

Z

The Zephyrette gyralights were also smaller than the standard WP Pyle "Golden Glow" barrel headlights.

One story that has made the rounds is that WP engineers felt the single bulb headlights (steam engine type) provided better visibility around curves in the Feather River Canyon than twin sealed beams.  BSB