Loco lighting brackets

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Yesterday we were on a shopping trip to the Swindon Outlet complex in the old rail works, the Steam museum is next door and well worth a visit but this Loco is in the shopping centre. As shopping is one of my pet hates I amused myself by examining the old machinery that is dotted round the centre. While looking at Ditchead Manor I noticed the three brackets on the black deck area and a similar arrangement on the rear of the tender, I expect everyone knows they are lamp brackets but it didn’t occur to me so a quick Google soon found the brackets with lamps installed, a bit more digging and I discovered that the lamps are installed in different patterns depending on the loco function. Everyday is a school day.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 13/03/2022 10:56:42

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

The HEAD CODE – but can't help thinking the brackets should be rotated 90*, with the bolts at the back ? The 2 lanps I have would not fit on this arrangement ! Noel.

[Dave WoottonParticipant @davewootton]

The GWR liked to do things differently, the lamp bracket mountings are on the side of their lamps, most others were on the back.

Dave

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

The brackets on the tender were the same orientation, perhaps the different rail companies had different systems, from the bit I read about the lamp code it was not a universal standard. I suppose it would have been standardised after nationalisation. I am only a lightweight steam fan I know very little but find much of interest.

Mike

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by noel shelley on 13/03/2022 10:47:55:

… can't help thinking the brackets should be rotated 90*, with the bolts at the back ? The 2 lanps I have would not fit on this arrangement…

Well spotted! I notice the bolts seem to allow the brackets to be put on either way, Does that mean the GWR had two different types of lamp? I bet a long book could be written on the development of railway lighting. If yt doesn't exist already.

Dave

[Tim HammondParticipant @timhammond72264]

I remember when I was a child ( 60+ years ago ) my mother would occasionally buy " Grape Nuts " breakfast cereal, and on the back of the boxes was an explanation of the headcodes of BR Southern Region locos. That region seemed to use white – painted discs rather than lamps.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

In ME 1942 F.C. Hambleton had a long series of articles on loco headlamps of the pre-grouping and grouping railway companies.

Before you ask I don't have many of the articles myself, but a trip to your nearest main library will get you access – for me it would be the library of Birmingham, but Nottingham Central Library also used to have a complete set of old ME magazines for reference. Or perhaps your club might be able to help if you are a member of one. Have a look at the online ME index to see which articles would be of interest – but I suspect they would all be in a single bound volume.

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 13/03/2022 17:10:39

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

There's a BR(W) pattern loco. lamp currently on eBay. The door to access the wick is at the rear so the mount goes at the side. Good ol' GWR design!

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