Rear tender marker lights

[Anonymous]

Here's a good question for some of you prototype experts.

I am modeling the late steam era in HO and am installing classification, head and backup lights on my locos. However, some have housings for other rear lighting at the top rear corners of the tenders.

Seems to me when I was young, back in the '50s some of these lights were red on both sides and some were red on fireman's side and green on engineer side.

Does anyone remember these lights? If so were some red and some green or is my memory playing tricks on me?

I am modeling the Santa Fe, UP and WP and a private John Deere road.

[dehusman]

They are called marker lights and they were different colors.

UP rules from 1954 (Rule 19) required green to the front and sides and red to the rear, except in non-CTC territory green to all three sides when clear of main track.

In current of traffic territory, when running aginst the current of traffic green to the front and side, then red to the rear on the side you are running and green to the rear on the side next tho the track track for the current of traffic for the direction you are moving.
For example if its right hand running and the north track is west bound, if you are moving west on the south track, then the south marker on your train would dispaly red and the north marker green to the rear.

The rules also provided for yellow instead of green.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

Note that marker lights are to be displayed only on the last car (or unit) of a train. Markers on a tender are appropriate if the engine is running "light" (i.e., without cars) or is at the rear end of a train (e.g., when serving as a pusher); they shouldn't be present on the tender otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. Have found some info and mostly relates to engines running without other cars or caboose. I have decided to use red and green led's with fiber optics running to the housings.

As a side note: I have found that after running the fiber optics thru the hole, and then heating them (very carefully) with the tip of a soldering iron to "mushroom" the end makes an excellent lens appearance when they are pushed back into the housing..