Headlights mounted for the crew

[enr2099]

IIRC the Canadian roads, CN and CP had the headlights mounted on the nose to lessen the glare  of falling snow(or rain on the wet coast). The CN 8000's only have the headlights between the numberboards because they were tacked on to an NS order so CN could get them cheap.

[NS SD70M-2]

You mean ditchlights.

[rogruth]

I have been told that the Pennsy switched the headlight and turbo positions to make the turbo more accessible for repair. I do not know if this is true but it makes some sense.

[Anonymous]

I have read that the ATSF and now BNSF prefer low mounted headlights to eliminate the glare of the short hoods.

[tomikawaTT]

Good questions!

I'm sure that every railroad mounted their headlights where they did because they assumed that the chosen location was the best for the purpose.  The fact that there were so many variants indicates to me that there was considerable difference of opinion on the subject.

Note that in the waning days of steam, the PRR swapped the headlight and turbogenerator, which raised the headlight by about a foot.  Why?

Most mallet and simple articulated locos had headlights mounted on the front engine frame, but the D&H mounted theirs in the middle of the smokebox door...

Current Japanese practice for box-cab electrics seems to favor two headlights, at the extreme corners of the roof above the outer edges of the front end windows.  DMU and EMU control cars follow the same pattern.

Only an engineman who had experience running many different locos (from several different railroads) at night can give a reasonably informed answer.

Chuck

[Andrew Falconer]

If the Headlights were mounted right for the crew to see clearly in the dark, where would they be on the locomotives?

Which locomotive models have the headlights mounted for the best visibility in dark and hazy condtions?

Andrew