Joe Fugate's Siskiyou Line: Forums / Locos and rolling stock / SP caboose marker lights?

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SP caboose marker lights?


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Beltline

Wed Jan 25 2006, 10:28AM

Registered Member #266

Joined: Tue Jan 24 2006, 01:32PM
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2

Hey everyone, I'm a new guy on this forum, and am looking for some info. I'm modeling an SP caboose, C-40-4r #4119 as it would have looked in the mid 80's. My big question is...the red marker lights are mounted above the end doors...did they remain "lit steady", or flash, and if so at a certian rate/freq?

I'll be using a single function decoder to run these lights. This will require/allow the operator to call up the caboose with the trottle to set the marker direction. It will also allow for added transponding down the road.

Rick Bacon 3
Windsor, CO

Beltline

Thu May 18 2006, 01:26PM

Registered Member #266

Joined: Tue Jan 24 2006, 01:32PM
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2

Well, if anyone is interested, my research has lead me to believe that these marker lights were steady burners...not blinkers. The "famous Harry Wong" remembers seeing them steady, and most of the railroaders I talked with seem to thing blinking is something FREDs/EOTs brought with them as far as end of train marking goes.

On a side note about modeling C-40-4 cabeese from the Athearn model; the roof overhangs turn out to be to short to match the frame/steps(by .115 inch per end!). I don't know weather the roof is wrong or the floor, but I'm adding a sliver of roof from a second shell to the roof ends to get the end railings to stand up vertical, and not lean in!

Rick Bacon 3

Rick Bacon 3
Windsor, CO

Beaver11

Fri May 19 2006, 10:07AM

Registered Member #263

Joined: Wed Dec 21 2005, 11:58AM
Location: NorCal
Posts: 59

Rick,

I totally agree with the "steady as she goes" constant light. While circuits for blinking markers were avaiable in the hobby during the 80's, this was always for someone else--not the SP. OUR "excitement" with lights is on the head end--the gyralite. I was track-side along the SP a lot during the late 70's and 80's and took note for my own modellig of the shift from "frog eyes" to the single lense. Solid on. As you found by interviewing railroaders, it was the FRED that introduced the "flashing rear end detector." Fortunately for many of us, Oregon's caboose law kept cabooses rolling until 1990-91.

Bill D

cwclark

Fri Aug 11 2006, 11:59AM

Registered Member #355

Joined: Thu May 04 2006, 06:34AM
Location: Crosby, Texas
Posts: 246

I used LED's to light my SP cabooses..the prototype was either mounted to the rear of the caboose above the back door or on top of the roof ...the roof mounts worked best...I took a red LED and soldered a piece of wire to one of the LED leads because the originals had a three legged stantion so the extra leg would be seen as prototype...I then mounted it to the roof added some wheel pickups, a 250 microfarad capacitor to cut out any light flicker from dirty wheels and a resistor..i then painted the LED tuscan red on the backside and painted a small silver ring for a lens..it worked out great...chuck

joef

Fri Aug 11 2006, 01:05PM

Registered Member #3

Joined: Wed Dec 08 2004, 09:01PM
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2112

Chuck:

Any digital photos you could post? Sounds interesting ...

Joe Fugate
http://siskiyou-railfan.net - 200,000 hits and counting!

In video ...

tunnelmotor2000

Sun Aug 13 2006, 07:20AM

Registered Member #220

Joined: Wed Oct 12 2005, 06:27AM
Location: Belgium
Posts: 10

A capacitor to avoid flickering is the best way to go, but I've always heard that capacitors and DCC don't go together very well. How did you get around this?

JM

cwclark

Mon Aug 21 2006, 06:47AM

Registered Member #355

Joined: Thu May 04 2006, 06:34AM
Location: Crosby, Texas
Posts: 246

here are some photo's of it..once it's lit you can't really tell it's an LED..since i'm still a DC guy i have no problems with capacitors...that's why i'm scared to put in DCC..i have a lot of electronic stuff on my layout and all the horror stories about what DCC will do to them keeps me a DC guy...chuck

Denny

Mon Aug 21 2006, 07:08AM

Registered Member #21

Joined: Thu Dec 09 2004, 07:20AM
Location: Saronno, Italy
Posts: 404

cwclark wrote ...

here are some photo's of it..once it's lit you can't really tell it's an LED..since i'm still a DC guy i have no problems with capacitors...that's why i'm scared to put in DCC..i have a lot of electronic stuff on my layout and all the horror stories about what DCC will do to them keeps me a DC guy...chuck

just add a cheap function-only decoder and use one of its DC outputs. there should be no problem with capacitors.

Denny
Saronno, VA - Italy
http://www.sp-coastline.com

cwclark

Thu Mar 29 2007, 01:23AM

Registered Member #355

Joined: Thu May 04 2006, 06:34AM
Location: Crosby, Texas
Posts: 246

I'd like to make a commentary about this post. Since i finally put in a DCC system, all I had to do is cut the capacitor from the circuit. The LED doesn't flicker much in doing so and here's the best part. Since the power to the rails with a DCC system is AC, the LED works in both directions of travel unlike polarity sensative DC in which I had to ensure the caboose was heading in the proper direction so the LED would pick up the right polarity to light. The wave of the AC current acts like reverse polarity in the half wave and the caboose's LED stays lit no matter which direction the train is running.

!lol

druddick

Thu Apr 17 2008, 06:59PM

Registered Member #756

Joined: Mon Nov 26 2007, 12:07PM
Location: California
Posts: 10

Does anyone know who still makes a single or double marker light for the roof or will I end up having to make one myself out of brass? Thanks...


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