I don’t. have anything deffinate but what I have heard is they did not start using the headlight in the daytime untill the diesels became common, probably the ’50’s.
Reason: Diesels had surplus electricity from the engine.
Steam engine headlights used electricity from a generator. Generators used steam to generate electricity. Steam took coal to produce and the railroads did not want to use any more coal than they had to.
Ken Martin
Just going through several hundred photos I have of Q steam dating between 1930's and 1960. Although many are of engines that are not moving, there are a lot of photos of engines hauling loads. Most all do not have the head light on, the photos where all taken during daylight hours.Was it a practice for the Q and other RR's to run steam (freight) without the headlight on during the day? Ray
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Posted by: Kenneth Martin <kmartin537@surewest.net>
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