Loco lighting brackets

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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!