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#7384
Richard Ryker
Participant

Mars and Gyralite are trade names like Westinghouse and General Electric. Both companies provided various headlights, and oscillating lighting.

On the Missouri Pacific- Texas & Pacific lines, passenger diesels had a red oscillating light in the top light housing. The headlight was placed in the door. On early E units through E-7, the headlight was a single bulb with a large reflector. The red light was somewhat smaller since it had a separate housing that moved as a unit. The red light did not illuminate unless the train was stopped and discharging passengers. This would signal on-coming trains to stop. (actual rules may have varied by track and signal types. I’d read a rule book to be certain.)

On E-8 locomotives, most of the lighting was from Pyle-National. The head light in the door was now two sealed beam lights mounted horizontally. In the upper housing was a vertical twin beam unit with two oscillating lights. The lower light was red and served the function described above. The upper light was a white oscillating light used for alerting drivers that a high speed train was approaching. It was illuminated when the train was moving.

Based on photos in various books, earlier E-units were all eventually upgraded with the sealed beam units