Some LIRR switchers in the late '60's "patch" on front hood?

Some LIRR S series switchers in the late '60's had some kind of "patch" on their noses. What purpose?

It was so the Engine House boss could scan it on his cell phone and skip the analog recording of the engine coming into P.I. Saved a lot of time. This could be done only on the north pit, where the F-end was visible to the E-Boss thru the crappy old window. So all the engines sporting the code were directed to the north pit. Everything else went to the south pit. Those were the days.

That's a really bad april fools joke.

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Sat Apr 04, 2020 9:22 pmThat's a really bad april fools joke.

Super technology the LIRR had in the late 1960's! How did they handle the east and west pit traffic?

Through the switch tender at the head of the yard, just west of Dunton Tower. He/She had a vey responsible job to make sure the engines went to the places that they were supposed to go, without error. It was up to the Engineman to tell them where the unit was going, after calling the Engine House on the radio for the correct pit. Then, the unit was placed on the proper pit for P.I. (Periodic Inspection)

The traffic was North and South

Anyone with a possible use? Thank you.