Hi all, i was just wondering, why did all the Canadian railroads use class lights on thier locos?. And why did they stop? And what did the colors mean? And i have seen the they have independant control of the right and left, what was that for
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Class lights..
- Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Canada. For specific railroad questions, see Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.
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I knew White meant Extra, that's what my dad said for the BCR Units at one time, which would explain the White Flags when then used to run back in the day
While not in Canada, the Railroad I work for uses White lights for Extra trains, as we run on timetable for all others.
NV290 wrote:Hi all, i was just wondering, why did all the Canadian railroads use class lights on thier locos?. And why did they stop? And what did the colors mean? And i have seen the they have independant control of the right and left, what was that forBack in the day, most railroading was done via timetable/train order. By the early 1990's, these class lights weren't necessary anymore as the private railroad passenger trains were gone and freight trains run by timetable were becoming rare and nonexistent.
White stood for extra, as in any train not regularly scheduled or on the timetable, i.e. a work train.
Green stood for another section of a train following the first section of a train. It was more common on passenger trains than on freight trains. Usually this was done when the first section ran out of car capacity. The last section of the train didn't require green lights. Usually when a train was in the siding for a meet, this was a signal to the train in the siding that there was another following section.
Red usually signified the rear end of a train. This was normally used at night on the rear of a helper set (on diesels) when it was physically possible to see a red flag.
Does that help?