A Red Lamp - Life's Good and Safe Now

Ever since our buffers were installed, FoSCL volunteer and ex Carlisle steam driver Ian Graham has been badgering me to prove them with a red lamp for completeness.   Why would a buffer stop neead a red light?   Well, imagine reversing a train to a set of buffers at night in the dark of railway sidings.

Red oil lamps were placed centrally on a central bracket on the buffer beam.   When the engine men lost sight of the red lamp on reversing they knew they were near enough for comfort and should stop. Identical red lights were attached to the last vehicle of trains too, especially for the attention of signal men.   This explanation from Jan Ford's VIC Blog:

When is a train not a train?
When it hasn't got a tail lamp.

On the running line, the red tail lamp is important to signify that a train is complete. Even in day time, it indicates clearly the last vehicle.

Some overseas railways hang a distinctive marker board on the last vehicle - often red marked 'LV'. In India I've seen red flags pressed into use but the nicest Last Vehicle marker I spotted was a spray of purple/red flowers! In Myanmar, they paint the 'LV' marker on the guard's van, making it important that the train is correctly marshalled!

At night or in conditions of poor visibility, the tail lamp must be lit. The traditional tail lamp uses a burner comprising a woven wick fed with paraffin from a vessel. The burner and vessel can be removed from the lamp housing for filling and maintenance. The complete lamp is designed to stay alight even in severe, windy conditions, provided it's correctly cleaned and 'trimmed'. Although the burner produces only a small, yellow flame, the red 'bulls-eye' lens produces a remarkably visible indication when viewed from the rear. At night, when the train itself cannot be seen, the tail lamp is the last line of defence against being run into from the rear. Loose-coupled, slow-moving freights improved their chances of being seen by carrying two additional red lights - one on each side the brake van - as well. When turned into a loop or additional running line, the side light nearest the main line was changed to white, so that a following train on the main line would not be panicked into thinking an accident was imminent. Side lights always project a white light forwards, so that the footplate crew could confirm that the whole train was following.

The person most interested in observing the tail lamp was the signalman, who had to satisfy himself that the whole train had passed clear of his section before allowing a second train to approach. Special bell signals were provided for 'train passed without tail lamp' and 'tail lamp out when should be lit'. As important as making sure that a train has a tail lamp is making sure that it has only one. If vehicles are attached at the rear, the original tail lamp must be removed and moved to its new position. If the locomotive was carrying a tail lamp when on its way to work the train, then this must be removed when the loco is attached to the train.

Today I was brought not one but two of these lamps by Kirkby Malham resident Andrea West, wife of former police colleague Ch Supt Owen West, who was helping a neighbour have a garge clear-out.

Nowadays they are highly prized.   They were scrapped by the thousands when electric lighting became the norm.   Furthermore, they were made from steel for cheapness so tended to rust away.   They led a hard life exposed to the elements and were vulnerable to destruction or being 'repurposed'.

Here they are, waiting for gentle restoration.   One will be weather proofed and located on our duffer beam - which will make driver Ian Graham happy again.

and a real surprise bonus - both lamps are marked BR but one is BR(M) - the Midland region so it could have been up and down this very line: