Lamp codes and the Railway Operating Division overseas

[AustinJames]

Hi all, please forgive me if this is the wrong forum and for what may be a very simple question.

 

I've been collecting and running some ROD locomotives in OO as I've become very interested in WWI and the operations of the ROD (and the light railways as well) since the centennial a few years back. I'd like to add lamps to the front of the locomotives as they look rather bare, but I understand that the position of the lamps has significance in relaying what the train is supposed to be. I've seen charts detailing the different lamp positions and what they mean, but I'm wondering if the trains being operated by the Railway Operating Division in France/overseas would have used the same lamp codes or would there be any significant differences? 

 

I'm in the US and mostly model 1950s steam in HO so I'm still learning the different operating procedures of railways overseas, but I couldn't find anything about this particular subject. I'd greatly appreciate any information, thank you!

 

James 

[Dana Ashdown]

I'm not at home at the moment, so I can't check, but O.S. Nock did a book about fifty years ago entitled something like "Railways at War," and published by Blandford Press. I don't remember it having anything about lamp codes in the Great War, but I'll look anyway.

[Michael Hodgson]

In the UK lamps indicate to the signalman the class of train to determine priority/speed or for routing.

 

I don't know about wartime operations in France, but where they were running on existing French railways, I would have thought they would have observed local practice.  But if they were at the front line, perhaps on track laid by the military, wouldn't lamps make trains easier for the enemy to target?

[AustinJames]

2 hours ago, Dana Ashdown said:

I'm not at home at the moment, so I can't check, but O.S. Nock did a book about fifty years ago entitled something like "Railways at War," and published by Blandford Press. I don't remember it having anything about lamp codes in the Great War, but I'll look anyway.

Many thanks! 

 

1 hour ago, Michael Hodgson said:

In the UK lamps indicate to the signalman the class of train to determine priority/speed or for routing.

 

I don't know about wartime operations in France, but where they were running on existing French railways, I would have thought they would have observed local practice.  But if they were at the front line, perhaps on track laid by the military, wouldn't lamps make trains easier for the enemy to target?

 

As I understand, the LROD or trench railways wouldn't have run with lights/lamps as they would've been too close as a target, but I'm not sure that standard gauge ROD trains ever got that close to the front, at least on a regular basis. 

 

There is one photo of an ROD 2-8-0 with a group that has lamps fitted on the top of the smoke box and the corners of the bufferbeam. Although, this particular photo may have been taken before going overseas, but I am unsure. 

 

Then there is the book 'Railways and War Before 1918' by Denis Bishop and Keith Davies that has wonderful information and illustrations of rolling stock and locomotives used, both standard and narrow gauge. Some of the standard gauge illustrations there are lamps definitely fitted on the bufferbeam of at least three locomotives. Granted, these are illustrations and the book was published in 1972, but this and the 2-8-0 photo also have me considering that my models may need lamps. 

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by AustinJames
Photo added

[Caley Jim]

That being a posed photograph with the loco obviously well 'bulled-up' I'd say that they have put that board on the centre bracket and lamps on the other three purely for the photographer and they can't be taken as representing anything that occurred in service.   Note the two highly polished jacks sitting on the front footplate and the polished buffer face.

 

Jim W

[Dana Ashdown]

James,

 

I checked for the book. It is Railways and War before 1918, published by Blandford Press in 1972, but -- as you've discovered -- the authors are Denis Bishop and W.J.K. Davies (not O.S. Nock - the format is identical with Nock's series). As I suspected, there is nothing about head codes.

 

However, I think generally any lamp codes used would have been unique to the particular army or branch. There must have been a few books published on the ROD, but whether anyone ever thought to note the codes is another thing entirely.

 

This lamp, by the way, is essentially a British-pattern hand lamp that has been redesigned for use as a marker or signal lamp (hence the sockets on either side, and lack of a rear handle). There are red and blue glass filters inside, so white, red or blue/green aspects can be shown. If you're not familiar with this, when the catch on the back is released, the top handle can be turned until the filter comes to the front.

 

It has the Canadian Broad Arrow mark inside the door, and though I believe it is of Great War vintage, it could also date to WWII. Sadly, the interior reflector is missing, and the burner has ben replaced with an Adlake 250 model -- the same kind used in Adams-Westlake railway hand lanterns.

 

 

 

[Dana Ashdown]

This book might be useful:GetContent.pdf

 

 

[Caledonian]

Two books are absolutely essential for looking into [and modelling] the ROD, both by William [Bill] Aves

 

R-O-D The Railway Operating Division on the Western Front [Shaun Tyas, Donington Lincolnshire 2009]

and

The Lines Behind the Front  [Lightmoor , Lydney, Gloucester 2016]

 

The first, unfortunately, is out of print. I don't know about the other but it may well be.

 

Neither has anything to say about lamps but both are crammed full of photos and it would appear that there was a very simple  system in operation.

 

All lamps were carried/displayed on the buffer-beam - none at all on the smoke box

 

There are usually three lamp irons but I can only pick up one where the central one is used - and its on its own

 

I'm open to correction, but it looks to me that two lamps are displayed [one at each end of the buffer beam] when a train is running, and one on the right if it's shunting

 

[Caledonian]

Thinking further, I'd say there wasn't a lamp code at all - in the British railways sense. It looks to me as if the lamps were simply there to indicate that a train was on the line and moving.

 

Still need to mount them obviously, but no need to shift them according to circumstances