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Model Railroader 1938 March
CONTENTS
HO GAUGE COUPLERS
SIMPLE SIGNALING
A NEW JERSEY O GAUGE ROAD
A SMOOTH RUNNING CLUB
BAKER VALVE GEAR
Marker Lights-Necessary Adjuncts to a Well Detailed Model.
MARKER lights are a very important item in real railroad practice, but are often neglected on models. A marker light isn't so small that it can't be seen, even in HO gauge, and in 0 gauge well detailed lanterns with the correct colored jewels are available. But how many use them?
The rear end of every train must carry markers. There should not be markers anywhere else in the train. Most model rails are fairly particular about markers on the front of the locomotive, where they are not so essential because they are used only to indicate a section following (green) or an extra (white), but we have yet to see a model road, except for a very few c 1 u b lines, which follows the standard code diligently when it comes to the rear car, where the markers are absolutely necessary day and night.
All real passenger cars have brackets for marker lanterns on all four corners. This includes all express and refrigerator cars which might be used in passenger trains. No model kits or commercial finished cars have this essential, and hardly any model rails put it on their cars. And yet even the bracket is as big a piece of detail as many another part which is carefully applied. The lantern it holds is as big as a coupler knuckle. Cabooses should also
have marker brackets at all four corners. Many a model caboose has markers permanently applied on one end, but that's rather absurd when the crummy is turned around. Our cabooses are fitted with standard brackets and the markers can be slipped on or off at either end, and what's more, can be turned around so as to give the proper indications for multiple track running.
To start off with the engine, a locomotive pulling a scheduled train by day carries no markers whatever. By night the headlight is considered a marker. If the train is running in two or more sections, the locomotives of all but the last section will carry signals for section following, two gr een flags by day and two green flags and two green lights by night. The lights show green to the sides and front. An extra - that is, a train not on the timetable and outside of yard limits - carries two white flags by day and two white flags and two white lights by night. The lights show white to the sides and front. These locomotive markers are mounted on the sides of the smokebox front, fairly high up. Locomotives of some railroads have backup markers on the pilot beam, these being the regular rear end markers fitted with electric bulbs so they can be turned on only when the engine is backing up in a terminal. Most roads, however, do not use backup lights at all, merely lighting the section or extra markers to indicate the rear end of a backing locomotive in a terminal.
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