| Posted by Dana M. on February 25, 2020 | |
Craig - very nice photo and interesting back-story in your remarks. Looking at this photo reminds me of a much "simpler" time (for me) and it also brings to mind how much we've grown accustomed to "Ditch Lights" on locomotives now. Which I was in on the first discussions for that added feature on locomotives when I was with Ohio Operation Lifesaver. During one of our monthly meetings, the idea for making the locomotives more visible with possibly brighter lighting was brought up in the discussions about the recent rash of car/train collisions which counted 12 in one month alone. That meeting brought up the idea for adding extra headlights or lights on locomotives to increase their visibility. That was in 1990. Hence, it was just a few short years later (1993) that Conrail and NS began taking delivery of new locomotives with what we now know as Ditch Lights! It was on March 6, 1996 that the FRA made it mandatory that all locomotives were required to be fitted with ditch lights and have them illuminated with the main headlight.
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