Gary Hunter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Since there seems to be some historical expertise
> on SWs here, let me pose a question. Some of the
> SW-9s had cow-calf combinations, and some of them
> had some variety of "ash can" type lights,
> presumably oscillating. I notice that the yard
> pairs of locos seem to be generally absent the
> large lights. Were the large lights moved around
> to correspond with assignment, or just some
> ordered with/without? I saw a lot of switchers as
> road power on the San Bernardino job for SP/PE as
> a kid, but the "road pair" seldom if ever had the
> large format lights. My assumption over the years
> was that a line with much street running
> (ex-PE)would be the highest priority of use for
> the units with the highest visibility light
> packages. Any info appreciated. BTW, I have
> almost never seen footage of the SWs with those
> lights in operation, so my assuption has also been
> that they were "gyralite" or Mars lights.


I'm guessing you mean SW8's, not SW9's, since the latter were never assigned to SP's Pacific Lines. None of the cow-calf combinations had signal lights.

At least six of the Pacific Line's SW8's were built with signal lights. Of those six, at least three have been confired to have been Mars Model WR-816 lights. At least three of those were eventually replaced with Gyralight Model 20585 sealed beam models, and at least two were simply removed. The last locomotive to retain its Mars light was the 1123, which lasted til sometime in the early 80's, although by that time the lights would illimunate but not oscillate which is why they were removed.

All 10 of the SW900's were built with Gyralight Model 20750 signal lights, a number of which were eventually replaced with Model 20585 sealed beam units. All 10 locomotives had SP/SSW's SW1500/MP15/MP15AC light bars applied, containing a twin sealed-beam EMD headlight, a sealed-beam white Gyralight 20585, a single sealed-beam red gyralight, and two class light assemplies, when they were rebuilt to SW900E's.