How to change headlight on Athearn Genesis 2-8-2 Mike

Actually, the yellow color would be the right color for a headlight in the daytime. Remember that the reflectors were usually polished brass and the bulbs ran at low brightness, especially during the daytime so the color of the light would be quite amber in color as opposed to a supposed white of the high intensity of headlights today. At nightime, the headlights look more white as they tend to overload the eyes more and thus get that white light.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works evevery time it is tried!

"Bob May"

That's if they bothered to turn on the headlight.

For most of the steam era, except for the last year or two perhaps, there was no general rules requirement for the headlight to be "on" in daylight except in those exceptions as required by the said rules. In fog, falling snow and at other times of poor visibility for example.

So, personally never bother with working headlights, I remove the circuitry and use the space for extra weight.

The only reason most modellers have working headlights on steam is because they've become so accustomed, since 1959/60, to seeing diesels with headlights "on" that at steam loco with the headlight "off", looks wrong.

-- Cheers Roger T.

of the Great Eastern Railway

That said, I think that the "golden white" headlights would be a natural for these and other steam engines. The unlighted LED is amber in color; when lighted with full voltage (3.6v or so) they are nicely bright incandescent colored (almost white, just barely yellow). If you reduce the voltage some, for example by using "dim" which some decoders allow, you get more yellow, maybe as you'd like to see during the day.

The Golden White leds are available from

or from Others probably carry them, too.

Ed.

in article snipped-for-privacy@news-1.nethere.net, Bob May at snipped-for-privacy@nethere.com wrote on 8/8/03 2:53 PM:

European trains have always had headlights for the last century or so. Many of the US models originated in Europe so it was normal for the manufacturers to add a lamp bulb when there was a headlamp. Here in NZ, there has been a rule for locos in motion to have lights on, at least back to around 1930 ( my earliest drivers rule book) particularly for visibility at crossings.

Regards, Greg.P.

"Gregory Procter"

In the UK, even having headlights is a fairly recent phenomena. I don't think they were introduced until sometime in the late 1970s, early 1980s?

Steam and what we would call first and second generation diesels definitely did not have headlights.

-- Cheers Roger T.

of the Great Eastern Railway

You didn't count as a part of the continent until very recently.

"Gregory Procter"

I gather that many people in he UK still feel this way.

Newspaper headlines.

"Fog in Channel, Europe Isolated"

-- Cheers Roger T.

of the Great Eastern Railway

Everyone,

sorry it took so long to get back, my computer died and I spent the weekend getting the new one up and running.

Two note:

1) to replace the LED in an Athearn genesis steam loco, after removing the front of the boiler simply pull out the LED! Doink! It looked like it was held in there, but it isn't.

2) Ed - the golden white LEDs are exactly what I was going to replace this with! I'll let you know how they look!

Thanks, Scott