Birney Project ~ Drilling out the Marker Lamps

Prominent! That’s what I find those marker lamps over the center window to be. So I decided to drill them out so I can light them.

Standard practice was, as I understand it, that there are colored “gels” that fit in between the lens and the lamp thus changing the color of the light seen. When the lamps are in the rear end of the car, they display red. But what they display when on the forward end was up to each individual traction (trolley) company.

Steam railroads had standard practices that were recognized around the country when it came to marker lamps, and some traction companies elected to follow these, such as:

White = Extra or Special car, not scheduled on timetable.

Green = Another car following on same schedule.

Etc… You get the idea.

Or traction companies could elect to display white to compliment the headlight, or just run them dark.

Color? I don’t know what San Diego Electric Railways practices would have been when it came to the color of these lamps. So I’m going to have to make an educated guess. Of course if YOU know what color they were, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post. I would be most grateful.

What color I’m going to display I don’t know yet until I actually get to the lighting part of the project. But I decided that adding the marker lights would be worth the effort and will add to the entertainment value of the car. Yessir! Add to its entertainment value!

Dandy