Train lights

[cas2383 22]

Can anyone here give a good explination as to what the lights on the side of the Metro North railroad cars signify? The CT line has way less than the newer NY line cars. The colors I have seen are White,Blue,Green, Yellow and Red. They are at the ends of each car and above the doors. Thanks for any help, I am just interested to find out.

[grumpyff 1,159]

on the M7:

Green = air brakes released in that car

Yellow = air brakes applied in that car

White = trainman controlling doors from that door panel

Red (blinking) = parking brake applied in that car

Blue = Automatic Speed Control active (Controlling car)

[cas2383 22]

Thanks that is some cool information, any idea who would use the signals outside of the train while it was in operation? I can see the conductor while on the platform but the need for it while moving?

[RWC130 594]

I like the WIG-WAG headlights!

[wcr20 17]

The CTA (Chicago Transit Auth.) has a similar system of lighting for door open, brakes on, etc. I think the only one that stays on during movement is one that signifies that something on that car (I can't remember if it is the braking system or the propulsion system) is out of service on that car.

Here is what I found, if you're interested:

Q: I've noticed there are lights, often in sets of three, next to every door on each car. The color and number of lights next to the doors varies depending on the series of train series. What's the deal with these lights? What exactly do they all mean? What are the different colors? Why are there different configurations of these lights on the older and newer train series?

A: Each light color on the sides of the trains means something different, and the information they convey can be easily seen by the motorman or conductor (when there were conductors) by sticking their head out the window. They are, in essence, a way to convey some basic information to the train's operator without the operator always having to walk the train to find the problem. (Of course, depending on what the problem is, they may end up walking the train anyway...)

There were, for a long time, four colors: red, yellow, blue, and white. Yellow indicates that the parking brakes are applied. This is only when the dynamic braking has given out (below about 3 mph) and when standing still. It also comes on when the train is put into emergency brake (this is the reason for the burning smell when somebody dumps the train at a high speed). Red is when the doors are open. White is when the battery charging on a car has quit working. It's similar to the GEN light on an automobile. It means that you are now operating on battery exclusively.

The blue light indicates that excessive current has been drawn and the circuit breaker on the car has tripped, or that there is some other propulsion control malfunction. The most common reason for excessive current draw is that a motor has failed. When the circuit breaker has tripped, the audible alarm will ring in the cab. The motorman must then operate the POWER RESET switch to attempt to reset the tripped breaker. If the bell keeps quiet when he takes power again, all is okay, and the blue light will stay lit so the shop can examine it at some point. If the bell sounds again, the fault cannot be fixed, and the motorman turns the seven-point switch off in the car with the blue light to cut it out. There is an expression among operators -- "getting a blue light" -- for the minor equipment problems that cause this light to be activated.

A fifth light, green, has also been added to the mix. The green light is a Low-Speed-Door-Interlocking-Bypass (LSDIB) light. LSDIB is a mechanism in the door control system that prevents the doors from being opened electronically at high speeds (say, over 10mph or so). This Low-Speed-Interlock engages when the train travels at higher speeds and prevent the doors from opening if someone inserts a key into a door control box in any car and tries to flip the toggle to open the doors. It automatically disengages when the train slows to 10mph or 5mph or so. The bypass is needed when the interlock will not disengage, preventing the door from opening even if the train is at a full stop. If the bypass is engaged, the interlock does not engage.

The 2400-, 2600-, and 3200-series cars were delivered with the LSDIB, but it was disabled on the 2400s at some point after delivery because of a roll it played in some less-than-Standard Operating Procedure door-opening practices used by some conductors during pay-on-train hours. (This is also why the door controls went from buttons in the 2400s to toggle switches in the 2600s.) In any event, once a more reliable system was found the LSDIB was reinstalled on the 2400s around 2000 and it was during this time the green lights were installed on the exterior (as-built, the 2400s had no exterior indicator light for the LSDIB). The 2200s, the only series that were not delivered as-built with the interlock feature, were the last to get the LSDIB added in 2001. If you stand at the door of a train or near a sealed door control box on a 2200 or 2400, you can sometimes hear the interlock activate and deactivate. It's a slight "click" sound near a door, or a very loud series of clicks in the old door control boxes on the 2200s and 2400s.

The lights are arranged differently on the various car series currently in service, although there are some similarities between some series and some consistencies across all cars. In general, every doorset has a red light and most car types have only one green light per married-pair (since there's only one bypass switch per pair). There are also, generally, slightly different light arrangements on the odd- and even-numbered cars within a given car series. Getting specific, the Budd 2200s are unusual in being the only car series with a set of four lights in a row near half of its doorsets. The doorset near the #1 (front) end of the odd-numbered car has a red light on one side and a green light on the centerpost between the blinker doors, while the #2 (rear) end side doorset has, from top to bottom, red, yellow, blue, and white lights. The even-numbered car has the same configuration, but without the green light at the #1 end of the car. The odd-numbered 2400-series cars have a red light and green light next to the doorset at the #1 end and red, yellow, and blue lights next to the #2 end side doorset, while the even-numbered cars have the same except for the green light next to the side doors at the #1 end. On the 2400s, the green light is a separate blister added below the single red light, rather than part of the same cluster as on other series' units. The Budd 2600-series cars are the only units, post-rehabilitation, that not only have the same light configurations on the odd- and even-numbered cars but have two green lights per married-pair. On both cars of the pair, the side doorset near the #1 end has (top to bottom) a red, white, and green light while the doorset near the #2 end has a red, yellow, and blue light. Finally, the odd-numbered cars of the MK 3200-series, the only series that were delivered with exterior LSDIB indicator lights, have a red-white-green light configuration at the doorset at the #1 end and red-yellow-blue lights next to the #2 end side doorset, while the even-numbered cars have the same at the #2 end and a red-white-red configuration next to the side doors at the #1 end.

(Thanks to Richard Schauer of the Illinois Railway Museum and Sean Gash of the CTA® for some of the information provided above.)

Credit: Chicagol-org

Edited November 19, 2006 by wcr20

[wcr20 17]

whoops - thats chicago-l.org

and sorry - i didnt realize that last post was going to come out so long.