# Railroad Company Issue/Promotional Flashlights



## ericjohn (Sep 26, 2015)

I just scored a Southern Pacific Mini Maglite off ebay. I think the price was pretty fair ($19.99+free shipping.) Southern Pacific no longer exists, but it is still my favorite railroad.

I have another railroad flashlight: a Bright Star 1618 from the 1960s with UPRR (Union Pacific Railroad) labelled on it.

There is a lot of 4 (eff-oh-you-are) Burlington Northern RR Mini Maglites on ebay for ~$102. It's a bit out of my price range, but someone else on here (CPF) might be interested.

There is also a beat up Fulton Industrial flashlight that was a company issue for AMTRAK selling for ~$15. I would have bought it but it's too beat up for the price.

There are also several brakeman's lanterns floating around on ebay all the time, but most of the time they are out of my price range.

I had promised myself to cool it with the flashlight collecting and not buy a flashlight unless it was previously used by railroad workers or the specific model was/is known to be used by railroad workers, including railroad police.

So I was wondering if anyone else collects railroad issue and promotional flashlights (beside's the conductor and brakeman's lanterns.)


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## magellan (Sep 26, 2015)

Congrats on your score!

I have many collectible Maglites, especially the rare colors like the weinrot or dark red, original 1980s camo, original 1980s brass, but never got into collecting the RR related ones. But I have fond memories of riding the SPR when I was a boy.


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## ericjohn (Sep 28, 2015)

magellan said:


> Congrats on your score!
> 
> I have many collectible Maglites, especially the rare colors like the weinrot or dark red, original 1980s camo, original 1980s brass, but never got into collecting the RR related ones. But I have fond memories of riding the SPR when I was a boy.



Thanks!

I think I have seen pictures of your collection on here. Very nice indeed!

Did/do you live near an SP subdivision?

The former SP Avondale Sub (now BNSF Lafayette Sub, politics for you) passes on the outskirts of my town.


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## Ladd (Sep 28, 2015)

Great score! Would love to see a pic. 

I have a bunch of SP rule books, etc. wouldn't mind finding a new home for..........


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## magellan (Sep 28, 2015)

ericjohn said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I think I have seen pictures of your collection on here. Very nice indeed!
> 
> ...



Yes. I lived about 20 minutes away from the Great Tehachapi Loop.


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## ericjohn (Sep 29, 2015)

Ladd said:


> Great score! Would love to see a pic.
> 
> I have a bunch of SP rule books, etc. wouldn't mind finding a new home for..........




I would gladly take them off your hands!


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## ericjohn (Sep 29, 2015)

magellan said:


> Yes. I lived about 20 minutes away from the Great Tehachapi Loop.



I have read about that line many many times, but I've never visited the area. The furthest west I've been is San Antonio, TX and I did a little foaming there.


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## ericjohn (Sep 29, 2015)

It hasn't come in the mail yet, but this was one of the pictures on ebay.


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## ericjohn (Oct 2, 2015)

It came in today! Praise God! I thought for a while that it was lost in the mail.


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## bykfixer (Oct 2, 2015)

Great score!!!


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## ericjohn (Oct 7, 2015)

bykfixer said:


> Great score!!!


Thanks! I'm definitely enjoying my new/old light.


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## ericjohn (Nov 8, 2015)

I just yesterday scored a Union Pacific Operation Lifesaver 2 C Cell Maglite. I got it for $15 +$5 shipping. That was another awesome deal. I can't wait for it to come in.


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## broadgage (Nov 9, 2015)

I have a number of UK railway hand lamps.
I have several versions of the Bardic hand lamp, These are an old design and no longer made AFAIK but they were made until recently and are still readily available. These give a red, green or white light and some versions also have yellow.
A much rarer version intended for police use has red, green, white and blue, I now have one of these.
These lights use a special battery type AD28, 4.5 volts zinc carbon but can be retrofitted to use 3D cells instead.
The light is very feeble with the supplied 3.8 volt 0.3 amp PR base bulb, but with a decent LED drop in is rather more useful.

I also have a couple of the earlier railway issue lamp, these are not even electric ! oil burning instead, these are red, green and white.


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## ericjohn (Nov 9, 2015)

broadgage said:


> I have a number of UK railway hand lamps.
> I have several versions of the Bardic hand lamp, These are an old design and no longer made AFAIK but they were made until recently and are still readily available. These give a red, green or white light and some versions also have yellow.
> A much rarer version intended for police use has red, green, white and blue, I now have one of these.
> These lights use a special battery type AD28, 4.5 volts zinc carbon but can be retrofitted to use 3D cells instead.
> The light is very feeble with the supplied 3.8 volt 0.3 amp PR base bulb, but with a decent LED drop in is rather more useful.



Yes, it is similar to the "Swiss Army flashlight."

That's an odd voltage/current setup for a PR3 bulb assuming it's a PR3.

There is a plethora of those floating around on ebay right now, mostly from countries in the former Soviet Bloc.

I don't think they were used in The States, but I could be wrong.




broadgage said:


> I also have a couple of the earlier railway issue lamp, these are not even electric ! oil burning instead, these are red, green and white.



I bet those are neat. There are some oil burning lamps with different colored globes that were used in The States I think up until the mid 20th Century.

Thanks for the share of information!


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## Grijon (Nov 10, 2015)

Seriously cool, y'all!


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## ericjohn (Nov 14, 2015)

These are pictures of my 2 C Maglite that was made for Union Pacific and Operation Lifesaver.

By the way, the serial number is 24002642.

Notice there is NO letter in the serial number.

I called Maglite to see if they could give me the production date, but they weren't able to.

Does anyone know when this might have been made?


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## bykfixer (Nov 15, 2015)

Like other companies do, mag doesn't seem to code lights via manufacturing ques.

It's as if the started numbering them from 100,004 and just started sending them out the door and as that occured the numbers kept rising.

Or maybe use a random number generator that remembers the ones already used.

Ford had made a million mustangs before mid 1966, yet each one was easily identified where, when and what options.
I had a 66 that had been left from the 65 pipeline and the serial number reflected that. It was serialized as a 65 with 66 changes. 

Maybe Mag has a method that they don't share with their employees like some food companies don't share the ingredients of the cookie dough they bake.
Keeping dishonest folks from reproducing classic items.

Seriously. I just had a package confiscated on the west coast where a dishonest employee was selling lights they had stolen from their employer through Amazon. Good ones too. 
Amazon didn't charge me for them thank goodness.


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## ericjohn (Feb 2, 2016)

I have had this one since December of 2013. It is a 1965 Bright Star 1618, issued to the Union Pacific train crews.





This is a closeup of the UPRR (Union Pacific Railroad) lettering stamped on the flashlight's body.




I have others that I will soon be posting...


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## ericjohn (Feb 2, 2016)

This one was given to me by BNSF track maintenance workers in June of 2012. It is the Duracell Industrial model. I had since put an LED upgrade in it. The light sure has some signs of use and even paint or some other chemical stains. 

Enjoy!




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## ericjohn (Feb 2, 2016)

This is the final [tubular] railroad issue flashlight I have in my collection. It is a Bright Star 575.

Technically this particular one I have here was never used by any railroads (I bought it at my local Motion Industries branch.) However I have seen this Bright Star model used by a Kansas City Southern engineer in a You Tube video and I have also read about it being used by railroad electricians.




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## Poppy (Feb 2, 2016)

It looks like an electrician's light.


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## ericjohn (Feb 3, 2016)

Poppy said:


> It looks like an electrician's light.



It was and maybe still is frequently used by railroad electricians.

Any plastic Industrial style flashlight will be popular with that line of work because it can be used near live circuits without the possibility of it falling into the work and shorting something out or electrocuting the worker(s).

[Unfortunately] You can't say the same about one of your metal "tactical" flashlights.


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## ericjohn (Mar 28, 2016)

I won this item on Ebay yesterday and I am waiting for it to come in the mail. I rarely ever bid for items on ebay, but I couldn't pass this up. Back in 2013, I was outbid by 50 cents on the same Bright Star model as this one, but for the now defunct Penn Central Railroad.






The "N.Y.C.T.A." stamped on the flashlight's body stands for "New York City Transit (or Transportation) Authority."


It was owned by a former road car inspector on the New York City Subway who worked there in the 1980s.

The base price (since I was the only bidder) was $9.99 and the shipping is $7.05.

Is this a Bright Star 1618 or does it have a different model number since it has the metal hook on the tail cap?


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## ericjohn (May 31, 2017)

I recently scored yet another railroad flashlight.

This one is a Lumilite K-Series model made as a promotional for Norfolk Southern.






I got it on eBay along with other Norfolk Southern memorabilia.

The switch is slightly damaged and in order to use the flashlight, the switch has to be pushed and held all the way up.

Any idea on how to repair that issue?


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## bykfixer (Jun 1, 2017)

ericjohn said:


> I recently scored yet another railroad flashlight.
> 
> This one is an unknown brand but was made as a promotional for Norfolk Southern.
> 
> ...



Nice score EJ.

Some sliders move a rod forward to touch the reflector or move away from it. Over time oxidation may be such that it has to be slid further to reach a clean spot. Perhaps the point of contact has bent just enough to also cause the issue. A slight re-bend of the tip of the slider back towards the center may be in order. 

Sometimes the little 'ears' that fasten the switch plate itself to the sliding rod will 'unbend' allowing play in between. A flat tip'd screwdriver can bend them back to factory in some cases removing the play between the two and re-introducing positive contact points again.

If that don't help ya, pm me and we'll take it from there. Probably something pretty easy to fix.


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## ericjohn (Jun 7, 2017)

bykfixer said:


> Nice score EJ.





bykfixer said:


> Some sliders move a rod forward to touch the reflector or move away from it. Over time oxidation may be such that it has to be slid further to reach a clean spot. Perhaps the point of contact has bent just enough to also cause the issue. A slight re-bend of the tip of the slider back towards the center may be in order.
> 
> Sometimes the little 'ears' that fasten the switch plate itself to the sliding rod will 'unbend' allowing play in between. A flat tip'd screwdriver can bend them back to factory in some cases removing the play between the two and re-introducing positive contact points again.
> 
> If that don't help ya, pm me and we'll take it from there. Probably something pretty easy to fix.




Thanks for the help, I will definitely look into this when I get the chance!


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## ericjohn (Jun 7, 2017)

This is a Rayovac Industrial Flashlight that was issued to an engineer on The Kansas City Southern Railway.

I recently scored it on ebay and it came in the mail today!


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## ericjohn (Jun 7, 2017)

ericjohn said:


> This is the final [tubular] railroad issue flashlight I have in my collection. It is a Bright Star 575.
> 
> Technically this particular one I have here was never used by any railroads (I bought it at my local Motion Industries branch.) However I have seen this Bright Star model used by a Kansas City Southern engineer in a You Tube video and I have also read about it being used by railroad electricians.
> 
> ...



The Bright Star 575 was indeed used by railroads, but after watching the video of a Kansas City Southern locomotive cab ride again, I've determined that the flashlight in the video was a Rayovac and not a Bright Star...


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## ericjohn (Jun 7, 2017)

So at first, I didn't include railroad lanterns, but now I am.

I was given this in 2012 by a retired CSX and BNSF train dispatcher.

Technically this was the first railroad flashlight I've owned.

It seems pretty rare and takes an exotic screw based bulb, an MMR-13K, but also has 3 LEDs.

The model number is 992-321-AG.


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## ericjohn (Jun 7, 2017)

Earlier today, I scored a Norfolk Southern company issue Starlite 292 Lantern

I've been wanting one of these for a good while and now I have one.






This is the other side view:






Naturally, I cannot wait for it to come in the mail...


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## ericjohn (Jun 13, 2017)

I scored this flashlight this past Sunday evening on eBay






It is a Bright Star #575 issue to the Chessie Seaboard Express (more commonly known as CSX Transportation.)

This is proof that the Bright Star #575 was indeed and possibly still is an official railroad issue flashlight.

This was probably used by locomotive engineers but also electricians, signal maintainers, reefer technicians or any railroad job that entails working on live electrical circuits.

I've owned these before and they are not that rugged, but they get the job done apparently and are easily replaceable...


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