A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO LAMPS
Model locomotive lamps are something of a ‘bee in my bonnet’. They are such an easy way of increasing realism. I’ve written about them before in BRM, and also in Bachmann Times, such is the importance I put upon them. There is now no reason for not including them on model locomotives (not just steam-outline) and trains, with so many marvellous examples available from suppliers.
As the standard of accuracy has improved beyond all recognition in the last few years with regard to all model railway items, modellers have been striving to place these excellent products in as real a railway environment as possible. One of the things which adds realism to both the appearance and operation of a model railway is the placing of lamps on locomotives to describe the trains they’re hauling.
From the early days of railways, lamps have been used to describe the status
