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20750 GYRALITE

These photos were taken at the California State RR Museum on 8-18-98.

This 6051 E9A Southern Pacific was scheduled to go to Truckee, CA. on the month the photos were taken. The work crew indicated that reflector on the Gyralite was dirty - which, if cleaned, would seemingly give the appearance of the "silver mirror" reflector, identifying this as a 20750 Gyralite. An inspection of the light revealed the number as: 20750-SC. There was no case surrounding the mechanism. A vertically plumb line indicated that the light was tilted too far forward (6°). The result is that the beam is directed downward. This seems to be a common problem. The Gyralites and Mars Lights are internally compensated to point parallel the tracks. The installer of the light should be aware that the light has to be mounted so that it is parallel to the tracks. With the mounting clamp arrangement for these lights, if the mount is set too far forward or backward and someone secures it to a position as far forward as the light will go, there will be offsets to the intended design. To make this mounted light vertical, the top part should be withdrawn rearward 2".

These photos are of a flanged 20750 Gyralite located at the Golden Gate Railroad Museum.