My3kidsfather
Enlightened
I have worked for a Canadian railroad for almost 30 years. Our needs have changed over the years considerably and the old lantern and flashlight of the past just do not cut it anymore. It occurred to me that one or two of the members here might be interested in hearing about our attempt to nail down our design needs for the present and future.
After carefully considering the current Pelican catalog, we discovered that while the Pelican 2010PL meets many criteria, it has a Recoil type head that eliminates spill, something we need to walk with (see below) in balance with a good beam. We hope to present this to Pelican management as a list of desires for suitable tools for ourselves and co-workers with a request they consider designing something we can use into the future.
We think we have identified three distinct design needs for today's railroaders: one for locomotive engineers, two for conductors and yardmen.
We locomotive engineers need a new generation of flashlight with the following characteristics in probable order of importance:
tough construction, able to take years daily abuse;
long service battery life, on the order of 50 plus hours continuous use and save the company money on battery purchases;
we suggest a minimum brightness of 20-30 lumen, using today's best LED emitters and available electronically controlled battery discharge circuits as an immediate cost savings to the company (does Pelican use these?);
balanced beam and spill design, enabling us to see the ground as we walk without having to point the light down, and enough beam to read car numbers, and generally see dark objects at a distance of at least 15-25 yards;
lightweight materials;
waterproof design;
photo-luminescent lens ring to enable us to find it in the dark;
handheld design i.e.. normal flashlight;
the option of using c-cell batteries, or rechargeable lithium batteries if cost-effective;
the approval levels for flammable materials of a Pelican 2010PL model, as we are around diesel fuel and every chemical known to man all day long.
For conductors, brakemen, and yardmen we have different needs. While some would choose the engineer's flashlight for daily use, some are going to the "headsUp" style of head-lite.
Opinions vary, but this style is being used more as it allows both hands free for the work at hand. Mostly, we see conductors using them in the cab of the engine for their paperwork. I do not know if this style is bright enough for outside work, and it definitely can fall off at the wrong time. Also, in cold weather it would be difficult to adapt to winter clothing.
For many conductors and yardmen, having both hands free to hang onto and use their switch lists, portable radios, belt-packs, (control units for remote-controlled yard engines) and hanging onto moving box cars means the lamp gets left behind in the engine. They simply do not have enough hands to hang onto it all at once.
While we know of no testing for this type in rail work, we think a chest mounted or shoulder mounted flashlight might work for many. It must have the following criteria in addition to the above criteria for engineers:
probably of right-angle design, with as flat a shroud/head as possible to minimize contact/upset with rail car ladders, hand rails, etc.;
light weight as possible, perhaps aluminium, etc. (belt-packs already tax the body to the limit);
very durable clips or rings, possibly with tear-away feature(this may be better dealt with on the chest pack with a tear away loop);
rechargeable batteries.;
We realize this is a bigger post than usual. thanks for your patience.
After carefully considering the current Pelican catalog, we discovered that while the Pelican 2010PL meets many criteria, it has a Recoil type head that eliminates spill, something we need to walk with (see below) in balance with a good beam. We hope to present this to Pelican management as a list of desires for suitable tools for ourselves and co-workers with a request they consider designing something we can use into the future.
We think we have identified three distinct design needs for today's railroaders: one for locomotive engineers, two for conductors and yardmen.
We locomotive engineers need a new generation of flashlight with the following characteristics in probable order of importance:
tough construction, able to take years daily abuse;
long service battery life, on the order of 50 plus hours continuous use and save the company money on battery purchases;
we suggest a minimum brightness of 20-30 lumen, using today's best LED emitters and available electronically controlled battery discharge circuits as an immediate cost savings to the company (does Pelican use these?);
balanced beam and spill design, enabling us to see the ground as we walk without having to point the light down, and enough beam to read car numbers, and generally see dark objects at a distance of at least 15-25 yards;
lightweight materials;
waterproof design;
photo-luminescent lens ring to enable us to find it in the dark;
handheld design i.e.. normal flashlight;
the option of using c-cell batteries, or rechargeable lithium batteries if cost-effective;
the approval levels for flammable materials of a Pelican 2010PL model, as we are around diesel fuel and every chemical known to man all day long.
For conductors, brakemen, and yardmen we have different needs. While some would choose the engineer's flashlight for daily use, some are going to the "headsUp" style of head-lite.
Opinions vary, but this style is being used more as it allows both hands free for the work at hand. Mostly, we see conductors using them in the cab of the engine for their paperwork. I do not know if this style is bright enough for outside work, and it definitely can fall off at the wrong time. Also, in cold weather it would be difficult to adapt to winter clothing.
For many conductors and yardmen, having both hands free to hang onto and use their switch lists, portable radios, belt-packs, (control units for remote-controlled yard engines) and hanging onto moving box cars means the lamp gets left behind in the engine. They simply do not have enough hands to hang onto it all at once.
While we know of no testing for this type in rail work, we think a chest mounted or shoulder mounted flashlight might work for many. It must have the following criteria in addition to the above criteria for engineers:
probably of right-angle design, with as flat a shroud/head as possible to minimize contact/upset with rail car ladders, hand rails, etc.;
light weight as possible, perhaps aluminium, etc. (belt-packs already tax the body to the limit);
very durable clips or rings, possibly with tear-away feature(this may be better dealt with on the chest pack with a tear away loop);
rechargeable batteries.;
We realize this is a bigger post than usual. thanks for your patience.
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