JeffPo's Pyle Caboose Marker Lamps Page
Last update: 11/11/09
Here you see a couple of caboose marker lamps. While I label them as from the Pyle National company, given they look exactly like what that company produced, these aren't actually labeled with the Pyle label. These markers are about 6 or so inches tall and vary quite a bit from the large, kerosene powered marker lamps of years gone by. These are small, compact electric lamps made out of aluminum. They would go on each side of the caboose at the back. Each has a single red lens, and 3 amber lenses. You can rotate the head by loosening the thumbscrew at the top so that the red faces inward (i.e. indicating to following trains that this train is clear of the main line track).
I also have the mounting brackets. I'm thinking about mounting them to a board and then mounting that board to a wall. I'd love to find an old caboose somewhere that I could attach these to and snap a picture. While I still prefer the older, kerosene version of marker lamps, I also like the style of these little electric versions. They represent the ending days of separate, individual marker lamps. Soon after these, cabooses and passenger cars started integrating the rear of train marker lights into the actual design of the rail car. Freight trains don't even have cabooses anymore. The last car will have a single flashing light mechanism, which also serves as an electronic measure of various train components. Passenger cars have red markers molded into the car, just like your automobile has.