I'm searching for clear lenses for a Pyle National mini cannonball type marker. They are about 1-5/8 diameter, I don't have the exact measurement because I have not been able to remove the amber lenses from the rubber gaskets yet. Does anyone have any leads? I called the number and used the contact link at http://pyle-national.com/ and have not heard anything back.

Thanks for any help.

I've tried dealing with that guy before, he has been mentioned numerous times on this forum. Some insinuate that he is a crook. I think he might be delusional. Don't know why someone would go out of their way to make all these grandiose claims about making new PN parts, and claiming he has various parts in stock. I approached him with a lengthy shopping list last year and even called and spoke to him, but nothing ever materialized; he never got back to me on anything.

I believe he is in the same town as Bernie Watts. Asked Bernie about him and Bernie tries to take the high road, and refrains from saying anything untoward.

If someone was motivated to reproduce Pyle National parts, they could probably earn quite a bit of esteem within the community.

In the past, people here have commented that this gentleman was "competing" with Bernie, but it sounds like the idea here was to make all kinds of parts (lamps, fittings, etc.) That Bernie does not deal in.

Here is the guy's delusional Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/THE-PYLE-NATIONAL-COMPANY-362799417130302/timeline/

It's a shame the guy wants to play things out that way as there certainly is a need for what he claimed to be able to do; AND Translite is of no help any further. I've also tried dealing with them. Apparently their new owner Teknoware doesn't want any of it's employees wasting time with the "old stuff", so regardless of if they even have any old PN stuff left in stock, there is seemingly no way of getting at it.

Additional contact info:

Mike Spera
mike@pyle-national.com
Phone number MIGHT be: 303-478-0774

I have heard that the Lighthouse Preservation people have been casting lens segments from clear acrylic, take a more or less intact segment, make a rubber mold, cast replacement with optical acrylic. A vacuum pot or pressure pot will lower your scrap rate.

-Hudson

I have a pair of these, I thought it would be a piece of cake to restore them, as the "guts" were still in place.

Apart from trying to figure a 12V bulb that would be the same luminescence as what the originals were (74v, I think), the wire was anchored inside the lamp by two crimp-on t-shaped butt end whatevers that both held the wires in place and served as the terminals for the double-bayonet bulbs that fit the lamp.

I visited multiple electrical supply stores, nobody ever saw these this things (no problem getting the 14 or 16 guage wire) and I've tried about a 1000 different descriptions lthese things, can't find them online.

I should've just bought the mini-cannonballs that the North Shore used on their restored bay window caboose, and I think the M&H used on one of their engines. I think they were made by a fellow named Wayne James.

Thankfully, lamp oil makes a good substitute fuel for Dressel kero markers, and wicks are readily available.

Superheater,

Let me do a little digging, we have 4 of them on our railbus, which is 12 Vdc. I think I have a few spare bulbs so I will try and find out what we used. They were standard taillight bulbs, single filament, not sure if a new socket was installed by one of the other museum members.

Rich C.

Turns out our Cannonball lights are not Pyle Nationals but made by someone else, but you should be able to retrofit similarly. Ours has a standard Automotive 2 pin bayonet socket (industry calls them BA15D) and the bulb is a #90 automotive taillight/marker. If you want more info: http://www.bulbtown.com/90_Miniature_Bu ... e_p/90.htm

The loose socket in the photo is one of the original ones (from what I have been told). Even with the upgraded halogen headlight on the railbus, these still stand out.

Rich C

Related to optics production but otherwise off of railroads, the lighthouse preservation folks have done that, but a bullseye like what is in the photograph would be a minimum of four separate castings. Each ring prism and the center prism are cast individually and hand polished. Also, the prisms are set individually and are held in place with a putty compound called letharge, not rubber gaskets. Lens making was (and remains) such an exacting and expensive affair, that only two US companies ever manufactured Fresnel lenses for maritime use and they only manufactured small order lenses (4th, 5th, 6th and buoy lamps).

The only non-French manufacturer to manufacture large order Fresnel lenses (hyper radiant, 1st and 2nd order lenses) was Chance Bros of Birmingham, UK. They manufactured everything one needed for a lighthouse from the lenses to the towers. Today, repairing a large order lens can easily cost over $100k. The smallest lens manufactured by Artworks Florida is the 6th order lens. The materials they use are either glass or optical acrylic (based upon budget constraints). In their business, a new lens of that order will probably set you back $30-40k. The largest lens that I have heard of them manufacturing was a 3rd order lens for Kemah, Texas at a cost of something like $70k.

Alan,

You are overthinking these lenses, these lenses like all lantern lenses were cast glass, no polishing needed. They are as cast, corning safety glass (a.k.a. Pyrex). Keep in mind, unlike lenses for lighthouses which need beams to be focused for 1+ miles, these are only to `focus' the light 100-200 feet if that far, so the surface is rarely smooth and trapped bubbles are allowed.

Rich C.

Below is what the previously mentioned taillight bulbs look like in the marker lights we have. For reference on the brightness, the center headlight (photographed at low beam) has been upgraded to use a modern 12vdc halogen automotive headlight bulb (H4 IIRC). The rear marker looks dim because the white lights have a frosted lens, whereas the green & red lenses are clear glass. If I was standing a few feet closer to the track they would have appeared just as bright as the white markers.