I have a Pyle National headlight salvaged by former employee of B&M railroad. It appears the light was modified for snow plow duty and the side boards were removed. I would like to put the light back in proper order with new, old or fabricated parts re-attached on the sides that hold the engine number.

I will attach a photo of the my light (bottom) and another example that shows the missing parts (top).

I appreciate any help or leads. Perhaps a light was damages and gutted for parts might have one good side (sorry I dont know what to call it, top photo)

thanks.

The side board bases do vary. The one in the #557 photo has door bases that are outside the case, thats the last version (1923-1925, same as on the Southern #1401 in the Smithsonian). The cast alluminum case was new in about 1927.

Yours is the same 1923-1925, last version, withthe bases mounted on the outside of the case. The number boards can be either inside the case, or outside the case. In both models the rivets still are in the same location. Inside version is pre-1923.

I can tell by the rust pattern that yours is the last last version case . Look at the photos on the net, or the number board door bases, and the differences will start to become clear. Your case can accept any nuberboard base that is mounted on the outside of the case (1923-1927+ versions). That same numberboard base can take any Pyle-Natioanl number board door, they are backwards compatible, so you have your choice of door: flat, or 30-degree tapered.

See how the numberboard cover door on the #557 has only two hinge lobes (for lack of a better term), some have three. The two-lobe version is about 1918 - 1923, the four lobed version was used on the 1925 light and also on the cast alluminum case that started in 1927 and lasted untill steam ended. The three-lobed door is the last version and it will mount on any of the bases wheather inside the case or outside.

The front doors with the raised lettering, like yours, is also one of the last versions and is post 1920, probably 1923-1930.

There was one different door latch, it had a long crescent shaped latch that was the same as those used on the SUNBEAM lights. It was quicker to open than the butterfly nut on yours (and mine). I am not sure if the crescent latch was optional early or just showed up in 1923 or so.

I own a 1920 version that has the inside numberboard door bases and the two lobed number doors, its in an old post, here; viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31800&p=161640&hilit=pyle+light#p161640

Thank you, Loco112. I read that post. I wish you got a better response. You seem to be the by-default PN light guy.

You do 3d modeling? Can you print a couple plastic parts I could use as foundry patterns? I assume the door and base is just two parts. Nothing special required here, just print exact copies, no risers, no shrinkage concerns(not that it would hurt to scale up a few percent if that was a printer function). I could just as easily work with one good original side. I would be more than happy to cast extras (available at my cost) or allow anyone to borrow for that purpose. Or return the pattern to you for keeping.

I know they have a printer at the school where my wife works. What I dont know is if all these use the same file format or even the politics or expense involved to get a student to help me out. But; if I had a couple files, I might give it a shot.

I like to give this a bump up. Ask one more time anyone know where parts or a junk light could be begged, borrowed or purchased. I need a side number board unit or to. A base and lid for a pattern or just too use it.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but this is like trying to find ridiculously obscure automobile parts--not everything is lying on a shelf just waiting to be snatched up, nor is every possible source reading this particular forum. The scarcity of what's involved here is on par with trying to find a fender for a 1935 Hupmobile--you don't even know IF the part still exists anywhere, let alone where to find it.

I would be amazed if you manage to find this part, or one that you can copy for reproduction, in under a year's time. If you're that ambitious, borrowing a piece from someone else and reproducing it, either with plastic printing or direct foundry casting, may be the way to go.

(I had one time where I was roving about to find a side mirror for my then-girlfriend's Colt Vista, and ended up in the one junkyard 70 miles from my home where Mitsubishi-based cars went to be parted out in my state, and trolled through fourteen of a relatively rare car model to no avail--all the mirrors had been taken or were damaged in the wrecks. Two months later, I was in another junkyard looking for something for my car, and walked by a Colt Vista that had obviously been rolled in an accident--and the mirror was intact and in perfect condition. Folks in the yard were treated to a guy jumping up and down in hysterics at the find.......)

Yes, I am sure there is much truth in what you say. Yet -These headlamps not quite so rare as hupmobile fenders. There are no less than three loco headlamps on ebay right now. At least one is NP. It is a different NP model, but this is just today.

If I could buy a head light for honest and fair price.(what ever that is ??) I could use that as a pattern and then re-sell it. Now buying fair on ebay, that is as likely as finding a hupmobile fender.

There are several posts on this forum looking for the mercury reflector for the very same NP headlight as I have. Logically, some lights must have been cannibalized for the reflectors.

Agreed, those guys doing the real work, may not spend all day surfing the net. And just a likely satisfying the needs of some nobody collector is a zero priority for a real steam loco guy.

Lucky for me this is just a hobby. I dont have much into the light. It interest me because I have the bell off a B&M mogul and this would make a nice complimentary display piece setup with numbers matching the bell.

A year goes by pretty quick at this stage of my life. One year would be fine.

For plastic printing, that would be useful to me only for a foundry pattern. I think if I had the files, I could get the two pieces printed. Maybe. At a local trade school for some consideration. Maybe not. This 3D is all new to me.

The longer you wait, the more common and less costly 3DP is going to get. So, you could profitable find a headlight on a display locomotive, measure and draw the parts you need, then whenever you have a source for printing the patterns, have it done on the basis of the drawings you have made. There's a matter of shrinkage and draft to be considered, but your foundry can help you with those figures based on the metal (probably aluminum) so you know how to adapt the dimensions to gte the right result.

dave