I am in need of 32-34 volt light bulbs used in the pullman cars in 1911. Need to know where these bulbs can be puchased. The wattage will be 25 and 50 A-Shape style. Does anyone know anything about the type of light fixtures used in pullman cars in 1920-1923? I am restoring a heavyweight pullman car back to that era and need help. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Stu

www.aamsco.com has some old reproduction stuff for railroads and trolleys. While old homes in the coal regions had 32 volt Direct Current generators, General Electric listed different 32 volt bulbs for that service than for railway service.

Marine sources are your best best.

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14817

http://www.sailorsams.com/light_bulbs_low.htm

Alan

The firms at the above links have discontinued their 32 Volt bulbs. I assume there are others online. But it all makes me wonder if they are going to become unobtainable soon? You know that the Federal Gov't has phased out incandescent bulbs starting in 2014 I think? How will this affect railcar restoration? Some style of 110 bulbs will be impossible to replace with those curly-q fluorescent bulbs. How will the Ferdinand Magellan look with those weird bulbs in the berth lamps? And choo choo headlights?

This is part of the hope and change we all wanted to come in and save us from ourselves.

Though I agree with the sentiment re: HopeyChange, there is a provision regarding specialty bulbs that allow incandescents to continue to be made and sold. Since they will henceforth be known as specialty bulbs, we will all get to pay more for them. Seems that GE stands to benefit greatly (coincidence... mmm, I think not).

"I'm from the government and I'm hear to help" is still one of the scariest statements one can hear...

Mike
Still loving Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and two little ol' documents from the 18th century!

The Sylvania and GE lighting catalogs still show 32 (34) volt medium base bulbs. 50 watt is GE #16390, Sylvania #11603 at $5 to $10 a pop they already look pretty special.
E-Lightbulbs lists it as a "Frosted Train Incandescent".

http://www.elightbulbs.com/GE-16390-50A ... Light-Bulb

Googling marine 32-volt light bulbs had lots of hits.
I know we still can get new carbon filament bulbs at the IRM, lots of antique replica bulbs online also.

When have specialty bulbs ever been cheap?

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Will

If I am to understand the loop-hole for incandescent bulbs will be "lighting works of art" or "attached to works of art". The reasoning being that florescent bulbs will fade art work but incandescent bulbs will not.

I imagine that fitting a Pullman car through that loop-hole might be rather tough. At some point the incandescent bulb makers are going to stop production for such a narrow market.

Google up; "light bulb legislation" and you will find out this... "The changeover in the United States will be more gradual, not mandated to begin until 2012 and phased out through 2014. However, don't be surprised if some manufacturers phase out earlier."

Now...what do we do? I suspect we will sit around and do nothing. We can go out and buy a sack-full of bulbs...that will buy us some time. We can call our elected officials and call them what they are. Any thoughts?

T7

Don't panic.

The loophole is HUGE. Railroad use certainly counts as "rough service" or "specialty bulb".

Availability will, as usual, boil down to remaining old stock, plus possible new production as dictated by supply and demand.

Lightbulb production is not rocket science. With enough demand, the specialty bulb makers would probably do a special run simply by modifying a current product.

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Will

Florescent lights produce UV light and this is detrimental to most objects. Some years ago, I was in an archival storage facility that had UV filter covers on its florescent light fixtures. But the archivist showed that even with that there was color fading/shifting of the Hollenger Boxes used to store documents.

Heck, if you leave PVC water pipe outside in the sun (wonderful source of UV) there is a deterioration and the pipe can become brittle. That is why most suppliers/vendors/users of PVC water distribution pipe do not keep extra stock around.

Like many of the newer types of light bulbs, fluorescents can be tuned to include or exclude certain wavelengths. The Western Railway Museum has low-UV fluorescents in its Barn 3.

It goes without saying that cheap bulbs are not optimized for anything other than being cheap. From limited retail exploration I have found that specialty fluorescent bulbs start at 3-4 times the cost of the cheapies.

They aren't - that's the point! Now, common incandescents will become "specialty bulbs" without being special in any way other than labeling to get around the ridiculously idiotic government regulations. I happen to think that the states should be in the business of nullifying the idiocy of the Federal government. Although given the power to regulate interstate commerce, congress has no right to decide what is manufactured and sold intrastate. Perhaps states that want continued growth like Texas and Georgia (and the rest of the South) will indeed begin nullification of this and other job and economic growth killing laws.

Mike

The original request was for bulb that would in no way be considered common. 32 V bulbs have never been common, even way back when they were used in railroad and farm service.

As for common bulbs to be used in restorations - when the mountain of remaining NOS incandescents runs out in a few hundred years (seriously), museum use would certainly qualify as "specialty bulb".

Maybe some of us should sit down and read the legislation. By ourselves, not with the help of the fat man on the radio. It is really clear that the intent is to replace only the run of the mill incandescents found in homes and workplaces.

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Will

Whenever legislation is written it will effect a whole industry across the board. If the bulk of incandescent bulbs are outlawed, the makers of bulbs may find it hard/impossible to "hang on" just in order to make a few thousand specialty bulbs a year. Especially given the few 32 bulbs that are sold anymore.

Read this too...you may think a 32 volt bulb is a "specialty bulb"...but that choice will not be up to you. A regulator in DC may see a 32 volt bulb as something that will bring about the end of civilization and not give it the status it needs to survive.

Furthermore...I read an article that said GE had lobbied for this legislation because they have a "new and improved" low-energy use bulb that will be made in China...and they plan to close their incandescent bulb factories in the US any minute now.

Odd...anytime somebody seems to have an opinion different from the legions of sheep that sit and watch TV all day...others seem to think they heard it from "a fat man on the radio". Is it not possible that somebodies years of experience and "high dollar schoolin'" counts for something?

(Baaaah)

Once again, read the legislation. 32 Volt bulbs are exempted. The law is very specific about what bulbs it covers and which ones it does not, and includes technical specifications to do so. The bulbs covered are the run of the mill, plain-old light bulb you buy at Ace Hardware, and nothing more.



Most bulbs have been made overseas for years now.

There are, of course, many specialty bulb companies out there that are not effected by the legislation, because their entire product line is exempt. And even with the big bulb makers, the specialty bulb lines are different divisions that operate independent of the household bulb divisions.

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Will