Mars Light Test - It's a Figure-8!

Mars Light Test - It's a Figure-8!

[@paulbrugger9610]

I used to see them on Southern Pacific locomotives going through Alhambra, California in the early 70's. Lead locomotives have presence, but one approaching with a Mars light is an event.

[@spacecat7247]

Used to watch them cross mission street in south pasadena

[@FFred-us9tw]

Looks good. Mars lights are Figure 8. Pyle Gyralites are all elliptical. Each brand had their own patented design.

[@wyld_wolfwin]

A neat piece of tech

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

These things are still in service with my road: Metra.

[@concorde2003]

Those are made by Gyralite. They trace a circle rather than an 8.

[@_ford_crown_victoria_p]

This thing is surprisingly quiet

[@DistanceNsVeterans]

Perfect for locomotives

[@jimwoodfield7602]

Are you able to take some close ups of the mechanisms that produce this pattern. I have seen the inner workings of the gyralite but this one is a whole different approach.

[@MikeVdPCA]

Can you tell us a bit more about its construction? We see the one set of hinges at the left. Bur, there has to be another set of hinges on the far side, or? A compass gimble uses pivot points at the centers. This uses at least one set of hinges at an edge. When I see these running, the figure 8 looks pretty good -- like a figure 8. Hinges at the side, the physics and optics suggest that the figure 8 won't quite be perfect. What do you see? Thanks!

[@concorde2003]

My bad, it's actually an infinity symbol :-)

[@brendancassidy2141]

Is there a way to run the wobble function without turning the bulb on?

[@robertcottle9580]

Do you know of anyone trying to duplicate this light into an HO, or Lionel using LEDS??

[@littlepastelkitten]

how hard would this be to scale down to 1:87