prime mfg. locomotive beacon

[HillRock]

Was watching a Steven Seagal movie, "Under Siege 2; Dark Territory " the one where he is on the train. There is a Beacon on the front of the trian that almost looks like a Dietz 211, however it does not rotate, rather the bulbs flash in a sequence to appear like the sealed beams are rotating from a distance. (sorry, no video) anyone seen or know what im talking about?

 

[jdh]

Was watching a Steven Seagal movie, "Under Siege 2; Dark Territory " the one where he is on the train. There is a Beacon on the front of the trian that almost looks like a Dietz 211, however it does not rotate, rather the bulbs flash in a sequence to appear like the sealed beams are rotating from a distance. (sorry, no video) anyone seen or know what im talking about?

I think there is a NIB one on *bay right now. The problem with them is it is hard to find a 74 volt power supply.

 

[CrownVic97]

The beacon you are talking about are made by Prime Mfg. The particular model in question is the 8913 beacon. These beacons do not rotate at all. It's 4 par36 bulbs in rubber impact-resistant holders that are connected to a circuit board that flashes them in sequence to emulate a rotating beacon. More info on them can be found here. Here's some pics from the auction on ebay:

 

[ryan]

I just bought that ebay lights, twin sister. Sucks for the 74 volts, but does look super cool!

 

[ERIC6913]

i have a nice used one if anyone wants one..........

 

[HillRock]

Yes that is it, nice "CrownVic" I have never seen one before...

 

[CrownVic97]

No problem, Hillrock :thumbsup: !

 

[MESDA6]

There are some 12 and 24 volt versions of these floating around. I know of a tow truck that still has one on it. The owner has moved that light from truck to truck since the 70's. Most of the 12/24 volt models do an alternating flashof 2 bulbs at a time instead of having the circuit board to make it flash in a rotating sequence.

 

[Lightbarnut]

There has to be a way to get it to flash in sequence like that on 12-24 volts. If that could be accomplished I wouldn't mind having one. :undecided:


*UPDATE* I need to research things a bit more before I post. All you have to do to change the voltage needed is change the bulbs! :crazy: DUH! Take out the 74 volt bulbs and put in #4411 PAR 36 12 volt 35 watt tractor style floodlight bulbs. Link to how to do this: PM-8911 (12V) - Gyrating Warning Lights


*UPDATE DUECE* I called the toll free number on the product literature in the link on the trainweb.org page. The toll free number took me to a recording of how I could get some Viagra pills. The regular number had a recording saying that is was no longer in service. SOOOO....I put 'Prime Manufacturing Corp.' into Google to see what would come up. I went through the listings and saw a number of 1-937-496-3900. I dialed it and it says "Thank you for calling Dayton-Phoenix Group." I went through the options and finally got to talk to a girl in sales who told me that they bought out Prime Manufacturing Corp. and that the specific light that is the focus of this thread is no longer made. She said that GE quit making the the 74 volt bulb and they tried getting some from China but they could not warranty those. She also said that their design team was trying to come up with another beacon for railroad use that fit the need and was cost effective. I asked her,"So GE quit making the bulb and you quit making the light housing itself?" and she said yes(Eric and Ryan are now seeing $$$ signs LOL). I asked if they made any other warning lights/beacons and she said yes and that their web address is www.dayton-phoenix.com.


I also told her about the site here and this thread and that I would put this info up on here. She sounded like she liked lights as she said she thought it would be cool to have a big beacon on her house for activation by a burgler alarm or to turn on so the pizza guy could find her house.

 

[MESDA6]

There has to be a way to get it to flash in sequence like that on 12-24 volts. If that could be accomplished I wouldn't mind having one. :undecided:

Here's some interesting reading on the train beacons. This might help you convert an alternating unit to a sequenced unit if you can find someone to make the circuit board. PM-8911 Beacon - Gyrating Warning Lights

 

[ERIC6913]

There has to be a way to get it to flash in sequence like that on 12-24 volts. If that could be accomplished I wouldn't mind having one. :undecided:


*UPDATE* I need to research things a bit more before I post. All you have to do to change the voltage needed is change the bulbs! :crazy: DUH! Take out the 74 volt bulbs and put in #4411 PAR 36 12 volt 35 watt tractor style floodlight bulbs. Link to how to do this: PM-8911 (12V) - Gyrating Warning Lights


*UPDATE DUECE* I called the toll free number on the product literature in the link on the trainweb.org page. The toll free number took me to a recording of how I could get some Viagra pills. The regular number had a recording saying that is was no longer in service. SOOOO....I put 'Prime Manufacturing Corp.' into Google to see what would come up. I went through the listings and saw a number of 1-937-496-3900. I dialed it and it says "Thank you for calling Dayton-Phoenix Group." I went through the options and finally got to talk to a girl in sales who told me that they bought out Prime Manufacturing Corp. and that the specific light that is the focus of this thread is no longer made. She said that GE quit making the the 74 volt bulb and they tried getting some from China but they could not warranty those. She also said that their design team was trying to come up with another beacon for railroad use that fit the need and was cost effective. I asked her,"So GE quit making the bulb and you quit making the light housing itself?" and she said yes(Eric and Ryan are now seeing $$$ signs LOL). I asked if they made any other warning lights/beacons and she said yes and that their web address is www.dayton-phoenix.com.


I also told her about the site here and this thread and that I would put this info up on here. She sounded like she liked lights as she said she thought it would be cool to have a big beacon on her house for activation by a burgler alarm or to turn on so the pizza guy could find her house.

thanks for the info, nut.......mine is for sale, but it is missing the original flasher board. it is just the lamp itself. pm me if interested.

 

[ryan]

So I got this near mint Prime Mfg. light. It was listed as a railroad beacon. It has the stratolite 80 amber dome on it in nice shape. The bulbs are set into a rubber housing. There is a electronic flasher underneath the pan.


The beacon listed is 74 volts which is what locomotive engines are.











Here is the beacon in operation,

 

[Mndlm]

I remember Burlington Northern Railroad and Soo Line used this light and another where the bulb is on top the dome and the reflector rotates:


Burlington Northern Grain Train GD3YA Wishram, WA


http://www.railpixs.com/bn/BN176-241_atGalveston_June93.jpg


BN GP9 #1887 (This is the one where the reflector rotates)

 

[CrownVic97]

Ryan, your videos of your own Prime beacon have got to be the only ones on the internet (that I've seen anyways) that shows their functionality in great detail. Very cool stuff!

 

[ryan]

Thanks, I couldn't find any either so I hooked up 7 car batteries in series and got 74 volts. Ok, just teasing....I opted for putting in ge4416's and it works just fine.

 

[CrownVic97]

As long as it can blinky, it works great:crazy: :haha: !

 

[Evan163]

These Prime locomotive beacons have to be my favorite railroad warning device. Really the only railroad that still uses these on most of their locomotives is Chicago's Metra Commuter railroad . The interesting thing is that almost every locomtive is equipped with them yet, they are only used on certain lines of the Metra (mainly the BNSF trackage) Other than Metra some smaller railroads use them but, they seem to have faded away into history for the most part. You used to be able to see them on a few big freight railroads (Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, ect) but, like I said Metra is really the place you can find them used widespread. Nice information you guys have about this beacon. I'd love to own one of these locomotive beacons after seeing them many times in person. If anyones got one they don't want or if you know where to get one let me know I've been searching for over a year on ebay and other sites with no luck.

 

[kitn1mcc]

the Actual Locomotive from the movie is at the Gold Coast Railroad museum in miami


Gold Coast Railroad Museum - Atlantic Coast Line No. 1804

 

[Evan163]

With dome removed

Information

I bought this off Ebay for only $89 total. Good deal in my opinion. The seller knew almost nothing about this beacon. When emailed asking how he got this beacon I got kind of an interesting story. Apperently a long time ago his dad was looking for a beacon for his snowplow. He went to some sort of show and bought this brand new. When he got it home he realized that it was in fact for a locomotive and required 74VDC to operate it! :crazy: So, realizing it would not work with his truck it was then put in storage for many years until it was listed on Ebay (thanks Mtnman for responding to my "Wanted" Ad and helping me find it) It has never been used according to the seller which is kind of neat. Well, Im just really happy to own this after searching for over a year for one. It's in great condition and has never been used. It just has dust and dirt from sitting so long in storage. Im going to need to find a power connector for it and I'll head down to the local auto-parts store to get some 12V lights. I'll keep the 74V bulbs in case I want to use it on the local toursist railroads (I volunteer there) locomotive but, for the time being I'd just like to get it working and keep it at home.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Information

Apperently a long time ago his dad was looking for a beacon for his snowplow. He went to some sort of show and bought this brand new.

A long time ago, DOM 10/05. :bonk:


Nice find either way.

 

[jdh]

I was eyeing that one as well. Good score.

 

[Evan163]

Heres a video I've uploaded to youtube of my PM8913-3 Locomotive beacon operating of 12VDC. I changed the GE 74VDC bulbs to GE 12VDC Par 36 35Watt tractor floodlights......It was a lot of work but well worth it! Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ir1ymOQeIQ

 

[fyrrob]

If any of you guys that have made the conversion to 12v, I would like to get / buy the 74-75V bulbs.  I work at the rail museum and we are having a tough time coming up with replacements.  Thank you very much.