As I learn more and more about the Frisco during WWII, I've started to wonder if there were accessories added to the existing engines to make them ready for the war. For instance, I know a lot of homes had blackout curtains installed in case of air raid. Did locomotives and (and/or passenger cars) have the same done to them? Were there special running light rules? I know the Frisco had lamps on the stacks to check the fire. Were they able to use these during the war? I looked around the internet a little, and I couldn't find much on this.
I've never heard of any wartime restrictions on lighting. I think we were far enough from any coast, so the danger was very slim. The stack lights are handy at night.
Makes sense, Don. I've always enjoyed the nightime photo of 4411 sitting in the dark at the business end of Second 10, where one can actually see the stack light illuminating the smoke. And, between the platform lighting and War Dad's neon sign, the whole thing was probably visible from Newburg. Best Regards,
I know on the west coast they did put covers on headlights to reduce the chance that the Japanese could see rail lines running along the coast, but I with Don and the Frisco is way too far from either coast to worry about an air raid. With that said, my dad said early on during the war Chicago did do blackout drills and ordered all the factories to make lots of black smoke to obscure possible targets.
George Gobel said, on the Johnny Carson show one night, that he was stationed in Oklahoma City during the war and that NOT a single Japanese got east of where he was stationed!
To be sure fear aerial bombing raids against the US was a concern immediately after the US entered the war. However, the main threat came from the Kriegmarine. Before Eastern and Gulf Coast cities could implement proper light discipline, the German U-Boot Service of the Kriegsmarine enjoyed its “Second Happy Time” or the American Shooting Season of WWII. During this time, German submarines operated with impunity off the US coasts, and they were able to sink many allied vessels, which as they sailed were back-lit by the lights of American cities. By the spring of 1943, the Allies had the resources and technology to commence offensive ASW operations, which during the summer of 1943 forced Admiral Doenitz to pull back from the US and develop new strategies. This effectively ended the U-boot threat to the US coast.
