13-16

I E S LIGHTING HANDBOOK
The glass disk is frosted on the inside, and the outside edge of the letters
should be at least 1 3/4 inches from the border ; otherwise, direct light from
the lamps will cause spotty illumination. Five 15-candlepower or 6-candle-
power lamps should be mounted in sockets equally spaced in the box. The
color of the box interior and the proportions of letter size and spacing should
be in accordance with the illuminated destination sign requirements.
Accessory lighting. Certain accessory lighting is required for the safe
and satisfactory operation of a bus. Step lights provide the necessary
safety for passengers entering or leaving. Occasionally an overhead step
light operates in conjunction with the door. Slightly preferable, especially
if the bus is otherwise well lighted, is the use of single or twin units recessed
in the step well. If the latter do not operate automatically upon opening
of the door, they should be shielded from the driver's field, since frequently
they are designed with an upward component of light which might annoy
him if it were always visible.
Stop and tail lights follow the general pattern of automotive requirements
and usually are covered in detail by state law. The numerous stops made
by a bus and the general use of power brakes make it advisable to exceed
the requirements of law in the size, brightness, or number of stop lights
installed if this is permitted.
Fare boxes require a small light to identify the slot or receptacle of the
register ; when tickets are used, it usually is necessary to provide overhead
lighting in addition. Though occasionally this may be co-ordinated with
the step lighting, it should not be operated automatically by the door,
since the latter is closed when the bus is moving.
RAILWAY PASSENGER CAR LIGHTING AND
LOCOMOTIVE HEADLIGHTS
Railway Passenger Car Lighting
Illumination levels in railway passenger cars increased during the decade
1935-1945 from 3 to 5 footcandles to 15 to 30 footcandles on the reading
plane to keep abreast of the advances in other fields.
The" trend in fixture design just prior to the beginning of World War II
and also those fixtures being used in cars now under construction show a
wide variety of taste and opinion on the part of designers.
Fluorescent lamps are being used in most new design work, since electric
power on railway cars is limited. Fluorescent lamps offer the possibility
for using the available energy efficiently because of their relatively high
lumen-per-watt ratings as compared with that of incandescent-filament
lamps. The following factors are considered advantageous for railway
car service also
:
The increased service life of fluorescent lamps tends to offset their
greater initial cost. Linear sources enable designers to obtain a more
pleasing and artistic effect within the car. Heat generated for a given
footcandle value is less than in the case of incandescent-filament-type
lamps and therefore tends to reduce the load on air-conditioning equipment.