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Attached are 3 photos of two boxes of Westinghouse Toy Train light bulbs that I picked up at York awhile back.  I have also seen these for sale on eBay.  They have screw-bases and note that both boxes identity the bulbs as 18-volt and size G5 (5/8” in diameter).

 

Does anyone know where these bulbs were used?  The Westinghouse logo on those boxes is an older one that was used from 1936 through 1960 which covers both some of the pre-war and some of the post-war period.  The clear bulbs look like bulbs that were used in many different pre and post-war items and the red and green look like the bulbs in O22 switch controllers (I tried them and they do fit).  But I’ve looked through lamp replacement charts in Lionel instruction books ranging from 1935 to 1965 and can not find any reference to a #1455 bulb being used as original equipment in a Lionel item.  There are #1445 and #1456 but no 1455’s.  Also the post-war lamp chart in the Lionel Service Manual lists the bulb SIZE in addition to voltages and the only G5’s listed are BAYONET base.  Most of the larger globes listed in the post-war chart were G4-1/2 which are 1/16th of an inch smaller in diameter than a G5. 

 

The list I have for pre-war doesn’t show a #1455 either.  The headlight bulb in my 385E standard gauge steam engine is an old bulb and appears to be the same size as these Westinghouse G5 bulbs but the only stamping left on it is “18V”.  The pre-war bulb table says that the bulb used in all standard gauge locomotives and cars was a #28-3 clear 18-volt bulb but it doesn’t give the size.  That table also says that the red bulb for an O22C switch controller was an 18-volt #28-6 and that the green bulb was a #408-45. The corresponding post-war bulbs are #L432R and -G which are identified as 18-volt G4-1/2 size.  I can’t think of anywhere else in the post-war years where a large globe green bulb was used.     

 

Or maybe they were used in American Flyer, Marx or some other brand of toy trains?

 

Thanks,

 

Bill 

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Images (3)
  • W_Bulbs_1
  • W_Bulbs_2
  • W_Bulbs_3
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Madison Hardware sold those bulbs as substitutes for #432. They sold them in clear, red, and green. They even came up with a way to put a dimple in the tip, and sold them as beacon bulbs. But they didn't work very well as beacon bulbs because the dimples weren't that well formed, and the bulbs did not get hot enough. (but for a while, those were then only bulbs readily available)

 

Those 1455 bulbs are 18 volt, 1/4 amp, just like 432 bulbs, BUT 1455 bulbs have G-5 globes, while 432 bulbs are G-4 1/2.

 

When installed, most folks would not be able to tell the difference.

They will fit 022 switch controllers just fine.

 

I used to buy those bulbs by the hundred. The "G" on your box looks very familiar.
Some folks like to have those boxes because they look old (they probably are), but I would not put a premium on them because they may have come from Madison.

Somewhere along the line, I picked up a case of them, they did not come with the orange boxes, they were packed in trays of 100.

 

(please note, some of what I've written repeats what Bill has already written).

 

Last edited by C W Burfle

Hi C.W.:

 

Thanks for the responses.  Could that be your hand-writing on that one box?

 

So apparently Madison sold them as replacements for any 18-volt screw-base large globe bulb that Lionel used, even if the original was a G4-1/2?

 

Anyway, I just found my AF post-war service manual reprint and there is no #1455 bulb listed on the bulb chart in that book, either.  So we can rule out that those bulbs were original equipment in post-war S gauge flyer, too. 

 

Bill

 

quote:
Thanks for the responses.  Could that be your hand-writing on that one box?



 

No, I meant the "G" looks a lot like the markings Madison Hardware put on the boxes.
The dark green bulbs look like they might have been painted by them.
The light green bulb and red ones do not.
When illuminated, the coloring done by Madison usually looks uneven.

 

One time, when I was purchasing clear bulbs, Lou gave me a bag of loose bulbs and brand new old stock boxes and liners for then. The boxes were still flat, having never been assembled.

 





quote:
So apparently Madison sold them as replacements for any 18-volt screw-base large globe bulb that Lionel used, even if the original was a G4-1/2?




 

Yes, I don't think they had 432's in large quantities, if at all.

They seemed to always have lots of 1445, and clear 1455 bulbs. There were a few times they did not have the colored 1455 bulbs available.
Another bulb they rarely had were 1447 bulbs.

Last edited by C W Burfle
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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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