Object No.84

Although batteries had been used to provide lighting on trains from 1894, using the rotation of the wheels or axles to provide power presented a number of problems. These included how to stop the lamps dimming or becoming brighter as the train changed speed, or going out when the train stopped. In 1913, Herbert Foales had overcome these problems and patented the ‘Wolverton Lighting System’ that became standard for vehicles all over the world and was still used until 1964. Batteries continued to be used to provide a constant supply of electricity. The dynamo was arranged so that it only provided current in one direction and it was switched to ‘cut in’ and ‘out’ and so prevent the battery being drained of power when the dynamo was producing insufficient power. Dynamos, removed from a railway carriage, were tested using this panel and the way the bulbs lit up and the metres registered. The dynamos, supported on a metal beam, had to be driven by an engine.