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Term clarification

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kentuckytony

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On another thread I read a term that is not used where I am and I couldn't find a suitable answer on a web search.

Here is the quote: "I could give the trolley steward my Bardic and we're away!"

Help me expand my vocabulary! :)
 
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ainsworth74

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It's a type of lamp, termed a Bardic lamp. This website has an example. I'm sure someone else will be along to explain more :)
 

Ibex

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A Bardic Lamp is an old style lamp which has been in use on the railway for a long time now. They can show a clear white light, or yellow / green / red.

They're used in train dispatch and train shunting and also can be attached to a train to be used as a head lamp / tail lamp.

bardic.jpg


I personally hate them and much prefer the modern equivalents.
 

ralphchadkirk

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Bardics have been around a very long time. There are two aspect (white, red, green) and three aspect (yellow, red, green, white) versions.

They're not just used as lamps though - they are brilliant as doorstops, passenger subduers, hammers, paperweights etc etc...

They used to be (are they still now?) colour coded. IIRC grey was for railways, green for the army and yellow for oil depots - not sure on that though!!

As said above, the modern equivalent is the Halo lamp, which does the same thing but with high intensity colour calibrated LEDs and a halogen bulb. They can do all sorts of fancy things like reverting to red automatically should you let go of a proceed aspect button - unlike Bardics where you would be fiddling around for half an hour!
 

ralphchadkirk

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:lol:

Damn those pesky passengers always getting in the way of running a railway ;)

:lol:

Seriously though, there are stories of when they have been used in self defence. Wouldn't like to try my luck with a Halo - they're not a block of metal!
 

kentuckytony

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Over here - and maybe there, too - they had a comic book character called Green Lantern. Maybe he should have been called "Green Bardic"! :p
 
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