Mark -- I've never seen a US train at night (or any thert time, I suppose!) Her in the UK trains have never had headlights, as there is far less long-distance single-track here, and it would be dangerous to spoil other drivers' night vision. Trains do carry one or more small lights front & back, and the configuration indicates what kind of train it is: slow passenger, express passenger, slow freight, etc., but these are not bright enough to see by.

I've seen plenty of pics of US locos, from the giant streamliners of the 40s 50s to the old 4-4-0 woodburners of Casey Jones and Union Pacific, which were on British tv way back. Did those enormous oil lamps really swing from side to side? Was it intentional, or were they just a bit loose?

Steve