09-27-2013, 10:42 AM
I guess I'm a contrarian in general -- first, if the loco comes with lights and DCC, who am I not to turn them on? Second, the really bright blue-white style LEDs give what to me is a really prototype appearance, and I like to see it. DVDs with archival footage show steam in the 1940s sometimes with headlights on in the daytime, and by the late 1950s, it was pretty common. By the "modern" era, the rules say that the presence of a headlight on a track means it is occupied, so on the main line they're always in use at all times. Certainly in my lifetime (a boomer) and even more by the time I seriously watched trains, headlights were always on. I put lights in many buildings, too, though.