Alrighty, let's shelve the kerosene for now and talk about electric railroad lanterns. In case anyone was wondering, this thread is an off-shoot of the recent “Hickory-Stripe v. Denim” thread.

First, a little background. While the railroad and its history permeates nearly every corner of my life, I also collect antique lanterns. This hobby is nice in part because there is a large overlap between collecting old lanterns and collecting railroad antiques, e.g. railroad lanterns! Some people get “lamp” and “lantern” mixed up. As I understand it, a lantern is a portable light source, meant to illuminate a general area, which can stand on its own. A flashlight is almost always needs to be held to illuminate the desired area. A lantern can be used hands-free if necessary. A “lamp” (when not referring to the bulbs used in lanterns) is a light source that remains permanently/temporarily fixed. For example, in the kerosene world, trainmen carried lanterns, but they hung the marker lamps on the caboose.

As far as I can tell, electric railroad lanterns began appearing in the early 1900's in the U.S. However, old lanterns die hard, and it would take until the 1970's for the kerosene variety to disappear. If I remember correctly, Burlington Northern was one of the last railroads to order a new run of Adlake kerosene lanterns for regular use.

The oldest piece on my collection (also my first railroad lantern) is a Conger with a single bulb. This lantern was heavily damaged when I acquired it, and, while it now functional again, there is still a lot of work to be done on it. It originally had a wooden slide switch, which has since been replaced with a standard plastic switch. The lantern definitely appears to have kerosene lantern look about it, and the use of a single bulb mimics the the single flame in a kerosene railroad lantern. However, perhaps the most interesting part of this lantern is the ad that was still inside the battery compartment cap. As far as I can tell, this lantern was a bit of an experiment in the new world of electric lighting. The lantern in question is in the center of the photo below:

https://flic.kr/p/psYvAX

https://flic.kr/p/pbtUnh


Later on, the Conger underwent a major design change. If you would like to know the full history of the Conger brand lanterns, see Brian McCamish's post over here at TrainOrders: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/r ... 11,2481691

If you read Brian's post, you will find the part about the new Conger design (see the two stainless steel lanterns on either side of the center lantern in the above photo) having the patent number stamped on units produced after 1953. I have several of this variety, but I also have one stamped “patent pending”. This unit has a different font used for the stamped lettering, and the guard struts are shorter than the later models, perhaps leaving the bulbs more exposed to breakage. This unit is likely of earlier vintage than most Congers out there.

Adlake was also a producer of electric railroad lanterns. I have found a couple variations, with most of the design changes being limited to the shape of the handle. However, I have also been fortunate enough to find a patent-pending model that differs from the others in guard and reflector design.

https://flic.kr/p/pbuE6r

Other companies also tried their hand at making railroad lanterns. Economy Electric, known for their general purpose “Eco-Lite” lanterns, made a lantern with a wood handle. Justrite, known for both their carbide and electric mining lamps, also made a railroad model. Here we have a Justrite on the left and an Economy Electric on the right.

https://flic.kr/p/pbufq1

However, there was another very successful railroad lantern manufacturer, Star Headlight and Lantern. Star has produced their own lanterns for some time now, and I believe is the company that bought out Conger. Their lanterns are now known for their Lexan construction, and the same general has undergone some changes over the years. The orange 222 model used the same screw-base bulbs that the early Congers used. The yellow 292 used flange bulbs, much like a standard flashlight, and the latest models have utilized LED lighting.

https://flic.kr/p/psYDQ2

Finally, to wrap it all up, here is a modern day lantern. Made by Rail-Tek, this lantern is all LED. The two modes are spot and spot + marker lights.

https://flic.kr/p/pbuaGo

This one differs from nearly every other trainman's lantern of times past, which only illuminated one bulb at a time. Usually, one bulb was used for giving hand signals, and one was fitted with a focusing reflector for use as a spot light.

All of these lanterns use the same battery, a 6 Volt square base lantern battery, which can be found a Walmart and Winco for about $4.00 USD. Alternatively, an adapter can be purchased that allows the use of D batteries in the place of the single 6 volt brick.

I find one of the most fascinating parts of collecting trainman's lanterns is how they were modified. Congers often have various replacement buts on the handle bolts. Names or initials of the lantern's owner are often written on or scratched into the surface of the lantern. Handles were taped and bent to better suit the owner's grip. These lanterns were a common tool of the trade, yet the trainmen had to depend on these lanterns to allow them to perform their job safely and return home at the end of the day.

https://flic.kr/p/pbts3c
https://flic.kr/p/pbuBfg
https://flic.kr/p/pqWF7Y

As part of my collecting policy, all of the lanterns I collect will be made operable. I do not restore them, but rather rehabilitate them so they can be used occasionally, while also taking steps to protect them, including painting where necessary. If the lanterns worn look is considered worth saving, I will clearcoat the lantern to preserve the weathered look while also protecting it for the future. I volunteer on a heritage railway, and once a year, when the Santa Train runs after dark, the old electric lanterns are pulled off the display shelf and get to work in active train service once more, lighting the way to yesterday.

No images.

For me, the images appear, and then go away shortly after. Looks like I've got some troubleshooting to do...

No photos here on the IPad either
Al

Here's the error message that appears if one tries to access the address of the first photo (as imbedded in the original post as a [img]"http://image_url"[/img]):

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IqI7YaLHO7_X_pZB0b0Wggs5E9mx96SdBa5Zmo5vKdhh-JiZ6tvFu3PXkRetcvdLohOk8t_aoPs=w1623-h653



Looks like the photos are behind a user login firewall.

the link leads straight to his computer. and trust me, no firewall......

Speaking of these lanterns, I've got a few with corrosion from leaky batteries. I'm sure others have the same issue. What's the best method for dealing with this corrosion? I've tried a variety of cleaning methods without success. Using a wire wheel will clean the corrosion enough so that the lantern will function but it's still nasty looking. Any suggestions? Or to be more specific, any suggestions that work?