JeffPo's Adlake Switchlamp Page
Last update: 11/30/05
This is a railroad switchlamp made by the Adlake company. This one is "skinny" compared to my other Dressel switchlamps. It has four 4 1/2" lenses, two blue and two red. The blue lens will shine a signal green color because of the yellow flame of the burner. I've added brass lens retainer rings from the Krise Depot to dress the lamp up a bit. Switchlamps were used to indicate the settings on railroad track switches. They were mounted to the switch mechanism and would rotate with the changing of the switch. An arriving locomotive would know the track setting based on the color the switchlamp was displaying. Switchlamps are quite a bit bigger and heavier than lanterns.
The fuel fount is large and round. The burner accommodates a Pyrex chimney. You gain access to it by flipping open the top of the lamp. These were made to burn kerosene.
Also, since this lamp is tall with a small base, it is somewhat top heavy and easy to tip over. It was designed to be mounted on a railroad track switch, not be sitting on a fireplace for decoration. As you can see in this image, I've made a hexagonal wooden base for the lamp to sit on to give it more stability.
Here's a timed exposure in a darkened room with the lamp lit. The glow of red and green lenses are quite beautiful. The blue lense shines a signal green, indicating that the switch is set to straight ahead. A red signal showing would indicate that the rail switch is set to the siding. Also, notice the clear glass peep hole in the center of the image. This was so the person maintaining the lamps could easily tell if the lamp was lit during the daylight. Since there are no railroad markings on this lamp that I can find, I have no way of knowing which railroad it was used on.