JeffPo's Railroad Lantern Page

JeffPo's Railroad Lantern Page

Last update: 07/08/08

The very nature of operating a train and a train yard means that you have to have a means of communication. During the days of steam locomotives and early diesel, the noise and distance involved with train operations pretty much rules out speaking or yelling, especially since common radio devices weren't yet available. Any device used would also have to be portable, since those working on the line were constantly on the move. While flags and semaphores might work during the day, how about at night? The most effective means of nighttime communications was the kerosene lantern (oil in the earlier days).

The kerosene lantern was a portable, efficient light source, that could be easily seen. Even after electric flashlights began showing up, some railroad workers still preferred the lantern because it lasted longer (i.e. no batteries), gave better light (i.e. the flashlight was too directional), and I've even read about where multiple lamps were used on cold nights to provide for some warmth. At any rate, lanterns have enjoyed a long history with the railroad and today have become collector items for those fascinated with the railroad as a hobby.

And like others who are spellbound by America's history of railroads, I too have entered the fray of collecting railroad lanterns. I guess I should be a little more descriptive. I'm not a true collector in the sense of looking for value or investment. I just like the fact that these devices were used by hardworking blue collar men, on our nation's railways in the dead of night. When I fire up a lantern I like to imagine that someone else did the same, decades ago, as they reported for work at the rail yard. I thought I would create this webpage to share what I have and how they were used. Enjoy.

Signals

Various railroad workers, such as engineers and brakemen, used the lantern to signal instructions to others (such as the locomotive engineer). A rail yard is a busy place. Hooking up and rearranging railroad cars took a lot of coordination and proper communication. The lighted kerosene lantern was just the right tool for use at night. Railroads used four colored globes and one clear for their signaling.

The white/clear lantern was used by the brakeman to give the general, more common signals around the rail yard. They were swung by hand.
A white lantern (or a green lantern) could be used to stop a train at a flag station. A flag station is a location where one would want to ride one or two days a week, but would otherwise be too costly for a train to stop everyday if there weren't any passengers. It could be hung from the building or swung by hand.

The red lantern was generally used to signal STOP. This could be at the tower, a flag station, etc.
Sometimes a red lantern was hung on the rear of the tender.
Sometimes a red lantern was hung on the end of a caboose as a rear marker.
A red lantern might also be hung outside the tower to indicate the train needs to stop for Form 31 orders. Orders are instructions from the dispatcher, delivered through the operator, to the engineer and conductor of a train which either gives them the authority to operate, as in the case of an extra train, or modifies the schedule which exists in the timetable. Unlike Form 19 orders, Form 31 orders require the train to stop and the engineer and conductor must each sign for the order.

The blue lantern was used for marking equipment that wasn't to be moved. It was hung on the various equipment, such as boxcars or locomotives, that were being worked on.

The signal green lantern was used as a tower signal for "proceed with caution".
The green lantern (or amber/yellow lantern) was also used by switch tenders to indicate that the switches were aligned properly.
The green lantern was also used by the wreck master (the one in charge at the scene of a wreck cleanup) to signal the wrecker operator and the engineer of the work train positioning the wrecker. The engineer of the wreck train could only act on a green signal given by the wreck master.
A green lantern (or a white lantern) could be used to stop a train at a flag station.

The amber/yellow lantern was used to mark "camp cars". Camp cars were railroad cars that track repair men or other repair people lived in when many miles from home. They ate and slept in them.
Switch tenders (people that manually threw the railroad switches) also used the amber/yellow lantern (or the green lantern) for signaling to indicate that the switches were aligned properly.
An amber/yellow lantern could also be hung as a tower signal to indicate that Form 19 orders were to be handed up to conductor and engineer. Form 19 orders are "hooped" (affixed to a stick with a hoop on it that the engineer could put his arm through to grab it) up to the engineer and conductor by the operator once the train is underway. In other words, the train did not have to stop to receive Form 19 orders.

As mentioned above, a white light was used for hand signaling. Below is a diagram of the various types of signals that would be communicated:

White light railroad signals

My Railroad Lanterns

Some of my railroad lantern collection is displayed in my living room, along a wall of my cathedral ceiling. I created the railroad crossbuck to give it more visual appeal.

Below is a more detailed look at each lantern in my collection. Click on an image to see a larger picture, more pictures of the lantern, and some information on the associated railroad.

Armspear lantern for Erie Railroad. Hiram Piper lantern for Canadian Pacific Railroad. Dietz lantern for New Haven Railroad. Adlake lantern for Penn Central Railroad.

Dietz lantern for New York Central Railroad. Dressel lantern for Pennsylvania Railroad Adlake lantern for Southern Railway Adlake switch lamp. No railroad markings.

Dietz lantern for Reading Railroad. Dressel crossing gate lamp. Adlake lantern for Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Dietz #39 lantern. No railroad markings.

Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad. Dressel switch lamp for Maine Central Railroad. Dietz lantern for New York Central Railroad. Dietz lantern for New Haven Railroad.

Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad (more detailed) Dietz lantern for for Maine Central Railroad. Dressel switch lamp for Wabash Railroad. Adlake lantern. No railroad markings.

Dietz #6 lantern for Boston & Albany Railroad Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad (red globe) Adlake lantern for Pennsylvania Railroad Adlake lantern for Southern Railway

Dressel Stainless derail lamp Dressel Stainless switch lamp Handlan marker lamp Adlake Reflex switch lamp

Adlake lantern for Norfolk & Western Railway
Adlake bellbottom switch lamp used in rail yard
Adlake lantern for Baltimore & Ohio railroad Adlake lantern for Boston & Maine railroad

Adlake bellbottom switch lamp for Union Pacific Railroad Adlake bellbottom lantern for Grand Trunk Railway Handlan lantern for New York Central Railroad

Railroad Lantern Resource and Information

If you haven't done so already, visit my Model Trains page, my Trains/Railroad page, or my Miscellaneous RR Items page.

http://www.railroadiana.org/pgLanterns.shtml Lantern section of the website of Railroadiana Online. It outlines about everything you'd ever want to know about lanterns, from manufacturing details to restoration. Awesome site with awesome information. Lantern and globe surveys. If you only want to consult one railroad lantern site, this is probably it.

http://www.kerosenelantern.net Roger Kessler's collection of old lanterns. He has a huge, impressive collection. If you want to see what the various lanterns look like (railroad and otherwise), go here. I just can't get over how extensive it is. Beautiful stuff! He's also been very helpful answering questions I've posed to him about railroad lanterns and their restoration.

http://www.railroadcollectors.org Railroadiana Collectors Association. General information along with stuff on cleaning/restoring lanterns, as well as info on fake and reproduction lanterns/globes.

http://madisonrails.railfan.net Roger Hensley's Railroads of Madison County. Photos, information, and stories about railroading in that region. Check out the articles on the Memory Pages. Contributor Maurice Lewman has given me great information on lantern signals.

Golden Spike Enterprises Lists some of the bigger trains shows and events on the east coast.

http://www.klnl.org Key, Lock & Lantern. Lantern and globe surveys and general information.

http://store.yahoo.com/adlake/kerolanterns.html Adlake's railroad lantern webpage. They are still in business. Prices are actually cheaper than the old ones for auction on Ebay (of course the old ones have value for collectors because they were used by a particular railroad).

http://www.railroadcatalog.com/adswitlan300.html Schaders Railroad Catalog. They sell modern Adlake lanterns. Kind of pricey, but good selection of globe colors. Here's the brass version: http://www.railroadcatalog.com/adkerbraslan.html

http://www.lanternnet.com W.T. Kirkman Oil & Electric Lanterns. Good information on lanterns, some history, etc. Some info on cleaning lanterns. They also sell a nice selection of new lanterns, even a "railroad style" version. They also sell lantern parts.

http://www.classiclantern.com The Kerosene Lantern. Website of Dennis Pearson who has written a book on lanterns. Good general information.

* Back to home page *

	The white/clear lantern was used by the brakeman to give the general, more common signals around the rail yard. They were swung by hand. A white lantern (or a green lantern) could be used to stop a train at a flag station. A flag station is a location where one would want to ride one or two days a week, but would otherwise be too costly for a train to stop everyday if there weren't any passengers. It could be hung from the building or swung by hand.
	The red lantern was generally used to signal STOP. This could be at the tower, a flag station, etc. Sometimes a red lantern was hung on the rear of the tender. Sometimes a red lantern was hung on the end of a caboose as a rear marker. A red lantern might also be hung outside the tower to indicate the train needs to stop for Form 31 orders. Orders are instructions from the dispatcher, delivered through the operator, to the engineer and conductor of a train which either gives them the authority to operate, as in the case of an extra train, or modifies the schedule which exists in the timetable. Unlike Form 19 orders, Form 31 orders require the train to stop and the engineer and conductor must each sign for the order.
	The blue lantern was used for marking equipment that wasn't to be moved. It was hung on the various equipment, such as boxcars or locomotives, that were being worked on.
	The signal green lantern was used as a tower signal for "proceed with caution". The green lantern (or amber/yellow lantern) was also used by switch tenders to indicate that the switches were aligned properly. The green lantern was also used by the wreck master (the one in charge at the scene of a wreck cleanup) to signal the wrecker operator and the engineer of the work train positioning the wrecker. The engineer of the wreck train could only act on a green signal given by the wreck master. A green lantern (or a white lantern) could be used to stop a train at a flag station.
	The amber/yellow lantern was used to mark "camp cars". Camp cars were railroad cars that track repair men or other repair people lived in when many miles from home. They ate and slept in them. Switch tenders (people that manually threw the railroad switches) also used the amber/yellow lantern (or the green lantern) for signaling to indicate that the switches were aligned properly. An amber/yellow lantern could also be hung as a tower signal to indicate that Form 19 orders were to be handed up to conductor and engineer. Form 19 orders are "hooped" (affixed to a stick with a hoop on it that the engineer could put his arm through to grab it) up to the engineer and conductor by the operator once the train is underway. In other words, the train did not have to stop to receive Form 19 orders.


Armspear lantern for Erie Railroad.	Hiram Piper lantern for Canadian Pacific Railroad.	Dietz lantern for New Haven Railroad.	Adlake lantern for Penn Central Railroad.


Dietz lantern for New York Central Railroad.	Dressel lantern for Pennsylvania Railroad	Adlake lantern for Southern Railway	Adlake switch lamp. No railroad markings.


Dietz lantern for Reading Railroad.	Dressel crossing gate lamp.	Adlake lantern for Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.	Dietz #39 lantern. No railroad markings.


Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad.	Dressel switch lamp for Maine Central Railroad.	Dietz lantern for New York Central Railroad.	Dietz lantern for New Haven Railroad.


Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad (more detailed)	Dietz lantern for for Maine Central Railroad.	Dressel switch lamp for Wabash Railroad.	Adlake lantern. No railroad markings.


Dietz #6 lantern for Boston & Albany Railroad	Dietz #6 lantern for New York Central Railroad (red globe)	Adlake lantern for Pennsylvania Railroad	Adlake lantern for Southern Railway


Dressel Stainless derail lamp	Dressel Stainless switch lamp	Handlan marker lamp	Adlake Reflex switch lamp


Adlake lantern for Norfolk & Western Railway	Adlake bellbottom switch lamp used in rail yard	Adlake lantern for Baltimore & Ohio railroad	Adlake lantern for Boston & Maine railroad


Adlake bellbottom switch lamp for Union Pacific Railroad	Adlake bellbottom lantern for Grand Trunk Railway	Handlan lantern for New York Central Railroad