Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Lantern, Railroad |
Title |
Four Lens Handlan Kerosene Lamp |
Date |
ca 1900 |
Description |
Handlan Railroad Kerosene Lamp with four lenses; one is amber, one red, the others blue. These lanterns were often found atop a switch stand. Lanterns were the best means of communication when operating and directing trains. They communicated signals between trains, stations, and workers, since loud working environments and the distance involved in train operations made communicating by voice virtually impossible. Railroad lanterns and railroad lamps serve two separate ways of signalling. Railroad lanterns have a globe surrounded by a metal frame or caging and a fuel source, originally oil and later kerosene. A railroad lantern was portable and was an effective light source that could be easily seen at night from a distance. The railroad worker would swing and move the lantern in different ways according to what message he wanted to send. For instance, to give a stop signal, the lantern would be swung back and forth horizontally across the tracks and the signal to proceed was to move the lantern up and down vertically. Additionally, different coloured globes or lenses, of both the lanterns and lamps, were used to mean different signals. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green and Clear/White, had its own significance. Handlan-Buck Mfg. Company: Alexander Hamilton Handlan was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on April 25, 1844. During the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), Handlan learned bookkeeping in the Union Quartermaster Corp. In 1868, young Alexander secured a position with Myron M. Buck's company in St. Louis, Missouri. Alexander became a partner in M. M. Buck and Company in 1874, and bought Buck out in 1895. The company name was changed to Handlan-Buck Manufacturing Company in 1901. Alexander Handlan Jr. continued the firm which lasted until about 1960. |
Owned By |
Texas Electric Railway |
Made By |
Handlan-Buck Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, MO |
Used By |
Signaling |
Material |
Steel/Glass |
Collector |
Mott, Bill and Barbara |
Search Terms |
Handlan Buck Manufacturing Company Kerosene Lamp Lantern Signal |
Collection |
City of Plano Collection |
Catalog Number |
CP.2005.GC.1-2 |