Hi all I am new here and not very familiar with RR's. I am from Carbondale Pa. My uncle lived in Carbondale all of his life and worked in the mines and the railroad. I have three lanterns from his estate that I do not really have a need for. I just use them for conversation pieces. They are not in great shape and need a good cleaning. Two are Adams & Westlake one is an Air Pilot No8. One of the A&W's is marked Adlake-Karo 435,the other 2-46. The Air Pilot has a broken globe and no numbers on it. If you can help me in establishing the age and value I would consider selling them. Let me know and I will add some pictures. Thank you very much. Jim
Welcome to TrainBoard!!!!!!! Hi Jim, Can you get some images of them uploaded so I can see what you have and see if I can give you some information on them. :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:
Jim- I'm familiar with a few varieties of RR lanterns. However, these do not sound familiar. There have been quite a few styles made over the many decades. Also, there are some which are similar to RR, but made for non-RR users. Are there any RR initials stamped into the tops of those lanterns? If possible, would you please post a photo? Welcome to TrainBoard! Boxcab E50
These are lantern names of lanterns that are very D&H related but images of them will help me determine more... :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:
Well, we simply do not know this as fact. Provenance so far is minimal. These could come from essentially any activity which once was ongoing, in his region. A&W sold keys, locks, lanterns and related parts, to virtually every railroad in the US. And more. Common carriers, private operations such as logging. You name it, they bought cases and cases of varied style lanterns. They also sold to farms and agricultural suppliers, gas companies, cities, construction companies, maritime companies, and on and on. Those numbers given so far, are simply catalog model numbers. Unless we can find some railroad marking, initials stamped by various methods on the lid, or cast, or etched into glass, we'll not ever be able to say for certain what, if any RR. I've seen many times where a possible RR lantern, was actually a style many reference as a "barn" lantern. This is not to say they've no value. There's a buyer out there, for most anything. People collect for many, and any reason. You just have to find that right person. Boxcab E50 Former member KL&L, RCAI.
Again, this is why I asked Jim for images since the D&H Lanterns also have other markings that I would be looking for in those images. :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:
Here are the lanterns I was asking about. Unfortunately the Air Pilot has a broken globe. The others are in pretty good shape. There are no numbers or markings on the Air Pilot so I assume it is post 1956. The clear globe has Adlake Kero on the top, and 2-46 on the bottom with Canada 1921-1923 also embossed on the bottom. The red globe has no markings on the very top and Adlake Kero 435 on the bottom. Also Canada 1921-1923. Both have D&H R.R. on the brim. Thanks for the help. Jim
The top two, being RR marked, should be good news for you. The clear globe item, will probably be lower in value, than the red Fresnel lensed lantern. The very bottom pictured lantern, may or may not have seen RR use. And having a broken glass, will go down in value. Replacement can probably be found. For now, I'd leave it as is, until you decide what to do. There are a couple of railroad artifact auctioneers, who take in consignments. Or you could watch eBay. See what is happening there. Check out any local railroadiana related swap meets. Look at prices there. Perhaps talk with sellers there. Look at sites such as Key, Lock & Lantern: http://www.klnl.org/ Railroadiana Collectors Assn: http://www.railroadcollectors.org/ Boxcab E50
Does the top one have any Etchings or Markings on the globe itself? I've seen many a D&H Clear Lanterns but normally they have either a D&H Etchings or Markings on them in some manner. If it doesn't it could be a replacement globe but not necessarily either but it would add value if it does. Here is an example of Clear Glass Globes with D&H Etchings. The second one is not a design I've seen before within the D&H lanterns I've had a chance to review. Doesn't mean it's not but not having any D&H markings on it makes me wonder if it's D&H or not. Those D&H Red Lanterns I've seen before have details such as this. Here is another example The last one of your images I don't think it's truly D&H equipment... I will look at some of my hsitorical eBay tracking values on the first too and let you know what kind of numbers I've seen on D&H specific lanters by what Boxcab E50 gave in his most recent post are resources I would also look at
The Fresnel style lens is much less common. On most railroads. I have one for the CMSt.P&P. RR, which looks identical. Have never found anyone who could give an exact reason for their purchase or use. Everyone seemed to prefer smooth glass. Fresnel designed glass is intended to throw light a greater distance. Most famously used in lenses, or mirrors of lighthouses. Boxcab E50
The red globe does not have any markings on it but the clear globe has the little NX and Adlake Kero embossed on it. The Air Pilot has no markings anywhere except for Air Pilot No 8 on the tank. Unless I can buy a villa in Tahiti, I will most likely just keep them as I know that my uncle used them in his job as brakeman on the D&H. I also have all of his WW II items. Lots of sentimental value there. Thanks for the help. I will check out the links. Jim
Jim- I can guarantee there's no Tahiti villa in those lanterns. In most instances, total value probably under $300. Could be much less. Sentimental value will outweigh dollar value. Also, what I would do, is gather together anything related to his work experiences. Paper, hardware, and photos. Plus, write down any recollection of him, what people told you, or what he'd described to you. Where he worked, when, his official job title, who he knew. Workaday events, happy, sad, unusual. As a group, the value of your items will then be much greater. Both in dollars, and precious memories. Boxcab E50
Jim, I understand the sentimental value of such items as I wish my family would have kept more of my family's RR history but nearly all of it is gone. I still did some research on that first Lantern and it might be worth about $100 +/- $50. If you can, I would love to get as much detail images of that lantern and any other D&H items you might have that I can post on my D&H website. If you have a photograph of Uncle (especially in a RR photo) I have a place on the website for People too. :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:
I will do that some time this week. I do not have many items from his RR days but I will look around and if I can find some from other family members I will let you know. I do have a number of his WW II effects including his pay record, ID card, ribbons, dog tags and some V-mail letters he wrote from Italy. I am more into WW II than anything else. Spent 15 years working on the B-17 Memphis Belle until Memphis' apathy lost it to the air force museum. Have you ever been to the RR museum in Scranton Pa.? It is a great museum. Jim
I have some of my family's WWII stuff too and wish they would have kept more of it to pass down. My wife is trying to find out what happened to her dad's stuff but it sounds like it's not in her mom's position either. Both her family and mine were in the Pacific from what we both have been able to track. Yes, I got to Scranton National Historic Site but in October 1998. Sadly it's was pouring rain like crazy that day so it limited out enjoyment but I still found a few D&H items to photograph for my DHVM site plus images for my RRAdventures site. Hope to get back to that area again someday and hope for better weather. We have a few of the old WWII planes fly around our area from time to time and you sure know when the those big ones are around, you can hear them for miles. Still, it's fun to see them in the air as long as they can still be operated safley. At one of our retired AFB in town they setup a nice museum with several vintage aircrafts. The AFB left a nice piece outside for display too that won't fit into the building.
Yes it is in great shape. I loaded other pictures but they seem not to be displaying. Did I do something wrong? Jim
