Original Color of Adlake Lantern

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

My great uncle was a brakeman on the DT & I railroad in the mid 1930s and I was recently given his lantern. It is an Adlake with a clear glass globe. However, the metal work has been painted with aluminum paint in the recent past. I would like to return it to its original state if possible. Does anyone know what the original finish on these lanterns was? I will appreciate any information that I receive. Thanks in advance.

Joe

2

Can’t say for sure, but all four of the ones I own are unpainted, and it appears as if they never have been. Some roads may have painted them, but I suspect not. Mine are from the CNR, CPR, and NYC.

Wayne

3

for the most part, i think they were usually galvanized steel so they looked silver when new.

grizlump

4

Thanks for the quick replies guys. It looks like you’re correct that they were galvanized or coated. I carefully took the paint off a small area and found what looked to me to be a galvanized (heavily worn) coating.

Joe

5

Yup…the five I have are galvanized steel. I use magnetic LED puck lights to light them up. The effect works better with the clear, and blue globes. The red ones soak up the light though.

Nick

6

Try www.railroadiana.org there is alot of good information on lanterns concerning finish, restoration, cleaning etc. Should be of some help to you. Good luck.

7

Nick:

Thanks for confirming my guess about the finish.

Bobby:

Thanks for the link. It does have a lot of valuable information.

Joe