Hello my name is Ed and I have been collecting and researching kerosene lanterns for over thirty years. I thought I would share some of my experience with you. With a lot of lanterns being misidentified on the web these days I thought I would try to clear things up a little. First, what is a kerosene lantern. What is the difference between a lantern and a lamp. What is a railroad lantern. What is a barn lantern. Lets talk about these often misunderstood questions. A kerosene lantern is a hand held portable lamp that gives off light by the burning of kerosene via a cotton or felt wick inside of a glass globe. A lamp is a stationary kerosene burning light not made to be carried or moved when lit.

 Most lanterns today are referred to as railroad lanterns. This is far from the truth. What's the difference? A RR lantern is a small hand held lantern designed to be used as a signaling devise for directing trains. RR lanterns are often short heavily made and have a lot of protection for the globe. These lanterns are made to be swung over the head, up and down and side to side. You can imagine the abuse these things took. The other main type of lantern is often called a barn lantern. This is also a misunderstanding. They are often called barn lanterns because they are often found in barns. The correct term for these lanterns is tubular lanterns. There are two types of tubular lanterns, hot blast and cold blast. I will not go into the differences in these two types of lights here. There are many web sites that deal with these operating principles in great detail. So, why do a lot of sellers mistakenly refer to many lanterns as RR lanterns? Because RR lanterns command a higher price!! People hear the term RR lantern and dream of owning a piece of the romantic RR era and they seem to be willing to pay a premium to get it. Unfortunately people often get an old broken down highway lamp or tubular lantern instead of that piece of RR history they were looking for. Some of these so called RR lanterns have spent there entire lives in and out of sewers, on top of a dirt pile or on the side of the road guarding an open trench. How do you tell the difference? RR lanterns are most always dead flame lanterns. A dead flame lantern has no air tubes running down each side.As you can see on this 1893 Dietz Victor Hot Blast lantern the square beams on each side are air tubes that provide air to the flame. Hence the name "tubular". On this 1920 Adlake Reliable RR lantern, used on the B&M RR, you can see that no such tubes are present. Note the heavy protection around the globe and the small fuel capacity. Longer burning lights were not needed do to RR personal only worked on average one shift at a time and were able to return to the shop to refill the lantern after each shift change. Tubular lanterns were very very seldomlly used on RR's. To the point that the ones that were command a very high price. Todays collectors do not consider a tubular lantern as a RR lantern unless the lantern has the RR's name stamped into it. These tubular RR lanterns should be throughly researched before buying. Another example of a tubular lantern is this circa 1896 C.T. Ham No.2 Cold Blast Lantern. Note the subtle design differences between this lantern and the Victor. Another type of lantern often confused with a RR lantern is the traffic warning lantern. These lanterns look some what similar to RR lanterns and are often hard to tell the difference to the novice. Traffic lanterns often have ridges in there globes(called Fresnel globes) and are very low to the ground with broad bases, as in this Embury #40 from around 1945. Note the very large kerosene tanks on these traffic lanterns(called founts). They needed to burn a long time. Sometimes over the weekend with no tending. These large founts also served as stable bases so the lantern would not get blown over by the wind. These lanterns were used outside on construction sites. Sometime for years at a time. Here is another example of a traffic lantern the Handlan 2000. circa 1935. As you can see very close in design to the Adlake Reliable shown above but it lacks the small fount that would identify it with a RR style lantern. Remember if the fount is large like these traffic lanterns, research the lantern to make sure it's not a traffic lantern if it's being marketed as a RR lantern. I am adding another lantern commonly confused with a RR lantern. This lantern is a Dietz Little Wizard and was never used for RR service. If you see an advertised "RR" lantern with one of these large founts research it extra careful before buying. Very good chance it's no RR lantern. Some RR and some traffic lanterns bear the names of the RR or city they belonged to stamped into the fount or hat of the lantern. I have seen lanterns clearly marked with a City Sewer Dept. advertised as RR lanterns?? Now that I have given you the basics there are many good books on lanterns that go into the subject in depth. One I like is Dennis Pearson's Classic Lanterns. Lots of great photos of all the old time lanterns and there makers. This book also has a guide to many lantern values. Please take your time and do your home work before you buy. 

Most of the lanterns shown in this Ebay guide are from the {Mason Collection} and have been restored by me Ed Mason. I hope I have helped you in your quest for history. Or at least sparked an interest to research the awesome world of yesterdays lighting. As of 1-1-06 I can no longer restore lanterns because of my failing eye sight. I do have many lantern parts in my shop and much lantern knowledge that I will use to help anyone who asks but as for seeing my work for sale here on Ebay that will be a thing of the past. So you folks with an interest in lanterns pick up the torck and keep this great hobby alive!!!!! Happy lantern hunting!! God Bless!!