Railroad Station Agent Hand-Signal Lantern, 1930s-40s
name: label: maker
content: Handlan Manufacturing Co.
notes: label: Description
content: This railroad hand-signal kerosene lantern was manufactured by the Handlan Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri around 1930–1940. The lamp was used on the Eastern Shore (Maryland) Lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The lamp has a metal body, a blue glass globe encircled by protected metal wire, and a meal handle and base. The top of the lamp is inscribed with the Handlan logo and the text “HANDLAN/ST. LOUIS USA.”
label: Description
content: Before the advent of portable two way radios, train crews communicated via hand signals during the day, and lantern signals during periods of low visibility or at night. This lantern with the blue globe was used by station agents to signal a train to pick up train orders, or to mark equipment that was being worked on and wasn’t to be moved.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Railroads
label: Subject
content: Railroad Stations
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Railroad
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content: Communications
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content: Work
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content: Transportation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: William E. Geoghegan
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.335440
label: catalog number
content: 335440
label: accession number
content: 321691
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lantern, hand signal
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 7/8 in x 8 1/4 in x 6 5/8 in; 35.2425 cm x 20.955 cm x 16.8275 cm