Railroad Hand-Signal Lantern, ca. 1945
date: label: date made
content: ca 1945
name: label: Maker
content: Star Headlight & Lantern Company
notes: label: Description
content: This “Conger” model battery-powered signal lantern was manufactured by the Star Headlight & Lantern Company of Honeoye Falls, New York around 1945. The metal case has rusted and the handle has been wrapped in electrical tape to improve the grip. The lantern has two bulbs; a bare bulb with widely dispersed light used for signaling and a smaller adjacent bulb with a focused beam that could be used as a flashlight. The tape label reads “W.L. Metz” for Wilbur L. Metz, who used this lamp during his career as a freight train brakeman and conductor on the Western Maryland Railroad.
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. Specific motions of the lantern convey precise instructions such as “Clear to Depart;" "Move the train Forward;" "Move the train Backward;" "Slow Down;" "Slow Down Further;" or "Stop and Remain Stopped."
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Maryland, Hagerstown
topic: label: Subject
content: Railroads
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Railroad
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content: Work
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content: Communications
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content: Transportation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1996.0107.08
label: catalog number
content: 1996.0107.08
label: accession number
content: 1996.0107
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lantern, hand signal
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 12 1/2 in x 5 1/4 in; 31.75 cm x 13.335 cm