I found this railroad brakeman’s hand signal lantern at the bottom of a crate of rusty old tools I bought for $10. It was mangled and rusted to the point where I wasn’t even sure it was worth attempting to restore.
The lantern has a beautiful maker’s mark five-point star on the lid along with “Star Headlight and Lantern Co., Rochester, NY”. The Star Headlight and Lantern Company started making lighting equipment way back in 1889 and still make lighting for emergency vehicles and other handheld applications today. This hand signal lantern model was patented in the late 1950’s, so I estimate this particular lantern was manufactured sometime in the 1940’s or 1950’s based on the “patent pending” stamp as well as the 6V battery I found inside that was produced in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
This lantern is stamped with “B.&O. RR”, which means it was owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (yes, the very same B&O Railroad from the game of Monopoly!).
Brakeman hand signal lanterns were used before 2-way radio communication became standardized. A brakeman could signal from the very back or front of the train all the way to the other end just by holding the lantern up and making certain motions with it to indicate things like ‘back up’, ‘slow down’, or ‘stop’. The original lanterns were lit by oil or gas, but eventually switched to batteries and bulbs.
The electric brakeman lanterns have three modes – off, signal mode, and flashlight mode. The flashlight mode operates when the bulb located inside the concave reflector housing is illuminated. In signal mode, the other bulb was switched on and provided a wide angled light beam for signaling purposes.
Timestamps:
0:00 – 1:08 Overview
1:09 – 10:50 Disassembly
10:51 – 11:26 Initial cleaning
11:27 – 13:27 Electrolysis/Evaporust/Wire wheel cleaning of lantern body and lid
13:28 – 14:04 Fixing the bent rims of lantern body and lid
14:05 – 14:19 Rough test fit of lantern body and lid
14:20 – 14:53 Evaporust cleaning small parts
14:54 – 16:27 Sanding and polishing small parts
16:28 – 17:37 Evaporust cleaning, wire wheel, sanding and polishing cage ring and handle
17:38 – 17:58 Painting handle
17:59 – 18:48 Repairing/gluing lantern body insulator disks
18:49 – 19:51 Making a new spare bulb holder
19:52 – 20:30 Sanding and polishing handle grommets and washers
20:31 – 21:00 Polishing bulbs
21:01 – 21:15 Painting switch arm insulators
21:16 – 21:36 Sanding and polishing switch
21:37 – 22:11 Nickel electroplating internal components
21:12 – 22:34 Sanding and prep of lantern body and lid for surface filling
22:35 – 22:54 Flashlight check for holes
22:55 – 24:19 Filling in holes on lantern body and lid with metal epoxy
24:30 – 24:29 Flashlight check to make sure holes are filled in
24:30 – 24:51 Sanding metal epoxy smooth
24:52 – 26:03 Applying surface filler and sanding smooth
26:04 – 27:11 Priming and painting lantern body and lid
27:12 – 28:09 Sanding, nickel electroplating, and polishing reflector base
28:10 – 29:01 Reconstructing bulb sockets via soldering
29:02 – 29:06 6V battery replacement
29:07 – 36:13 Assembling the lantern
36:14 – 37:25 Before and After reveal
37:26 – 37:48 Testing
37:49 – 38:21 Before/After photos
38:22 – 38:36 Thank you, please consider subscribing!
38:37 – 39:07 The Void
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Electrolysis tutorial: [ Ссылка ]
Some of the tools and equipment I used in this video:
(I may receive a portion of the sale of these items, but they do not cost you any extra. These are a great way to support my channel without any increased cost to you!)
Wire brush set: [ Ссылка ]
Camera: [ Ссылка ]
4" Bench Vise: [ Ссылка ]
Dremel: [ Ссылка ]
Wire wheels for Dremel: [ Ссылка ]
Soldering iron: [ Ссылка ]
Rivet gun with rivets: [ Ссылка ]
Anode set for nickel plating: [ Ссылка ]
JB Weld steel epoxy: [ Ссылка ]
E10 mini bulb sockets: [ Ссылка ]
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Instagram: @Catalyst_Restorations
