Railroad Lamps

Above Left. An Adams & Westlake semaphore lamp. Although this particular example represents a common style of semaphore lamp used by North American railroads, it was actually used in Argentina, having been manufactured under patent arrangements by a British company. Generally semaphore lamps had one lense. Photo courtesy of Luis Paupy. Above Center. A classification lamp marked for the New York Central Railroad. This may have been used either on a locomotive or tender.Photo courtesy of Mike and Julia. Above Right. A lamp which resembles a small semaphore lamp with a single amber lens and marked for the Union Pacific. The small size of this lamp and the amber lens suggests that it was a slow-order lamp used to indicate work at trackside. Update: A collector sent the following to us in mid-2009: "This lamp was also used with the yard limits sign. This kind of lamp was hung behind the sign which has a hole to fit the lens. This was the yard limits' "night" aspect." {thanks to PRB}
 

Update on the UP Lamp, far right: A former Canadian Pacific employee emailed us with the following: " I suggest it is probably a Yard Limit sign lamp as ones almost identical to the one pictured were used on the CPR for that purpose.  When I was a boy the CPR finally installed block signals on the transcontinental mainline through my home town of Salmon Arm, B.C. and after that the Board of Transport allowed them to remove the oil lamps from the Yard Limit signs but there use continued where there was no block signal system e.g. branch lines, secondary mailines.  The Yard Limit sign was a yellow. diamond-shaped sign with "yard limit'" in large letters and a circular hole behind which the single lens yellow lamp was mounted and through which the light shone.  It stood on a metal post about head high. Of course the specific style varied from railway to railway." [Thanks to Doug Turner] .

Second Update: In the Summer of 2008, we received the following: "Regarding the 'update' [on the UP lamp]:  This is an interesting insight as to how the Canadians used these lamps. It seems like there are many ways lensed lamps were used. However; the lamp pictured was in fact a Track Gang's Slow Order lamp. There would be another with a green lens at the end of the work area so trains could resume speed. The track gang would place a stake in the ground  at each location and mount the lamp on it. I worked on the UP out of Council Bluffs not long after the road divested itself of all kerosene illumination. Around 1970 the UP stripped the line of any remaining kerosene lamps including these and switch lamps, shipped them all to Omaha, and sold them off to antique dealers at $5.00 a piece!!! (including ones marked OSL and OWR&N!!) The dealers promptly turned them for double their investment at $10.  I bought all I could find at that price ....WOW ! $10 for a legally obtained switch lamp. Yes, the UP lamp pictured was most certainly used as a track work slow order lamp by that road. To the best of my knowledge neither the UP nor any other Midwestern railroad used a lamp associated with yard limit signs.  Please advise if you know otherwise. ....thanks though for the Canadian perspective." [Thanks to Mike McBreen]