JeffPo's Railway Motor Car Lamp Page
Created: 11/05/19
Last update: 11/05/19
This is a Railway Motor Car Lamp made by the Adlake company. It stands about 9.5 inches tall, not including the handle. There are mounting brackets on each side that would go into a yoke style mount. The clear lens is 4" in diameter.
There is a peephole on the back to let you confirm the burner is lit.
The door slides up to give access to a slide out fount and burner.
Railroad or Truck Lamp?
Try as I might, I could not find an actual picture of a railroad motor car with this particular style of lamp mounted on it. The first motorized car you see below does have two hand lanterns hanging on the front, but these aren't the same as the actual lamp. And the velocipede image below does have a headlamp on it, but of a different design. In reaching out to fellow collectors to see if they could locate an image some thought that this lamp was designed for truck use, not railroad use. That might explain the lack of photos, but the following 1917 bulletin from the Adams & Westlake Company (i.e. Adlake) shows that they specifically designed it for railroad usage, even describing when it was to be used:
Adams & Westlake Bulletin B-53
I have also found reference to one being marked for the SOUTHERN RY in the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Railroad Lighting, so that, along with the bulletin, pretty much proves the case that they were used on the railroad. I think the lamps served a dual purpose, with the ability to be used on old trucks and railroad motor cars.
If anyone comes across an image of a railroad motor car that shows one of these lamps mounted on it, I would love to have a copy of that image for this webpage.
Railway Motor Cars
A railway motor car, also known as a speeder, was an early form of a maintenance of way vehicle used by track inspectors and work crews.
Previous to the motorized cars, hand powered hand carts and velocipedes (such as the one shown above) were used.
Motorized inspection cars date back to at least 1896. They were later replaced by common commercial cars and trucks that had been modified to run on the railroad tracks.
Given the dangers involved in operating equipment on railroad tracks at night, transportation authorities began mandating some form of headlight for safety. For example, in 1917 the State Public Utilities Commission of Illinois required every motor car operated between sunset and sunrise to be equipped with a headlight which could be readily seen from a distance not less than 300 feet.