General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

3

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal body/Rubber (?) covered cord.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Railway Transportation

Category

Miscellaneous

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Adams Westlake

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Illinois

City

Chicago

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Type of lamps used in Canadian railway cars before and concurrently with gas and electric lighting.

Function

To provide light in railway cars.

Technical

Railway car lighting began with candle lamps, from about 1830 until 1875. Although existing, oil lamps began to be used in number later when coal oil was introduced on the market as a cheap fuel, followed by petroleum. Lighting was improved at a cheaper cost. Gas lighting was also used, particularly with the Pintsch lamp system starting in the 1890's in America. Pintsch lamps were cleaner and asked less maintenance work than the oil lamps. Gas lighting best years were from 1890 until 1910. Acetylene lamps were also introduced by Adams & Westlake around 1898 but this type of lighting for railway cars was not very popular because it was considered dangerous, had an offensive odor and was highly corrosive. The last new lighting system was electricity but mechanical defects, high costs and investments already made in other lighting systems slowed its mass adoption. Oil and gas lighting systems were still being used in majority. Only after 1910 did electricity lighting began to be more and more installed in railway cars with the axle lighting system. Our type of lamps were then used in Canadian railway cars before and concurrently with gas and electric lighting. Until 1937, our model of oil dual font lamps is represented in the Car Builders' Cyclopedia of American Practice, although it is recognized as being obsolete. These lamps are of the improved Acme model. As the founts were fastened together, they could be taken down as one single unit. It saved time when cleaning and adding oil. Adams & Westlake company was founded in 1857 in Chicago, Illinois with John McGregor Adams and John Crerar. The firm was named Crerar, Adams & Company and was manufacturing railroad supplies and hardware. In 1874, the company bought the assets of Dane, Westlake and Covert and the Chicago Railway Lantern and Manufacturing Co. and merged them with its subsidiary, Union Brass Manufacturing Co. to form the new Adams & Westlake Manufacturing Co. In 1927, the firm moved to Elkhart, Indiana. Over the years, they diversified their production. They are still in operation in 2008.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Mfr's mark, in raised lettering, on oil founts read: "THE/ ADAMS & WESTLAKE/ CO./ PATENTED/ MAY 6, 90/ CHICAGO" Mfr's mark stamped under metal reservoir reads: "DAYTON/ MFG. CO./ DAYTON. O."

Missing

Glass shades.

Finish

Unknown

Decoration

N/A