This lantern is about 10 inches tall not including the handle. There are no chips or cracks in the globe. It is otherwise in very good condition. I have not tried it but I am sure it still works. I personally don\'t know everything there is to know about railroad lanterns. However, I have done some research and have found how special and rare this lantern really is. Everything points this lantern to be from the late 1800\'s to early 1900\'s. Copied below is some of the information I have found about this lantern, and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. Thanks for looking, and happy offerding.Wikipedia link below for some Lantern>
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western bell bottom railroad lantern made by the Star Headlight & Lantern Co., in Rochester, NY, but private-labeled for The Roberts Safety Lantern Mfg. Co., of Scranton, PA. The evolutionary features of this Star model date it prior to 1910.The lantern is prominently marked D L & W R R on the lid reflector in unusual, large, serifed letters, and embossed THE ROBERTS SAFETY LANTERN MFG CO., SCRANTON PA, on the chimney top. The 5~1/2 inch tall, clear, extended base globe is nicely embossed DL&WRR. The unique and patented Roberts two-tab, Sangster spring, plug-in fount is intact. The burner\'s ratchet shaft is fitted with a gear which meshes with the wick adjuster shaft protruding through the bottom of the fixed base. The removable oil plug permits fueling the lantern without removing the burner, which, on this later Roberts configuration, is soldered to the fount. At least three manufacturers private-labeled lantern models for Roberts; these include the Star Headlight & Lantern Co., the C.T. Ham Mfg Co., and the Kelly Lamp Co. A SG&L Co., model may also exist. Several evolutionary variations of the Roberts lighting mechanism exist, dating from the late 1880\'s, through about 1915.<The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad>
The DL&W RR was a coal/bridge line, originally conceived to haul coal out of Pennsylvania\'s Lackawanna Rivervalley to it\'s eastern terminus, Hoboken NJ. It eventually extended Buffalo NY, and served as a land-bridge line between the Great Lakes (Buffalo) and the Atlantic ocean (Hoboken). The DL&W promoted and became famous for using clean-burning anthracite coal in it\'s locomotives, greatly reducing the coal soot in it\'s passenger trains. It\'s passenger mascot, Phoebe Snow - a woman in a white dress and white gloves - was created to demonstrate the relative cleanliness of it\'s trains.The DL&W was formed in the early 1850\'s in order to promote the economy of Scranton, PA. It\'s heyday was in the 1930s, then went into a steady decline as America shifted away from coal as it\'s primary fuel, eventually merging with former rival Erie RR in 1960 to form the Erie Lackawanna (EL). This merger of 2 once-great roads, both going extinct as their primary livlihood dried up, then disappeared altogether when the EL was one of the six bankrupt railroads that formed Conrail in 1976.The Lackawanna\'s Scranton locomotive shops exist today, in restored form, as Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA, an absolute must-see for any railfan.
On Sep-17-14 at 11:52:21 PDT, seller added the following information:
There have been questions asked about a match head holder. It is not on the fount. Everything else is there and working including the gears that raise and lower the wick. There does not appear to be any dents or warping of the metal.
