Railway lamp help!

[busboy75]

Hi all

Im a new member si please bear with me if this isnt in the right area.basically i acquired some railway items and was told that this lamp was from the underground or railway? Ive no other info regarding its age or origin so hopefully one of the experienced members on here can help!

Many thanks

 

[randyrippley]

With that big aluminium reflector and gas burner I'd guess it's some kind of acetylene lamp, but no idea where from.
Presumably there's a front lens missing?

 

[busboy75]

Thankyou. Im not really sure, there doesnt seem to be something missing and the red ‘flag’ is behind the reflector?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@busboy75. Welcome to the forum. Does the mystery item in question have any parts or reference number affixed or stamped on it anywhere? Might just say B.R.

 

[busboy75]

Its hard to make out but the only stamp i can find is on the bottom, possibly oge? Thankyou for the welcome!

 

[John Webb]

Any chance of seeing the opposite side of the lamp? There seems to be connections to/from the cylinder that we can't see.

 

[busboy75]

Hopefully this may help? The feed for the fuel appears to go directly to the stack and not the actual lamp

 

[John Webb]

Thanks. These pictures show it is a paraffin-fired floodlight. The lamp is missing some parts - there would have been a 'Tilly lamp' type mantle on the end of the upright pipe and a heat-resistant glass protective sleeve around it. Operation was like a Tilly lamp - Warm up the pipe and mantle with meths, probably in a 'clip-on' holder. Then pressurise the container with the pump built into the filling cap. The paraffin is vaporised in the pipe and the vapour burns in the mantle with an intense light. The small knob at the base of the upright pipe controls the flow of paraffin and hence the intensity of the light as well as turning it off.
The red plate is, I think, a heat-shield, to protect the operator when moving the lamp.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Thanks. These pictures show it is a paraffin-fired floodlight. The lamp is missing some parts...

Great shout! So, might the lamp/floodlight pictured variously upthread have been used on the railway?

 

[busboy75]

Thankyou ive found this and i think it could be a similar set up? Obviously mines missing sime parts though! Not sure of age?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So, likely, a Tilley model AL15A handlamp, albeit with quite a few parts missing. Probably dating from the 1960's or thereabouts, almost certainly manufactured in the U.K., and could well have been used on the railway by a workman for inspection work, the integral stand would have been very useful in this regard. As @John Webb has stated, it would have used Paraffin (Kerosene) as fuel.

 

[John Webb]

So more of a large hand-lamp rather than a floodlight of some sort. Almost certainly used on the railways and other outdoor works where light was needed. I did wonder how the mantle was shielded from rain - your picture of a complete unit shows how.

 

[busboy75]

Thankyou for all your replies it has solved the mystery! I think it should look like this? I see they are selling for around £200 complete but this would be a project for someone. Ill just see if theres any interest as i know there are collectors but this isnt my area. Thanks again i would of always wondered.

 

[John Webb]

Glad to have been of help! Some of us are always interested in the unusual (quirky?) objects that others have acquired....

 

[busboy75]

@John Webb thankyou again

 

[busboy75]

If anybody is interested in this as a project let me know and i will be happy to discuss a fair price for us both