Historical information

The Adlake Non Sweating Lamp
"THE
ADLAKE
NON SWEATING
LAMP
CHICAGO"
Adlake is a shortened name of the "Adams and Westlake" company. They began doing business in 1857 in Chicago. They manufactured railroad supplies and hardware in Chicago. In 1927, they moved to Elkhart, Indiana, where they remain in business today.

The difference between "lamp" and "lantern" is that the lamp is meant to be hung on a post or a hook during use and the lantern is hand-held and only used when a person is directing traffic.
It has four lenses- two amber and two blue.

Adams & Westlake, also known as A&W or Adlake, became a dominant maker of short-globe lanterns and their #200, #250, and plain “Kero” (sometimes known as #300 or #400) models were sold by the thousands to the entire range of railroads. Short-globe lanterns came about because manufacturers figured out how to get a lantern to burn properly with a shorter combustion chamber, which allowed lanterns to be shorter and cheaper. Adams & Westlake began selling #200 Kero lanterns around 1921 and they sold well, the #250 Kero lantern was released in the mid 1920’s as an improvement over the #200 version, with a new burner design. FInally, around 1930 Adams & Westlake released models marked simply “Kero” but are sometimes known as the #300 or #400 models, which are further refinements. The #200, #250, and “Kero” models all look very similar in design and in fact they are all pretty much the same frame design with a couple of minor differences on the later “Kero” models.

Short globe lanterns are still very easy to find because they were produced well into the mid 1900s. Adams & Westlake short globe lanterns can usually be dated by looking for a two-part date code on the bottom of the lantern. The first digit will be 1,2,3, or 4 followed by a dash and then a two digit number. Sample code: 2-39 would mean that the lantern was produced in the 2nd quarter (Apr-Jun) of 193

Significance

Historic - Railways - Adlake Non Sweating Lamp

Physical description

Adlake Non Sweating Lamp made of metal and glass
Metal with handle, painted black, oil
Bullseye lens, 13 cm diameter, green
Circular lens on opposite site, 5 cm diameter, clear
Sliding panel provides access to burner
Rain shield embossed 'THE ADLAKE NON SWEATING LAMP'
'LAMP MFG 7 RLY SUPPLIES LONDON'

Inscriptions & markings

'THE ADLAKE NON SWEATING LAMP'
'LAMP MFG 7 RLY SUPPLIES LONDON'