Cleaning and Restoring Old Railroad Lanterns
by Bob Brooke

If you’re a railroad buff and want to collect old lanterns, you’ll have to be particularly careful how you take care of them. While manufacturers made them able to take hard use, the fact that these iconic items of railroadiana were made of iron and steel makes them vulnerable to rust.

Trainmen used lanterns to communicate with railroad engineers and brakemen, especially at night when visual communication was nearly impossible. Most old lanterns show lots of wear and tear. Most suffer from dents, rust, and grime. Some trainmen painted their lanterns to help prevent rust. And today, that paint is most likely in various stages of flaking off. And while there are many different ways to clean the paint and rust off lanterns, the following is a relatively simple method that will at least get a lantern in a semi-restored condition.

Before purchasing an old railroad lantern, examine it closely. Obtaining an old lantern online makes this impossible. If a lantern is in really bad condition, no amount of cleaning will help it. If you’re planning to restore an old lantern, check to see that all the parts are there, as it may be impossible to find replacements.

And it all depends on how far you plan to take the lantern’s restoration. Do you want it to be like it was when new or do the dents and such give it character? Unlike old antiques, railroad lanterns don’t lose their value if restored.

To begin, take several photos of the lantern to use as a reference later on. First clean away loose dirt with an old paintbrush, then go over it with a damp cloth. After preliminary cleaning, take the lantern apart. Remove the glass globe or lens and set them aside. Place all the parts in a cardboard box or tray so as not to lose any. To make sure you can put the lantern back together correctly, make a sketch of the parts and where they belong.

If the lantern has been painted, apply paint stripper to the old paint on your lantern following the directions on the container. After stripping off the old paint, clean the lantern with warm water and grease removing dish detergent. Dry thoroughly with a clean cloth.

If your lantern has any rust, and most old railroad lanterns usually do, it’s important to remove it with a rust-removing product such as Naval Jelly. Be sure to remove all rust before going any further with restoration.

Once again, clean the lantern with dish detergent, scrubbing with S.O.S. or Brillo Pads. Wipe dry with a rag and then use a hair blowdryer for about 30 minutes or until completely dry.

If you plan on repainting your lantern, be sure to use a rust-preventing undercoat, then a final coat of RustOleum in the same color as the original or as close as possible to it.

Before assembling your lantern, clean the glass globe or lenses with white vinegar. If they have rust stains, let the pieces soak for several minutes a vinegar bath before washing with dish detergent and warm water.

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