Adlake Kero Santa Fe Railroad Lantern L807
In aluminum. The Kero stands for kerosene of course. Measures 14" x 8" x 6 1/8".
The Adlake "Kero" railroad lantern was made by Adams & Westlake. It was one of the most mass produced of the lanterns; "Kero" was a term used to described Adlak short globe design that was used generally from 1921 through the 1970s.
Adams & Westlake was one of the best known and oldest manufacturers of railroad lanterns.Otherwise known as Adlake, the company was reported to have been founded in 1857. However, it wasn’t until 1874 that J. McGregor Adams and William Westlake merged their interests and provided the lasting name for the company. The first namesake, J. (John) McGregor Adams, was born in Londonderry, NH in 1834. He began his work in railroad supplies by gaining employment with Clark and Jesup, a New York firm. He was transferred, around 1858, to Chicago to run that company’s new sales office. John Crerar, another member of the Jesup firm, joined him shortly thereafter and eventually the two formed Crerar, Adams & Company. William Westlake, the second namesake, was born in Cornwall, England in 1831. He came to the United States at age 16, working various jobs in the Midwest. In 1862, he invented the loose globe lantern which was used on railroads. He created other railroad lamps as well, which accounts for that particular specialty of the firm. Since the beginning, the company has produced railroad and hardware supplies. By the early 1900s, Adlake was hailed as one of the largest suppliers of transportation equipment. The company manufactured transportation related hardware such as lamps, lanterns, lights, keys, sashes, luggage racks, lavatories and much more. They were successful enough to absorb at least portions of the operations of other prominent railway suppliers.
