Re: Caboose Oil Lamps

Mr. Irvin;
Yes, before RRs started equipping cabooses with generators all the lights, interior and exterior, were oil. I don't know what all the RRs used but my Dad worked for the Burlington and I got to ride with him on a lot of occasions.
I always liked the smell of his caboose. They had Fortnight oil for the lamps and the traimnen's lanterns, journal oil and buckets of oil soaked waste for journal packing in the locker under the copola.
Several companies made spring mounted lamps designed to survive ths slack action that affected
the caboose. The Alladin Lamp Co. had a caboose model that was very popular up to the time the
cabooses were electrified.
I never saw anything but oil lamps in the NG cabooses I was in but maybe someone can bring us up to date on this.
Jim