Lanterns were a fundamental part of any railwayman's day - a piece of safety eqipment akin to radios and high visability gear today. Why were they so important? Communication and safety! Historically train crew communicated by way of hand signals. Trains don't stop running at night, so lanterns were used to communicate those signals in the dark and over long distances (freight trains can be quite long). The Northwest Railway Museum has an extensive collection of different types of railway lanterns, illustrating many decades of service and the evolution of technology.
