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Railroad Lantern Cleaning

In the early days of the locomotive, lanterns were an important means of communication. A lantern could be seen for long distances at night. Because of this, they could carry messages in the days before radio was common. Lanterns were practical because they were small, portable and long lasting. The lantern remained in use long after the invention of the flashlight because it would stay lit longer and was less directional. Cleaning and restoring an antique railroad lantern is one way to touch the history of the railroad.

Things You'll Need

3 5-gallon buckets with lids
Canned lye
Baking soda
Coat hangers
3 scrub brushes with handles
Garden hose
Cotton swabs
Tooth brush
0000 steel wool

Instructions

- 1
  Disassemble the lantern completely. Remove the lantern globe retainer and retainer spring. Pull the globe off of the font. Remove the burner from the font. If there are any bells on the lantern, remove these as well.
- 2
  Fill a bucket with hot water to a level slightly deeper than the lantern's height. Add a can of lye to the mixture. Stand back, the water will seem to boil and could splash on you. Fill a second bucket to the same level with water. Add one box of baking soda. Fill a third bucket almost completely full of plain water.
- 3
  Bend coat hangers into wire hooks. Do not use aluminum hangers. The lye solution will turn aluminum to mush. Lower the metal frame of the lantern into the lye solution. Attach smaller parts to the hooks of the coat hangers. Bend the opposite end of the hanger into a hook. Lower the end of the hanger that is hooked over the parts into the water. Hook the other end of the hanger onto the lip of the container. Leave the parts to soak in the lye solution for between eight hours and two days.
- 4
  Lift the frame and parts from the lye solution and lower them into the baking soda solution. Leave them for 24 hours. Remove the parts from the baking soda and lower them into the bucket with clean water. Scrub the frame and parts with a plastic bristled brush. The water will become very dirty. Remove the frame and parts from the water and rinse them with a garden hose. Scrub the tiny crevices of the lantern with used toothbrushes and cotton swabs.
- 5
  Examine the lantern. If the finish is not yet clean, put it back in the lye for another 24 hours and repeat the process.
- 6
  Buff the lantern with 0000 steel wool to shine the metal. Rub the lantern with cotton swabs or cotton pads to polish the finish.

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