A Bit of History

Going through the pile of 'stuff' that has accumulated in the garden shed since the move and I came across this railway handlamp. There's 'SWRly 175' stamped on the side which is (probably) an early version from the London & South Western Railway. I acquired it over 50 years ago in a swap so don't know its provenance.

I'm old enough to remember these being used - when I started we were in the process of switching over to battery (BARDIC) handlamps but most signal boxes kept an oil lit lamp 'just in case'