The Hiram L. Piper Kero
The Hiram L. Piper Co. (Piper) Kero is easily the most recognizable railway lantern in Canada. Starting in the 1920s, sometime likely around 1920 itself, Piper teamed up with The Adams & Westlake Co. (Adlake) to bring the Adlake Kero to Canada. You can read an incredible history about the Adlake kero here. Due to tariffs, the Kero could not be imported to Canada and stay competitive with E.T. Wright, to get around that Adlake sent their lanterns in parts to Piper, and they were assembled at the Piper factory in Montreal. The railway name and the Piper name were added by Adlake at their factory. This set up proved lucrative for both companies. This relationship continued in the same fashion until the 1960s. As Adlake changed their tooling so did the appearance of the Piper model, due to the fact Adlake made the lanterns for Piper.
The first Piper lanterns were the No.200, followed by the No.250. My general rule of thumb is the No.200 dates to 1920-1925, and the No.250 dates from 1925-1930. The 250 was followed up by the No.300 and No.400. In the 1930s, Adlake started dating their lanterns. Dates are located on the bottom and set up by quarter and year. For instance, if the date code was 4-50, it would have been made 4th quarter of 1950. 2-35 would be second quarter of 1935, and so on. The earliest date I’ve seen is 1931.
Variations
Obviously, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway ordered the most Kero’s, because they’re by far the largest railways in Canada. However there are other Canadian Railways out there. The Canadian Pacific Railway’s standard order for Kero’s included a wooden handle. This was presumably more comfortable for their employees to carry and use. The Canadian National doesn’t appear to have bought their lanterns with any options like the CPR did. Earlier Kero’s are sometimes found with the Hiram L. Piper name on the globe, but these lanterns almost always have globes cast with Adlake Kero on them. Another purchasing option was a bullseye lens attached to the lantern. This lens would act the same as an inspectors lantern, making it easier to see car numbers or the underside of a rail car at night. Obviously the lens did not work at quite the same strength as a true inspectors lantern, so Piper also sold regular inspectors lanterns too.
This is a page from the Hiram L. Piper Catalogue I own, showing the different variations of the lantern and ordering options.
My Kero Lantern
I only have one Kero lantern, because I generally stick to tall globe lanterns for my collection. This lantern was also the first lantern I purchased, and what really sparked my collection. It’s a Kero No.250 made for the Canadian National Railway. one oddity I haven’t really figured out, is the markings on Piper Kero’s are big letters on the brim of the lid. On Adlake Kero No.250s, the lettering is in small letters on the top of the chimney. On later models the lettering on Piper lanterns stay the same, but the Adlake lanterns are still in small letters on the brim.
12 Comments
Bruce Shillinglaw
Great stuff Drew I like your descriptions.
Drew Goff
Thank you, Bruce!
Bob Bolhuis
Was Piper lanterns not originally John Piper , Toronto ? These are earlier lanterns . I thought that this was Hiram’s father .
Drew Goff
As far as I can find out, yes. The original was Hiram Piper, father of Noah Piper. Hiram started a railway supply company in Toronto in the 1860s. Sometime between then and the 1890’s, his son, Noah took over the company with his sons. The new company was named Noah Piper & Sons Co. Noah Piper & Sons lasted until 1902, when one of Noah’s sons Hiram L. Piper left and formed his own railway supply company in Montreal, Quebec. That company was the Hiram L. Piper Co. Noah changed his companies name to the N.L. Piper Railway Supply Co. That comapny lasted until Noah’s death in the early 1930s. Hiram L. Piper lasted until 2013, the company had moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, before they closed.
Robert Brown
I received the following lamp for my 80th birthday. I would like to purchase a globe for it and a parts list because I require a couple more parts. Info as follows—The Hipram L piper co LTD 3-41 1415634-1415635 66015 Canada 192131923 Please advise if you can help . Await your reply Thank you Robert Brown
Aso
Drew Goff
Hi Robert,
At the moment I don’t have any Adlake Kero parts I can spare. Your best bet is W.T. Kirkman at http://www.lanternnet.com, also the company Adlake is still around, and still makes the parts for the Kero lanterns, although a little pricey, you can get original Adlake parts from them at http://www.adlake.com/online-store.html
If you need any help Identifying parts, you can contact me though my contact page:
https://www.ontariolantern.ca/contact/
Hope this is helpful!
Drew G
Robert Brown
Hi Drew Thank you for your reply Robert
John peters
Hi Robert, what is one of these lanterns worth?
Al Johnson
Does any one know what the number 253 means on the lantern?
Sherlock roberts
Hi Drew. A neighbour of ours has 2 of the Piper lanterns in perfect condition. He wants me to sell them for him, he is in his 90s. What kind of money could I get for the 2 ?
I’m in Scarborough,Ont.
Sherlock roberts
Hi Drew. A neighbour of ours has 2 of the Piper lanterns in perfect condition. He wants me to sell them for him, he is in his 90s. What kind of money could I get for them.
I’m in Scarborough,Ont.
John Woodhouse
To those who are asking the value of these lanterns, there are many things to consider. This includes age and condition, rarity, missing parts or complete, wether or not there are RR initials stamped on the lantern and what railroad, globe colour, etc.
In all cases, detailed photos of the lantern would be needed to assess the value, and of course antique shop/eBay prices are usually higher than flea market or garage sale items.
If you are really interested, you should join one of the many Facebook groups who’s members freely share information and post photos