Dear Donna,
I have this antique railroad lantern and was wondering if you could give me an idea on what it would be worth. The lantern says New York Central and the globe says B & A RR, so they don’t match but it seems in pretty good shape. Not sure how much to clean it up.
— Judy
Dear Judy,
It’s not uncommon to find railroad or other antique lanterns around today.
Railroad lanterns in general are not too hard to find, particularly common ones that were used all the time. I think the globes were replaced often during the period of time used. Your globe is either Boston Albany or Baltimore Annapolis. There are some that are uncommon and rare to find with all the original parts and for specific railways. They can hold a very high value.
The value of yours in the condition it’s in would be in the $50 range. I would leave it as found with maybe a quick Windex wash.