Here are some pictures of my old B.R. Tilley. I was given this as a birthday present back in the early 1990's, it's been hanging in garage roofs and sitting on shelves in workshops and garages since the day I was given it. I have dusted it off and used it a few times over the years, but today I decided to give it a proper clean. I stripped it all apart and removed the rust from the wire framework, followed by a coat of rust killer...now I need to find the correct shade of gold paint to bring it back to as it should be. The rest was given a wash with hot soapy water and dried off before loosely reassembling. All I need now is to get a set of new washers and seals to get it back into working order. It will no longer be living in my garage, it's moving indoors with me.!!
Plasticote 'Brass' No.39(?) is a good match, Cyril - obtainable from the likes of B&Q but there'll be cheaper places...
Hi Cyril, That’s a nice lamp, with what looks like the deep globe too. Glad to hear it’s getting a fettle and going to be giving you some light! I’ve got one myself, I was told they’re a bit of a fiddle to start, but I’ve had no problem with mine. Looking forward to seeing it fired up, Stevie
I tried using the paraffin wick thingy to light it once...sooted the glass up an made a bit of a mess. I used meths after that.
Thanks for that info David, I called It gold but realised as soon as I posted that It would be brass coloured. Plasticote is enamel based methinks, that's my favourite paint...never have and never will like cellulose and especially acrylic paint.
I'm no Tilley expert at all but the top looks different... or did they come with this style top, too?
Good move - there's a 'knack' to using the paraffin preheater and meths is much easier. The paraffin preheater came about only to save 'the operative' the bother of carrying two fuels around. Since that's not likely to be an issue for us, it makes sense to use the conventional meths preheater. I've posted my method for using the paraffin pre-heater on here a couple of times and I'll try to find it...
@Cyril Benn Yes, there is a knack to using those paraffin preheaters but the main reason you sooted up the glass is because it's missing its shroud / outer cover. As your preheater stands, it behaves like a wick lamp with the wick turned up too high. The shroud alters the airflow and (with a little practice) produces a clean Bunsen flame. Have a look at other examples in the Reference Gallery here to see what your lantern is missing. BR49-BR49A-BR49B Henry.
@Cyril Benn Not my knowledge. Some folks have made their own, not necessarily true to the original design but functional nevertheless. If no one chimes in, try using the search facility (top right hand corner) for posts about home made shrouds / cowl / outer cover for paraffin preheaters. Henry.
Check the date stamp in the base of this one. BR lanterns from 1960-61 with that X359 type hood were a special for Southern Rail and were painted yellow. Like these 'ere. There are earlier yellow Southern BR lanterns from before 1960 but they had the standard brown hood and the same model would have been finished in gold for other BR regions. Both types above are rather less than common so if yours is a 1960 dated lantern it is a pretty good find. ::Neil::
I didn't bother to click on Cyril's images... Without a shroud it'll never work with paraffin so just do what you did - use meths instead...
I fired me BR Tilley up this afternoon. You'll notice I've left the paraffin preheater off, I'm making some measurements with a view to making a shroud to get it working.
