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Torch, Inspection
Catalog #: 2002.0075.10,
Accession #: 2002.0075 Currently on display
From the Smithsonian Collection
Kerosene torch used by a steam locomotive inspector.
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Physical Description |
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Kerosene inspection torch.Dimenisions: 16" x 7" x 4"Material: Metal, wick
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Details |
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Dates Used: |
1840s - 1950s
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Note: | A common form of inspection torch. |
Credit: | Gift of National Park Service |
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History |
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Part of a small array of hand tools displayed in "America On The Move" - such tools were used in the inspection and repair of steam locomotives. Light repairs on steam locomotives were usually done in roundhouses at the many small locomotive terminals throughout a railroad's system; heavy repairs were done in a large, centralized repair shop serving the whole system (often referred to as the "Back Shop"). Most of these tools date from the early- to the mid-20th century, roughly 1900-1955.
In the days before flashlights, kerosene-fueled inspection "torches" like this one were used to inspect parts of a steam locomotive when natural light was inadequate.
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