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From left to right: mantle for an Aladdin lamp, probably used in the caboose; a conductor's lamp; car seals used in sealing boxcars; and transformer insulator. The mantle was a small mesh fabric bag which took the place of a wick in the lamp. It was permeated with oil fumes and then burned, casting a much wider light than a single wick. The conductor would need a good lamp for the caboose, because it was there that he took care of all the paperwork for the train, such as keeping a ledger for the contents of each boxcar. To make sure these contents stayed in, the boxcars would be sealed with these metal strips, ensuring that the door did not come ajar. The glass object is an insulator similar to those used on the telegraph wires. (Railway Heritage Association, photo by Tom MacDonald).