They were also used by the railroad as signal lights. On the sides where those doors open, is a red glass pane on one side and a green glass pane on the other side. You can close the doors over them and use just the front lantern.
The interior section is all brass. It's marked on the back with "Osnabrucker Metallwerle Osnabruck" in a circle and "J. LAMPSCHULTE aSc" in the center. There is a German circular stamp beneath it (wings) and DR under it. The very front of the lantern across the round top it says "Hugo Zweigle".
Where?!!! What?!!... Oh... ummm... who's that?
He proceeded to tell me that these lanterns were made in the Esslingen factory his father ran, in the bottom 2 floors of the building he lived/grew up in. He said their attic was full of them at one time.
When he talked to his brother, Otto, about it we found out Otto found one at a rummage sale in NY as well! And Otto used to help make them too in 1943!.
