Due to the availability of wood for fuel, many glass factories were located around Pittsburg. In 1864, Amory Houghton, Sr. purchased the Brooklyn Flint Glass Manufactory. The company name was changed to Corning Flint Glass Works when, in 1868, Amory moved to be closer to the rail line in Corning, New York. The railroad now provided the coal for the glass furnace and Corning provided the railroads with signal lens and lantern globes.
Good as they were, lantern globes had a tendency to crack if unevenly heated by the flame or cooled by rain or snow. In 1908, Corning sponsored one of the first research laboratories in American industry and they went to work on the problem. In 1909, NoNex, the first low expansion glass, was produced for barn and railroad lanterns. Corning heat resistant globes can be identified by their Trademark NX (for NoNex) inside a larger letter C. Learn more about the history of Corning and the Railroad here.
HOUSEWARES TRIVIA – Corning Glass developed a glass to withstand extreme temperatures for Railroad signal lanterns. In 1915, what brand of cookware was later developed using this glass?
