Acadiana Railway
Item: 3-A Price: $45.00
Remarks: Established in 1990.
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Louisiana short line.
History
The Acadiana Railway Company operates freight service from Crowley, Louisiana, to a connection with UP at Eunice (21.6 miles) and then via trackage rights over the UP to Opelousas (20.9 miles). The company continues over its own line from Opelousas to Bunkie, Louisiana, (36.1 miles). Five miles of former SP switching track at Opelousas are operated. AKDN also leases Thibodeaux Industrial Lead from McCall, Louisiana, to Lula, Louisiana, (5 miles). Traffic includes agricultural products, edible oils and general freight.
The Eunice line was built by the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad before 1900. The Eunice and Bunkie lines are former Missouri Pacific lines and were sold to the current owner in October 1990. Short line service started October 15, 1990. Thibodeaux Industrial Lead was leased and freight service started September 2000.
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Akron, Bedford & Cleveland Railroad
Item: 5-A Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Stylish ring barrel and and fine pocket wear.
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
Nice 123-128 year old Ohio railroad relic!
History
Chartered in 1895 the Alphabet Railroad, began service between Akron and Cleveland, Ohio on November 9, 1895. At the time of its completion, it was the longest electrified rail line in the world. Around 1900 the ABC Railroad merged with several other area railroads to form the Northeast Ohio Traction & Lighting Company (NOT&LCo) which operated the line until 1932.
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Akron & Barberton Belt Railroad
Item: 8-A New Listing Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
Chartered in 1902, the Akron & Barberton Belt Railroad was a switching railroad that was built to serve various industries around cities of Barberton and Akron in Ohio. The main purpose was to switch chemical cars for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Babcox and Wilcox Companies as well as O.C. Barber's match works, all in Barberton. It was controlled by the Akron-Canton & Youngstown, Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania and Erie railroads.
In 1984, PPG industries in Barberton closed up most of their operations and ABB lost 65% of their business. However, luck turned around in 1985, when they acquired Conrail trackage in Rittman and gained access to the Morton Salt and Packaging Corporation of America factories.
In 1994 the railroad was a sold to the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway which in turn is owned by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway.
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Alaska Railroad
SOLD Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Keyline forged.
Great stamp marks.
History
The Alaska Railroad (reporting mark ARR) is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks (passing through Anchorage), and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state. Uniquely (for the US), it carries both freight and passengers throughout its system, including Denali National Park. The railroad has a mainline over 470 miles long and is well over 500 miles including branch lines and siding tracks. It is currently owned by the state of Alaska.
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Alton Railway Co
Item: 15-A Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great stamp marks.
History
The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago & Alton Railroad (reporting mark C&A) was purchased by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1931 and was controlled until 1942 when the Alton was released to the courts. On May 31, 1947 the Alton Railroad was merged into the Gulf-Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
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Alton Railroad
Item: 16-A Price: $60.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
The Alton was the first railroad to install a dining car, the Delmonico, in regular service. It was built by George Pullman in the CB&Q Railroad's Aurora, Illinois shops. Two more dining cars, the Tremont and the Southern were also built and leased by the Chicago and Alton, providing dining car service on all of its Chicago to East St. Louis trains. In 1932 the Alton was the first Chicago-St. Louis Railroad to install air conditioning on its passenger trains.
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Alton Railroad
Item: 17-A Price: $40.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
History - continued from above
The first sleeping car designed by George Pullman was built in the C&A's Bloomington shops and introduced on September 1, 1859 on the Chicago-St. Louis route. Sleeping cars were operated over most routes between Chicago, Peoria, Bloomington, St. Louis and Kansas City in principal train consists. Successor Gulf-Mobile & Ohio operated Chicago-St. Louis sleeping car service until December 31, 1969, the last railroad to do so between the two cities.
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Alton & Southern Railroad
Item: 20-A Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Alton & Southern Railroad was formed in 1910, and in 1913 it absorbed the Denverside Connecting Railway (founded in 1910), and the Alton & Southern Railway (founded in 1911). The company was operated as a subsidiary of the Aluminum Ore Company, which was itself a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), to serve the Bayer process bauxite-to-alumina refinery at Alorton, Illinois.
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Alton & Southern Railroad
Item: 21-A Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Attractive serif stamp marks and patina.
History - continued from above
Alcoa sold the line to the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) in 1968, and it was reorganized as the Alton & Southern Railway. In 1972, the C&NW share's were sold to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (SSW). In 1982, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) took ownership of the Missouri Pacific share and then became full owner in 1996 with the acquisition of SSW parent Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The Alton & Southern is still a legally separate entity but is wholly owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
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Alton & Southern Railroad
Item: 22-A Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn lettering and caramel patina.
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Albuquerque Railroad Traction Co
Item: 25-A Price: $225.00 $210.00
Remarks: Operated 1904-1915
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Very nice stamp marks and two-tone patina.
Rare Southwestern trolley line key.
100 year + centenarian!
History
In January 1880, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad (AT&SF) selected Albuquerque for its principal depot and rail yard in the Territory of New Mexico. Anchored by the AT&SF locomotive repair shops, New Town Albuquerque became New Mexico’s primary warehousing, distribution, mercantile, and manufacturing hub. A thriving downtown of hotels, saloons, stores, and professional offices replaced Old Town as the center of commercial activity.
In 1881, the Street Railway Company started operating mule-drawn streetcars between New Town and Old Town. In 1904, the Albuquerque Traction Company introduced electric streetcars, which were extended in 1908 by the Highland Line that ran out to the university and University Heights. By then, the age of the railroad was yielding to a new age of the automobile. Need I say more!
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Alabama Power Company
Item: 27-A Price: $40.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid-1900s
When coal was king.
History
Alabama Power Company was founded on Dec. 4, 1906. For more than 100 years the Powell Avenue steam plant served as a major source of energy for Birmingham.
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Ann Arbor Railroad
Item: 30-A Price: $125.00 $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice yellow brass and clear stamp marks.
History
Chartered in 1895, the Ann Arbor Railroad pioneered ferries, capable of carrying fully loaded rail cars across Lake Michigan. A railroad survivor of all the economic downfalls of the 20th century, the fifty mile short line still operates today. Since 2013, the Ann Arbor is owned by the Watco Companies Rail Service.
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Arkansas Southern Railroad
Item: 34-A Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and dark patina. Not to be
confused with today's Arkansas Southern Railroad.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Arkansas Southern Railroad was chartered in the very late 1800's. The short line was the first segment of Rock Island's (the Rock had yet to reach Chicago), Louisiana Division. The Arkansas Southern Railroads' original route ran from Eldorado, Arkansas to Sabine City Texas, a distance of 287 miles, with branches to Shreveport and Monroe Louisiana.
The Arkansas Southern Railroad connected with the St.Louis-Iron Mountain & Southern Railway at Eldorado, Arkansas.
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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Item: 38-A Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and chocolate patina.
History
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad is a former U.S. Class I railroad from 1900 until 1967. In 1958 the ACL and SAL announced they were considering merger, and in 1960 they petitioned the ICC to merge as the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The two companies served much the same territory, and they had 75 common points. The principal argument for merger was the elimination of duplicate lines and facilities. Much of the original ACL network has been part of CSX Transportation since 1986.
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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Item: 39-A Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and bright gold patina.
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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Item: 40-A Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn stamp marks
and yellow/gold patina.
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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Item: 41-A New Listing Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn stamp marks
and gold patina.
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Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Item: 42-A Price: $20.00
Remarks: ACL signal padlock key.
Key will work with this style
ACL- signal-lock
History - continued from above
The Atlantic Coast Line served the Southeast, with a concentration of lines in Florida. Numerous named passenger trains were operated by the railroad for Florida-bound tourists, with the Atlantic Coast Line contributing significantly to Florida's economic development in the first half of the 20th century.
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Atlanta & West Point Railroad
Item: 46-A New Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
Hard key to find!
History
The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road (reporting mark AWP) was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta-Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; construction of the 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge line was begun in 1849-50 and completed in May 1854. A large minority interest owned by the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company eventually passed under the control of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), which later acquired a majority of the stock.
In the late 20th century restructuring, through the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL), successor to the ACL, the A&WP came under the Family Lines System banner in 1972. Years later in June 1983, it was merged into the Seaboard System Railroad, successor to the SCL. The former A&WP property is now owned by CSX Transportation.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 50-A Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
History
The Atchison-Topeka & Santa Fe was chartered on February 11, 1859, to join Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. In its early years, the railroad opened Kansas to settlement. Much of its revenue came from wheat grown there and from cattle driven north from Texas to Wichita and Dodge City by September 1872.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 51-A Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and two-tone patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The Atchison-Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), often abbreviated to Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 52-A Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice yellow brass and clear stamp marks.
S = switch.
History - continued from above
In 1907, AT&SF and SP jointly formed the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP), which took over several short railroads and built new lines connecting them to form a route from San Francisco north to Eureka, California. In 1928, Santa Fe sold its half of NWP to SP. In addition, Santa Fe purchased the U.S. portion of the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway (the Mexican portion of the line became the Chihuahua-Pacific Railway, now part of National Railways of Mexico).
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 53-A Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
History - continued from above
The companies were so confident that the merger would be approved they began repainting locomotives and non-revenue rolling stock in a new unified paint scheme. After the ICC's denial, railfans joked that SPSF really stood for "Shouldn't Paint So Fast."
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 54-A Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
Because long stretches of its main line traverse areas without water, Santa Fe was one of the first buyers of diesel locomotives for freight service. The railroad was known for its passenger trains, notably the Chicago-Los Angeles El Capitan and Super Chief (currently operated as Amtrak's Southwest Chief), and for the on-line eating houses and dining cars that were operated by Fred Harvey. Several of these Harvey Houses survive - most notably the El Tovar, which is positioned right alongside the Grand Canyon.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 55-A Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 57-A derail key Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Keline forged.
Key will work with NYC,
PC and certain Conrail car locks.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 56-A New caboose/coach key Listing Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
Hundreds of unmarked SF coach keys are out there,
rare to find one that is stamped.
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Item: 57-A New caboose/coach key Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Ornate stamp marks and great gold patina.
Rare AT&SF coach key shows better in your hand
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Switch Key Directory
American Railway's Switch Key Directory
Price: HC-$25.00 | CD-$35
Whether you're just starting out collecting switch key's or you have been a collector for many years, this 44-page switch key directory is a useful tool. Although, it does not list every railroad key there is, the directory has a 3-D diagram for the most common railroad keys in the collectors circle. With a CD, you can copy the directory to your hard drive and view and enlarge the pages on your computer screen. Price does not include shipping fees.
Upon request, I will "three ring" the pages for a book binder.
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Don Stewart's Railroad Switch Keys and Padlocks
Switch Keys and Locks Directory
Price: HC-$65.00 | CD-$55
One of the lesser known railroad directories is Don Stewart's Railroad Switch Keys and Padlocks Directory. The book includes 56 pages of switch key pictures, 12 pages of switch lock pictures, 12 supplemental pages including, 2 Canadian key picture pages and 32 pages of railroad names. It's another handy tool for beginners and even veteran collectors. The book contains 117 pages in all and is a ink jet printed copy of the original book. As noted, the CD copy is less expensive than a hard copy. The reason; printer ink and paper prices. With a CD, you can copy the directory to your hard drive and view and enlarge the pages on your computer screen. Price does not include shipping fees.
Upon request, I will "three ring" the pages for a book binder.
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Dates quoted for keys are approximate dates. Railroad switch keys initials (reporting mark) are assumed to be correct and accurate.
Comments on any railroad initials origin, including (typos), are welcome. Last update 09/01/2024
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