Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 3-B Victorian style Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and copper patina.
"B" series + "C" series key below = nice set!
125 year + centenarian!
History
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, based in Baltimore, Maryland, was one of the two or three oldest, largest, most important railroads in the history of the mid-Atlantic region. Its great rival was the Pennsylvania Railroad. The B&O was the first Class I railroad in the U.S. as well as one of the first in the nation. During its peak years, the railroad carried coal, steel, and other freight, as well as passengers, as far North as New York City, and as far west as Chicago. Most surviving trackage is operated by CSX Transportation. The B&O provided critical logistic support to the Union during the Civil War, when it was the target of repeated Confederate raids.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 4-B Victorian style Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
"C" series + "B" series key above = nice set!
125 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The B&O was not the first railroad in the U.S., but it was the first common carrier railroad and the first to offer scheduled freight and passenger service to the public. It was the first intercity railroad in the United States. The most important American East Coast seaports in the early 1800s were Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston, South Carolina. Baltimore had an advantage in being farther inland than the others (and therefore closer to many markets), being located almost at the head of navigation on Chesapeake Bay, the estuary of the Susquehanna River. New York gained an advantage in 1825 with the opening of the Erie Canal, permitting navigation as far as Lake Erie, and in 1826 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered a system of canals to link Philadelphia with the Ohio River at Pittsburgh.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
Item: 5-B Victorian style Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The B&O was the target of repeated Confederate attacks during the American Civil War. Union forces often failed to properly secure the region, despite the vital importance of the railroad in providing supplies and troops to the battlefronts. Confederate general "Stonewall" Jackson made the Railroad his favorite target. Nevertheless, under the leadership of president John W. Garrett the B&O increased its operations, and increased its profits during the war.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
Item: 6-B Victorian style Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif stamp marks and dark chocolate patina.
Given the moniker,"Best and Only"
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
In 1960 the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) began to acquire B&O stock. NYC made a bid, but B&O's stockholders approved C&O control, and on May 1, 1962, so did the ICC. By early 1964 C&O owned 90% of B&O's stock. In 1967 the ICC authorized C&O and B&O to control WM; B&O's WM stock had long been held in a nonvoting trust. On June 15, 1973, B&O, C&O, and WM were made subsidiaries of the newly created Chessie System, although they continued to operate as separate railroads. There was no great surge of track abandonment, because in most areas B&O and C&O were complementary rather than competitive. In 1981 B&O leased the former Rock Island trackage from Blue Island to Henry, Illinois. B&O continued to exist with the Chessie System. On May 1, 1983, B&O assumed operations of the WM. Four years later, on April 30, 1987, C&O merged B&O, and four months after that, CSX Transportation merged the C&O.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
Item: 7-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
Another moniker, "Backward and Obsolete."
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 8-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Nice cursive lettering and gold patina.
Different but nice!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 9-B Price: $40.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Attractive serif stamp marks and gold patina.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 10-B Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Nice serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
Item: 11-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Nice stamp marks and copper patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 12-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Very nice stamp marks and copper patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 13-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Very nice stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 14-B repair track key Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb stamp marks and copper patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
SOLD repair track key Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. post 1930
Forged by the Fraim Co.
Nice stamp marks and patina.
80 year + octogenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 16-B Chicago Terminal Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
In 1910 the B&O purchased the Chicago Terminal Transfer Co., a belt line and renamed this section of it's line the Baltimore & Ohio - Chicago Terminal. In 1910, the B&O absorbed this line and continued to use the Chicago Terminal Transfer key style.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 17-B Chicago Terminal Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Excellent stamp marks and gold patina.
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 20-B local station key Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and dark patina.
125 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 21-B local station key Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb large serif stamp marks and patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Item: 22-B local station key Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Nice stamp marks and dark patina.
125 year + centenarian!
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Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway
Item: 25-B post merger key Price: $175.00 $155.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
A rare one!
History
Originally the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, the railroad was renamed Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad in 1889. Merged into the Baltimore & Ohio in 1900.
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Bangor & Aroostook Railroad
Item: 27-B Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the M.M. Buck Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
Different style cut than BAR keys below.
13th street = Bangor Union Station now Amtrak.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Bangor & Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Arostook County in northern Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces. The economic downturn of the 1980s coupled with the departure of heavy industry from northern Maine forced the railroad to seek a buyer and end operations in 2003.
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Bangor & Aroostook Railroad
SOLD Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Nice serif stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The company was incorporated in 1891 to combine the lines of the former Bangor & Piscataquis Railroad and the Bangor & Katahdin Iron Works Railway. It was based in Bangor & lines extended from there to Oakfield and Houlton in 1894.
In 1995, the BAR was acquired by Iron Road Railways. In 2002, the company was declared bankrupt, and in 2003 its lines were sold to Rail World, which initially incorporated them into its newly formed Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway subsidiary.
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Barre & Chelsea Railroad
Item: 30-B Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Onced owned by the B&M.
Superb serif stamp marks and two-tone patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Barre Railroad Company was incorporated April 9, 1888, under general laws of Vermont to construct, maintain, and operate a railroad from the village of Barre to the granite quarries in said town of Barre and Williamstown, Vt. The date of organization was April 10, 1888.
The East Barre & Chelsea Railroad Company, the only predecessor, was incorporated July 20, 1892, under general laws of Vermont to construct and maintain a railroad from a point of connection with tracks of The Barre Railroad Company in the town of Barre, to East Barre, Vt. The date of organization was September 11, 1892.
The owned mileage was acquired partly by construction and partly by merger. The records reviewed indicate that 13.819 miles of road was constructed by The Barre Railroad Company during 1888-89, and 1.673 miles was acquired by merger from the East Barre & Chelsea Railroad Company, constructed by or for that company during 1891-92, or a total of 15.492 miles.
The majority of the Granite District was part of the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M) system until 1926, when the Barre & Chelsea Railroad (Barre to Graniteville) and Montpelier & Wells River Railroad (Barre and Montpelier to Wells River) were sold to local interests. The latter was consolidated into the former in January 1945, but in 1957 the entire Barre & Chelsea Railroad was abandoned.
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Belt Railway of Chicago
Item: 34-B Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
History
Chartered in 1882, the Belt Railway Company of Chicago (BRC), headquartered in Bedford Park, IL, is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States. It is co-owned by six Class I railroads; BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad, each of which uses the switching and interchange facilities of the BRC. Owner lines and other railroads bring their trains to the Belt Railway to be separated, classified, and re-blocked into new trains for departure. The BRC also provides rail terminal services to approximately 100 local manufacturing industries.
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Belt Railway of Chicago
Item: 35-B Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Clearing Yard, located on the boundary between Chicago and Bedford Park, Illinois, just south of Chicago Midway International Airport, is one of the largest hump classification facilities in the United States. Some 5.5 miles in length and covering 786 acres the yard supports more than 250 miles (400 km) of track. It has six main subdivisions; one arrival, classification, and departure yard in the eastbound and westbound directions.
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Belt Railway of Chicago
Item: 36-B Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
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Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad
Item: 39-B Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad (BLE) is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of 139 miles. The original rail ancestor of the B&LE, the Shenango & Allegheny Railroad, began operation in October 1869.
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Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad
Item: 40-B Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marksand gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
In 1988 the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad became part of Transtar, Inc., a privately held transportation holding company with principal operations in railroad freight transportation, dock operations, Great Lakes shipping, and inland river barging that were formerly subsidiaries of USX, the holding company that owns U.S. Steel. In 2001 the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad became part of Great Lakes Transportation, LLC. On May 10, 2004 Canadian National Railway acquired the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. Iron ore and coal are still the route's major freight commodities.
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Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad
Item: 41-B Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
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Beaver & Ellwood Railroad Company
Item: 43-B Price: $145.00 $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Fine pocket wear and nice gold patina.
History
The Beaver & Ellwood Railroad Company was organized May 20, 1890. Known as the Beaver & Ellwood Railroad, the line provided passenger service to the Park Gate station, as well as freight service to Ellwood City industries. In April of 1892 The Ellwood Connecting Railroad was incorporated by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie to make the connection to the Beaver & Ellwood Railroad but did not open until June of 1893. In May of 1899, the Beaver & Ellwood Railroad was leased to the P&LE for twenty years. On a side note, July of the same year, the Beaver & Ellwood Railroad acquired the Ellwood Southern Railroad Company.
Finally June 6, 1910 the P&LE purchased the entire issue of stock of the Beaver & Ellwood Railroad Company and merged it with the Ellwood Connecting Railroad Company in January 1911.
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Boston & Albany Railroad
Item: 45-B Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Nice pocket worn lettering and silver patina.
80 year + octogenarian!
History
The Boston and Albany Railroad (reporting mark B&A) was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Passenger service is still provided on the line by Amtrak, as part of their Lake Shore Limited service, and by the MBTA Commuter Rail system, which owns the section east of Worcester and operates it as its Framingham/Worcester Line.
The connection from Boston to Albany formed the longest and most expensive point-to-point railroad yet constructed in the United States. Two mergers, on September 4, 1867 and December 28, 1870 brought the three companies, along with the Hudson and Boston Railroad, together into one company, known as the Boston and Albany Railroad. The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad leased the B&A for 99 years from July 1, 1900. This lease passed to the New York Central Railroad in 1914; throughout this, the B&A kept its own branding in the public eye. The NYC merged into Penn Central on February 1, 1968.
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Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad
Item: 46-B New Listing Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Rare narrow-gauge key.
Nice pocket worn lettering and patina.
My guess is - T. Slaight forged.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Blue Line rapid transit service.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 47-B Eastern Division Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Very nice stamp marks and patina.
Given the moniker, "Bashed and Maimed"
100 year + centenarian!
History
Chartered in 1836, the Boston & Maine Corporation, known as the Boston & Maine Railroad (B&M), was a former U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It became part of what is now the Pan Am Railways network in 1983.
B&M's earliest corporate predecessor was the Andover & Wilmington Railroad, opened in August 1836 from Andover, Massachusetts, south to a junction with the B&L at Wilmington, approximately 7 miles. The B&M grew for the most part by acquisition, not by construction. The oldest component of the B&M was the 25-mile route between Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts, opened by the Boston & Lowell Railroad (B&L) on June 24, 1835, but not acquired until much later. The B&M's 19th century history consists of four distinct routes.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 48-B Eastern Division Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and dark patina.
One of the few eastern lines that
wasn't consolidated into Conrail.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
B&M dieselized quickly, except for suburban passenger trains, and it was an early user of Centralized Traffic Control. In 1950 it was a well-run, progressive railroad, in a region that was losing its heavy industry and beginning to build interstate superhighways. In 1956, Patrick B. McGinnis became president of the B&M, bringing in a new image, not just blue replacing maroon on the locomotives and cars but a new way of doing things: deficits, deferred maintenance, and kickbacks on the sale of B&M's streamlined passenger cars, which ultimately culminated in a prison sentence that ended his career in railroading.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 49-B Eastern Division Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
Rather than split B&M among its connections or ask for inclusion in Conrail, B&M's trustees decided to reorganize independently. Under the leadership of Alan Dustin, the B&M bought new locomotives, rebuilt its track, and changed its attitude. The revived B&M went after new business and expanded its operations. It sold the tracks and rolling stock to MBTA in 1975, but retained freight rights on those lines and continued to operate the trains for MBTA. In 1977 it assumed operation of commuter trains on the former NH and B&A lines out of Boston's South Station. In 1982 it bought several Conrail lines in Massachusetts and Connecticut and began operating coal trains and piggyback service.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 50-B Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
This key will work with the older Corbin locks
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 51-B New Listing Price: $20.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
Item: 52-B Price: $20.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Padlock key.
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Boston & Maine Railroad
SOLD Price: $75.00 $60.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
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Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad
Item: 54-B Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Nice stamp marks and two-tone patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad (reporting mark BML) was a standard-gauge shortline railroad that operated from 1871 to 2007 over a single-track grade from Belfast to Burnham Junction in Maine.
Chartered in 1867, the line was built between August 1868 and December 1870 by the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad Company (B&MLRR), which was majority-owned by the city of Belfast until 1991. For its first 55 years, the road was operated under lease by the Maine Central as its Belfast Branch, which provided daily passenger and freight service to eight stations over the length of Waldo County, Maine. After the MEC cancelled its lease in 1925, the B&MLRR began running trains under its own name. Passenger operations ceased in March 1960, although in 1988, the railroad began operating summer tourist trains to offset a decline in freight traffic. In 1991, the city sold its interest in the money-losing railroad to private owners. In 2007, the railroad ended operations as the B&MLRR.
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Beaver Dam Railroad
Item: 56-B Price: $95.00 $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
80 year + octogenarian!
History
The Beaver Dam Railroad was a short-line railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee in the early 20th century between the towns of Damascus, Virginia and Crandull, Tennessee. The line was abandoned in sections beginning in 1918 with portions still remaining in operation into the 1920s. Today, much of the old route is followed by Tennessee State Route 133.
The Backbone Rock tunnel was a short tunnel on the Beaver Dam Railroad's Tennessee section, blasted through in 1901 from a rock cliff that stood in the way of the railroad's progression. At only twenty-two feet in length, the tunnel was known locally as the "shortest tunnel in the world."
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Belvidere Delaware Railroad
Item: 64-B Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. 1863-1904
Forged by Romer & Co.
Great stamp marks and caramel patina.
150 year + centenarian!
History
The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was chartered on March 2, 1836 and was constructed from Trenton along the Delaware River north to Belvidere, New Jersey. Beyond Belvidere, the line would connect to a proposed line that headed west to the Susquehanna River through Pennsylvania. The Trenton-Lambertville section opened on February 6, 1851, eventually reaching Belvidere on November 5, 1855.
The Belvidere Delaware Railroad and the Flemington Railroad & Transportation Company merged on February 16, 1885 to form the Belvidere Delaware Railroad.
In 1908 the PRR acquired trackage rights on the nearby Lehigh & Hudson River Railway (L&HR) and DL&W. The following year, the PRR shifted its railyard from Lambertville to Trenton. By the 1950s steam locomotives had been replaced with diesel operated self-propelled Doodlebugs as a cost-saving measure resulting from dwindling patronage, In August 1955, flood waters from the Delaware River caused by Hurricane Diane washed out portions of the line north of Belvidere near where the right-of-way crosses modern-day US Route 46, although the line still remains active south of this point to serve a chemical manufacturing plant. North of where the plant is now to the junction at Manunka Chunk was subsequently removed. On December 31, 1957, the Bel Del was merged into the United New Jersey Railroad & Canal Company, with passenger services ending by October 25, 1960.
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British Columbia Railway
Item: 66-B New Listing Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Pacific Great Eastern key style.
History
The Buffalo Creek & Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was a railroad chartered on April 1, 1904 and ran along Buffalo Creek in Clay County, West Virginia. The original Buffalo Creek & Gauley ended service in 1965.
The BC&G was one of the last all-steam railroads, never operating a diesel locomotive to the day it shut down in 1965. Its primary purpose was to bring coal out of the mountains above Widen to an interchange with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Dundon.
After the BC&G ended operations in 1965 it was reactivated in 1971 by the Majestic Mining Company to serve a mine at Widen.The company used an Alco S-2 for power and the operation concluded in 1985. The line was then again reactivated in the mid-1990s when the Elk River Railroad, Inc. (TERRI) reopened the route to Avoca to serve a mine there. The operation lasted only a few years until 1999 when American Electric Power (AEP) determined the coal to be too poor in quality.
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Buffalo & Lockport Railroad
Item: 68-B Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great stamp marks and gold patina.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Early NYC aquisition - 125 year + centenarian!
History
The Buffalo & Lockport Railroad was chartered April 27, 1852, to build a branch of the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls from Lockport towards Buffalo. It opened in 1854, running from Lockport to Tonawanda, where it joined the Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad, opened 1837, for the rest of the way to Buffalo. One of nine other railroads that formed the New York Central.
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Burlington & Lamoille Valley Railroad
Item: 72-B car key Price: $125.00
Remarks: Chartered 1889-1899
St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County predecessor.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Gobbled up by the Central Vermont 10 years later.
History
The Burlington & Lamoille Railroad was a contemporary project with the Portland & Ogdensburg railroad, an ambitious project to build a railroad corridor from Portland Maine to the great lakes. The B&L was intended to give access to this line at Cambridge Junction to Burlington VT (and the railroads that ran there). The line was completed in 1877 and almost immediately became a leased subsidiary of the Central Vermont Railroad.
The line never saw the anticipated bridge traffic, and the sparsely populated region it traversed didn't provide much traffic either. The line ended up being another victim of the Great Depression, although holding out longer then most and lasting until 1938. The last mile of trackage, from Cambridge Junction into Jeffersonville was transferred to the St.J&LC railroad at this time, who operated it as a spur.
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Buffalo Creek Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $120.00
Remarks: mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice deep stamp marks and gold patina.
Given the moniker, "the Crik"
History
The Buffalo Creek Railroad was a terminal and switching railroad that operated on the waterfront area of Buffalo, New York. The company was in existence from 1869 to 1976, operating on 5.66 miles with a total trackage of 34.22 miles. It was formed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad Company (Erie Lackawanna Railway) which each owned 50% of the company
The railroad primarily served the grain elevators in present-day 'Silo City' and adjacent area of Buffalo, including that of General Mills. The site was advantageous due to its location on the Buffalo River and the eastern coast of Lake Erie. The railroad connected with seven major railroads. In addition, the railroad owned a fleet of over 1,700 40-foot boxcars for transporting flour.
The railroad was taken over by Conrail in 1976
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Burlington Northern Railway
Item: 76-B Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Very nice serif stamp marks.
History
The Burlington Northern Railroad was the product of a March 2, 1970, merger of four major railroads, the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railway and the Chicago-Burlington & Quincy Railroad, as well as a few small jointly owned subsidiaries owned by the four. The merged railroad was initially going to be called Great Northern Pacific & Burlington Lines.
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Burlington Northern Railroad
Item: 77-B Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Attractive stamp marks and patina.
History - continued from above
Although the four railroads shared common ownership (including the headquarters building in Saint Paul, Minnesota) from the days of the James J. Hill era, the four railroads previously had unsuccessfully attempted four mergers to unify the Hill Lines: 1896, 1901, 1927 and 1955. Surprisingly the merger was finally approved in 1970 even though a challenge occurred in the Supreme Court, which reversed the result of the 1904 Northern Securities ruling.
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Burlington Northern Railroad
Item: 78-B M = post merger key Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Attractive stamp marks and patina.
History - continued from above
To further expand the Burlington Northern railroad, a single track was constructed in 1972 into the Powder River Basin to serve various coal mines. On November 21, 1980, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway was acquired, giving the railroad trackage as far south into Florida. By 1981, however, the holding company of the railroad, Burlington Northern, Inc. relocated headquarters from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington and spun off all non-rail operations to Burlington Resources in 1988.
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Burlington Northern Railroad
Item: 79-B Price: $35.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Attractive stamp marks and patina.
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Burlington Northern Railroad
Item: 80-B Price: $55.00 $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Keyline forged. Attractive gold patina.
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Burlington Northern Railroad
Item: 81-B Price: $35.00 $25.00
Remarks: BN high security steel key.
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Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Item: 82-B Santa Fe cut Price: $55.00 $45.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Attractive stamp marks and gold patina.
Current BNSF keys hard to find.
History
The creation of BNSF started with the formation of a holding company on September 22, 1995. This new holding company purchased the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (often called the "Santa Fe") and Burlington Northern Railroad, and formally merged the railways into the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway on December 31, 1996. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway Company using the initials of its original name.
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Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Item: 83-B Santa Fe cut Price: $55.00 $45.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Attractive stamp marks and patina.
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Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Item: 84-B Burlington cut Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Attractive stamp marks and patina.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 86-B Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and silver patina.
Same style cut as key below.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (reporting mark CBQ) was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in New Mexico and Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 87-B Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and silver patina.
Same style cut as key above.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Aurora Branch Railroad, was chartered by act of the Illinois General Assembly on October 2, 1848. The charter was obtained by citizens of Aurora and Batavia, Illinois, who were concerned that the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad would bypass their towns in favor of West Chicago on its route; at the time, that was the only line running west from Chicago.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 88-B Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Nice tapered barrel.
Attractive stamp marks and gold patina.
Same style cut as BR keys above.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The company was renamed Chicago and Aurora Railroad on June 22, 1852, and given expanded powers to extend from Aurora to a point north of LaSalle; this extension, to Mendota, was completed on October 20, 1853. Another amendment, passed February 28, 1854, authorized the company to build east from Aurora to Chicago via Naperville, and changed its name to Chicago and Southwestern Railroad. The latter provision was never acted upon, and was repealed by an act of February 14, 1855, which instead reorganized the line as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 89-B Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and silver patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
Following the purchase of the Burlington by GN and NP, expansion continued. In 1908, the CB&Q purchased both the Colorado & Southern and Fort Worth & Denver Railways, giving it access south to Dallas and the Gulf of Mexico ports in Houston and Galveston. It also extended its reach south in the Mississippi Valley region by opening up a new line from Concord, Illinois south to Paducah, Kentucky. It was during this period that the Burlington was at its largest, exceeding just over 12,000 route miles in 14 states by the 1920s.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 90-B Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
80 year + octogenarian!
History - continued from above
After the Second World War, the CB&Q had overworked steam locomotives in a fleet which it was beginning to convert to diesel engines. The company rapidly expanded its diesel program and slowly took steam locomotives out of service. On September 28, 1959, the last steam-powered commuter train from Chicago rolled to a stop in Downers Grove, marking the end of steam passenger operations on the railroad.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 91-B Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
80 year + octogenarian!
History - continued from above
As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline through the 1960s, forcing restructuring across the country, the Burlington Railroad merged with the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway railroads on March 2, 1970, to form the Burlington Northern (26 years later, the BN and Santa Fe Railroads merged to become BNSF). Passenger service was markedly reduced, as people had shifted to using private automobiles for many trips. Most passenger operations would be assumed in 1971 by Amtrak.
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Burlington Route Railroad
Item: 92-B Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Nice stamp marks and two-tone patina.
125 year + centenarian!
History - continued from above
The railroad operated a number of streamlined passenger trains known as the Zephyrs which were one of the most famous and largest fleets of streamliners in the United States. The Burlington Zephyr, the first American diesel-electric powered streamlined passenger train, made its noted "dawn-to-dusk" run from Denver, Colorado, to Chicago, Illinois, on May 26, 1934. On November 11, 1934, the train was put into regularly scheduled service between Lincoln, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Missouri. Although the distinctive, articulated stainless steel trains were well known, and the railroad adopted the "Way of the Zephyrs" advertising slogan, they did not attract passengers back to the rails en masse, and the last one was retired from revenue service with the advent of Amtrak.
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Burlington & Missouri River Railroad
Item: 96-B Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and silver patina.
100 year + centenarian!
History
The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) was an American railroad company incorporated in Iowa in 1852, with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. It was developed to build a railroad across the state of Iowa and began operations in 1856. It was acquired by the Chicago-Burlington & Quincy Railroad in 1872, and kept serving as its subsidiary.
The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was incorporated in Burlington, Iowa in 1852. It commenced operations on January 1, 1856 with only a few miles of track. In 1857 it connected to Ottumwa, followed by Murray in 1858. It finally reached the Missouri River in November 1859. It used wood-burning locomotives and wooden passenger cars.
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Burlington & Missouri River Railroad
Item: 97-B Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and silver patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad
Item: 99-B Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp
marks and carmel patina.
Given the moniker,
"Bums, Robbers and Pickpockets"
100 year + centenarian!
History
Chartered in 1869, the BR&P, a former class 1 railroad, aquired a reputation as a coal hauler line.
In 1932 the Baltimore & Ohio purchased the BR&P. Fast forward to 1973, the C&O created the Chessie System who then sold the Rochester branch to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad in 1986. Thus creating the Rochester & Southern Railroad. In April 1988 the remainder of the BR&P became the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, also a G&W subsidiary. Except for several branches, the lines of the BR&P of 1930 remain intact.
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Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad
Item: 100-B Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Nice serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year + centenarian!
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Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway
Item: 102-B Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Butte-Anaconda & Pacific Railway short-line railroad was founded in 1892. It was used primarily to take copper ore from the mines to the smelter in Anaconda, though it did also carry passengers and freight. The railroad converted to electric in 1913, the first primarily freight line in the nation to do so. Electrification was abandoned in 1967 when it became cheaper to use diesel-electric locomotives.
During the past decade, a portion of the line has been converted to the BA&P Copperway Trail, and is part of an ever-growing network of walking trails in Butte. Though BA&P is still in operation, the railroad's parent company, Patriot Rail Corp., closed the railroad's office in Anaconda earlier this year.
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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 09/07/2024
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