Idaho Northern Railroad
Item: 3-i Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
A rare 1!
History
The Idaho Northern Railroad built a branch line of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) in northern Idaho, U.S., connecting the main line at Enaville with Paragon, a distance of 32.83 miles. The company was incorporated on January 10, 1906, and opened on August 1, 1909 as an operating subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), owner of the OR&N. On December 23, 1910, the property of the OR&N and Idaho Northern Railroad were conveyed to new UP subsidiary Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company.
The line was cut back from Paragon to Prichard after a December 1917 washout. A flood in December 1933 severely damaged the remainder of the line, and the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized its abandonment in 1935.
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Iowa Interstate Railroad
Item: 5-i New Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Nice stamp marks and patina.
Young short line with a great history.
History
Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) is a privately held corporation founded in 1984 to operate the former Rock Island routes between Chicago, IL and Omaha, NE in the Midwest USA. Heartland Rail Corporation purchased the trackage from The Rock Island’s trustee to preserve the line as a through route, making IAIS one of the few regional railroads that connects with every Class 1 railroad at multiple locations.
The IAIS and the railroad infrastructure were purchased from Heartland by Railroad Development Company of Pittsburgh, PA in 2003. In recognition of the railroad's Rock Island Railroad heritage, the IAIS logo uses a shape similar to the original railroad's logo and has also painted two of its General Electric ES44AC locomotives (513 and 516) in Rock Island inspired paint schemes.
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Iowa Northern Railroad
Item: 7-i New Listing Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s
Keline forged.
Nice stamp marks and patina.
Young short line with a great history.
History
Iowa Northern Railway operates 163 miles (262 km) in Iowa between Cedar Rapids in eastern Iowa and Manly in north central Iowa. The railroad connects with the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway in Cedar Rapids; with the Canadian National Railway subsidiary Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo; with the Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad) in Nora Springs; and with the Union Pacific Railroad in Manly, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Belmond. The Oelwein Subdivision operates over 23 miles and the Garner Subdision operates over 28 miles of trackage with portions of travel via incidental trackage rights. The railroad employs 100+ people, all located in Iowa.
The railroad is headquartered in Waterloo, and has Customer Service and General Offices located there as well. Its Bryant Yard Shops are located in Waterloo. Traffic consists of grain, ethanol and other bio-fuels related commodities, chemicals, food products, and machinery.
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Illinois Northern Railroad
Item: 9-i Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The carrier was incorporated May 15, 1901, under the general laws of the State of Illinois for the purpose of operating a railroad to serve various industries located in Chicago, Illinois. The once short line carrier was a corporation of the State of Illinois, having its principal office at Chicago. It was controlled by the International Harvester Company, the capital stock being held by individuals for the benefit of that company. The property of the carrier was once operated by its own organization.
The 2.38 miles of Chicago area trackage was formerly trackage of the Illinois Northern Railway (INR), a switching carrier owned by International Harvester (IH). IH sold its capital stock in the INR to a group of railroads, one of which was the Atchison-Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company (ATSF). Later, ATSF, now Burlington Northern Santa Fe acquired all of the former INR interests in the Chicago area.
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Iron Railroad
Item: 11-i Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
A rare 1!
History
The Iron Railroad began operation in 1851 as part of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton (DT&I). The Iron railroad was constructed along a 13-mile stretch from Ironton north to Center Iron Furnace. The railroad was built by the owners of the iron furnaces in northern Lawrence County to transport their pig iron to the Ohio River and bring supplies back to the furnaces.
By 1892, it was known as the Iron Railway and established a barge service to transport its cars across the Ohio River. In 1920 its stock was purchased by Henry Ford who, over the next 9 years, assured the financial future of the railroad. Nonetheless, in 1929, Ford sold his railroads, including the Iron Railroad, and though it changed hands a few times, it eventually declined and ceased operation in the 1970s.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 16-i Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s
Forged by the S. O'Neill Co.
One of the earliest IC keys to date.
Nice tapered barrel and superb gold patina.
Gotta love the serial No.77!
History
Chartered in 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad, sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was (now CN owned) a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa (1870). There was a significant branch to Omaha, Nebraska (1899), west of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and another branch reaching Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877), starting from Cherokee, Iowa. The Sioux Falls branch has been abandoned in its entirety.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 17-i Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s
Nice pocket worn lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The IC is one of the early Class I railroads in the US. Its roots go back to abortive attempts by the Illinois General Assembly to charter a railroad linking the northern and southern parts of the state of Illinois. In 1850 U.S. President Millard Fillmore signed a land grant for the construction of the railroad, making the Illinois Central the first land-grant railroad in the United States.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 18-i Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
A beauty!
History - continued from above
The Illinois Central was chartered by the Illinois General Assembly on February 10, 1851. Senator Stephen Douglas and later President Abraham Lincoln were both Illinois Central men who lobbied for it. Douglas owned land near the terminal in Chicago. Lincoln was a lawyer for the railroad. Upon its completion in 1856 the IC was the longest railroad in the world. Its main line went from Cairo, Illinois, at the southern tip of the state, to Galena, in the northwest corner. A branch line went from Centralia, (named for the railroad) to the rapidly growing city of Chicago. In Chicago its tracks were laid along the shore of Lake Michigan and on an offshore causeway downtown, but land-filling and natural deposition have moved the present-day shore to the east.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 19-i Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Well preserved oldie!
History - continued from above
In 1867 the Illinois Central extended its track into Iowa, and during the 1870's and 1880's the IC acquired and expanded railroads in the southern United States. IC lines crisscrossed the state of Mississippi and went as far as New Orleans, Louisiana, to the south and Louisville, Kentucky, in the east. In the 1880s, northern lines were built to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Omaha, Nebraska. Further expansion continued into the early twentieth century.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 20-i Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
On August 10, 1972, the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf-Mobile & Ohio Railroad to form the llinois Central Gulf Railroad. On October 30 that year the Illinois Central Gulf commuter rail crash, the company's deadliest, occurred. On February 11, 1998 the IC was purchased by the Canadian National Railway (CN) with the integration of operations beginning on July 1, 1999.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 21-i Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. post 1918
Forged by the Fraim Co.
Superb stamp marks and copper patina.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 22-i Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb stamp marks and carmel patina.
Well preserved beauty!
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 23-i Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 24-i Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 25-i New Listing Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
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Illinois Central Railroad
Item: 26-i Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s.
Forged by the Adlake Co.
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Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Item: 28-i Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
KeLine forged.
Superb stamp marks and two-tone patina.
Nice looking key!
History
llinois Central and parallel Gulf, Mobile & Ohio merged on August 10, 1972, to create the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Central Industries. GM&O was a likely merger partner for Illinois Central, as it was a north-south railroad through much the same area as IC. As part of the merger, ICG took over three Mississippi lines: Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern; Columbus & Greenville; and Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf.
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Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Item: 29-i New Listing Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The north-south lines of ICG’s map resembled an hourglass. Driving across Mississippi or Illinois from east to west, you could encounter as many as eight ICG lines. The former IC system converged at Fulton, Ky., and the former GM&O main line was less than 10 miles west of Fulton at Cayce.
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Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Item: 30-i New Listing Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
KeLine forged.
Great stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
On Feb. 29, 1988, the railroad changed its name back to Illinois Central, having divested itself of nearly all the former GM&O routes it acquired in 1972, when it added “Gulf” to its name. IC managers eventually turned their eyes west, to the Chicago, Central & Pacific, which it had sold in 1985. It saw CC&P’s route as a source of grain traffic and perhaps a way to get some of the coal moving east from Wyoming. In June 1996 IC purchased the CC&P.
In February 1998 Canadian National Railway agreed to purchase the IC, creating a 19,000-mile railroad. CN absorbed IC in July 1999, and IC lost its own identity within the CN system.
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International & Great Northern Railroad
Item: 33-i Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Very nice serif stamp marks and two-tone patina.
Houston & Great Northern legacy style cut?
Very early I&GN key.
History
The International Great Northern Railroad (I&GN) was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Texas. It was created on September 30, 1873, when International Railroad and the Houston & Great Northern Railroad merged. The railroad was officially incorporated as the International & Great Northern Railroad Company. Originally, the I&GN operated 177 miles of track from Hearne to Longview, but at its peak it owned 1,106 miles of track. As the railroad expanded, it reached Rockdale in 1874 and Austin on December 28, 1876. The line extended to San Antonio in 1880 and finally to the US-Mexican border town of Laredo on December 1, 1881.
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International & Great Northern Railroad
Item: 35-i Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Nice stamp marks and dark patina.
Original style cut. Great serial #1921
History - continued from above
The I&GN, like other railroads of its time, had many financial troubles and went into receivership on several occasions. Jay Gould acquired control of the I&GN in December of 1880. Due to his control of the Missouri Pacific (Mopac) and the Texas & Pacific Railroad, the three were operated as one system, although they each retained their separate corporate identities and seniority districts.
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International & Great Northern Railroad
Item: 36-i Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
MoPac style cut.
History - continued from above
In a bit of planned corporate maneuvering to keep the I-GN within the Mopac fold, the Gulf Coast Lines subsidiary, New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway, bought the I-GN on June 30, 1924; subsequently, the Gulf Coast Lines were bought by the Missouri Pacific on January 1, 1925. Finally, on March 1, 1956, all of the GCL subsidiaries were merged into the parent Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, and the I-GN ceased its corporate existence.
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International & Great Northern Railroad
Item: 37-i Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Original style cut.
Nice stamp marks and carmel patina.
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Ironton Railroad Co.
Item: 39-i Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and patina.
History
The Ironton Railroad, originally incorporated on March 4, 1859 was built to haul iron ore from the mines at Ironton to iron furnaces along the Lehigh River. The rapid growth of the Lehigh Valley iron industry during the 1850s had resulted in a mining boom, but the heavy ore traffic was highly destructive to local roads.
In 1884, shortly after its purchase by Thomas Iron, the first shipment of Portland cement was made over the railroad. Extensive cement deposits lie in the vicinity of the line, and cement became an increasing part of the railroad's traffic. This proved to be its saving grace as the local iron mining industry began to decline. The Siegersville Branch was cut back from Orefield to Siegersville sometime between 1876 and 1900. However, passenger service began on the railroad on November 1, 1898.
The Ironton became the joint property of the Reading and Lehigh Valley Railroads in November 1923.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 42-i reward key Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Attractive stamp marks and superb patina.
History
The Indiana Harbor Belt as we know it today was formed in 1907. The Chicago Junction Railway, a New York Central affiliate, had leased the East Chicago Belt Railroad and the Terminal Railroad in 1898, and had bought the Chicago, Hammond & Western Railroad in 1896. In October of 1907, the ECB's lease was dissolved, and it then acquired the CJ's interest in CH&W and assumed control of the Terminal Railroad as well. The new company was named the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Although not a signatory, the New York Central provided the financial backing and quietly orchestrated the entire transaction, reserving trackage rights over all routes of the new railroad.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 43-i Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Very nice stamp marks and copper patina.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 44-i Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 45-i Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 46-i Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
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Indiana Harbor Belt Railway
Item: 47-i Repair Track Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and carmel patina.
Key has the same style bit as a Clinchfield key
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Illinois Terminal Railroad
Item: 50-i Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1900s
Nice stamp marks and patina.
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Indianapolis Union Railway
Item: 52-i Price: $120.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Indianapolis Union Railway Company is a terminal railroad operating in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was organized on May 31, 1850, as the Union Track Railway Company by the presidents of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (M&I), the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad (TH&R), and the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad (I&B) for the purposes of establishing and operating joint terminal facilities in Indiana's capital city. The name of the company was changed to its present one on August 12, 1853. The next month, on September 20, Indianapolis Union Station opened its doors, becoming the first union railroad station in the world. Since 1999, the company has been owned and operated by CSX.
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J
Jersey Central Lines (Central R.R. of NJ)
Item: 1-J Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Nice stamp marks and carmel patina.
History
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines (CNJ), was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. The line was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of the northeastern United States.
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Jersey Central Lines (Central R.R. of NJ)
Item: 2-J Price: $60.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Superb large serif stamp marks and patina.
A nice 1!
History - continued from above
The earliest railroad ancestor of the CNJ was the Elizabethtown & Somerville Railroad, incorporated in 1831 and opened from Elizabethport to Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1836. Horses gave way to steam in 1839, and the railroad was extended west, reaching Somerville at the beginning of 1842. The Somerville & Easton Railroad was incorporated in 1847 and began building westward. In 1849 it purchased the Elizabethtown & Somerville and adopted a new name: Central Railroad Company of New Jersey.
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Switch Key Directory
American Railway's Switch Key Directory
Price: HC-$25.00 | CD-$35
Whether your 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 01/25/2023
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