Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway
Item: 3-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: Operated 1851-1957
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
History
The Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. It began as the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville in December 11, 1845, built to 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge and was the first railway to operate in the state of Tennessee. From this link between two Tennessee cities, it gradually grew until it formed one of the important railway systems of the South by the turn of the twentieth century.
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Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway
Item: 4-N Price: $115.00
Remarks: Operated 1851-1957
Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
During the Civil War the rail line was strategic to both the Union and Confederate armies. The Tennessee campaigns of 1862 and 1863 saw Union troops force the Confederates from Nashville to Chattanooga along the line of the railroad. The tracks and bridges were repeatedly damaged and repaired, and at different times carried supplies for both armies.
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Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway
Item: 5-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, an aggressive competitor of the NC&StL, gained a controlling interest in 1880 through a hostile stock takeover that caused much rancor between the cities of Nashville and Louisville. However, the railroads continued to operate separately until finally merging in 1957. Today the Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway is part of the CSX Transportation Co.
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Nashville & Florence Railroad
Item: 7-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: Operated from 1851-1957
Superb serif lettering and rustic copper patina.
Absorbed into the L&N.
History
The Nashville & Florence Railroad was formed in 1879 to construct a 79 mile line from Columbia, Tennessee to Florence Alabama. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad, quietly watching the development and knowing the geography of the area could be rich in iron ore and timber, quickly purchased a majority of of stock. The L&N then advanced the project of moving the planned line forward which had laid dormant for three years. The Nashville & Florence Railroad was eventually absorbed into the rapidly growing Louisville & Nashville Railroad network.
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New York Central & Harlem Railroad
SOLD Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Merged into the NYC in 1914.
History
The company was incorporated on April 25, 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad, to link New York City with suburban Harlem. Eventually the rail line was leased to the New York Central, and the street railway line to the Metropolitan Street Railway Company (and later the New York Railways Company). When Grand Central Terminal was completed, the divorce of the two was quite obvious, but before that, where exactly did the street railway operate? For the most part, on Fourth Avenue, and extending as south as Ann Street, about a mile from the southern tip of Manhattan island.
The line became part of the New York Central Railroad system with trackage rights granted to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad into Manhattan. It is now part of the Metro-North Railroad system, and the only Manhattan trackage of that system.
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New Jersey Railroad
Item: 11-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb block lettering and dark patina.
History
On March 7, 1832 the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company (NJRR) was chartered as a parallel line to the Camden and Amboy. Regular NJRR service began September 15, 1834 between Newark and Jersey City, using a temporary track over Bergen Hill. An extension to Elizabeth opened December 21, 1835, using the turnpike from the south end of Broad Street.
On February 1, 1867, the C&A and NJRR were informally joined as the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Companies (UNJ). The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) approved a lease of the UNJ on May 15, 1871, and the UNJ approved May 19. On May 18, 1872 the C&A, D&R Canal and NJRR were consolidated, forming the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. The new company was split into two divisions: the New York Division consisted of the NJRR and the C&A Trenton Branch towards Philadelphia, while the Amboy Division was the original C&A main line.
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New York & Jamaica Railroad
Item: 14-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Fraim forged. A rare 1!
Nice stamp marks and patina.
Dents look larger in pics.
Gobbled up by the Long Island R.R. in 1860.
History
New York & Jamaica Railroad Company was organized about 1857, and constructed a railroad from the terminus of the Long Island Railroad in Jamaica to the water's edge at Hunter's Point, and when ready for opening the trains of the Long Island Railroad, instead of running over the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad into the city of Brooklyn, turned off at Jamaica and were brought to Hunter's Point. This diverted the main line of travel on Long Island from the city of Brooklyn to the new terminus. This new line was opened in 1860. About the same time its property, corporate rights and franchises were acquired by the Long Island Railroad Company. From that time the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad was run as a branch road between Jamaica and East New York.
Jamaica is a major hub station of the Long Island Rail Road, and is located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. It is the largest transit hub on Long Island and is one of the busiest railroad stations in the country with weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers.
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New York-Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad
Item: 15-N Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Fraim forged. Personalized stamp.
Superb serif lettering and two-tone patina.
History
The Nypano Railroad, earlier the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, was organized from the bankrupt Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in March 1880.
The road was owned by five of the English investors in the A&GW and ran from Salamanca, New York to Dayton, Ohio. J. H. Devereaux, former president of the A&GW, was elected first president of the new company. Devereaux was succeeded by Jarvis M. Adams who, on March 6, 1883, leased the NYP&O to the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad. On February 27, 1896 the property was sold under foreclosure to representatives of the Erie, and subsequently reorganized as the Nypano. The company was merged into the Erie in 1941.
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New Orleans-Texas & Mexico Railroad
Item: 18-N Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
History
The New Orleans Texas & Mexico Railway was the overiding corporate entity of the Gulf Coast Lines. These lines were owned by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (Frisco) up until the mid-1920s when the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) took them over.
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New Orleans-Texas & Mexico Railway
Item: 19-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Slaymaker forged. Superb serif
lettering and carmel patina.
A nice 1!
History - continued from above
As the "corporate workhorse" of the Gulf Coast Lines, the NOT&M was used to purchase many smaller Texas lines, including the New Ibernia & Northern (1916), Houston & Brazos Valley (1924), and International-Great Northern (1924). When the MoPac gained control of the NOT&M, it still operated as a buying machine, and later gained control of the San Antonio-Uvalde & Gulf (1925) and the Asphalt Belt (1925), the Sugarland (1926), the Asherton & Gulf (1926), the Rio Grande City (1926), the New Orleans & Lower Coast (1926), the San Antonio Southern (1926), affectionately known as the "Sausage." All of the flags of the Gulf Coast Lines and its acquired roads were absorbed into the MoPac in 1956.
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New Orleans & Lower Coast Railway
Item: 21-N Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and carmel patina.
Low serial #
History
The New Orleans & Lower Coast Railway was a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Company. In 1911, this company was combined with the New Orleans Southern Railway to form the New Orleans, Southern & Grand Isle Railway, which by 1916 was sold to form the New Orleans & Lower Coast Railroad. By 1926 this last independent operation was under the control of the Missouri Pacific and later absorbed.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 24-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1935
Forged by the A&W Co.
Great stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The New York Central Railroad (reporting mark NYC) was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwest along with the intermediate cities of Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Detroit. New York Central was headquartered in New York City's New York Central Building, adjacent to its largest station, Grand Central Terminal.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 25-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1935
Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Key used on lines east of Buffalo
Nice NYC oldie!.
History - continued from above
The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was the oldest segment of the NYC merger and was the first permanent railroad in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. It was chartered in 1826 to connect the Mohawk River at Schenectady to the Hudson River at Albany, providing a way for freight and especially passengers to avoid the extensive and time-consuming locks on the Erie Canal between Schenectady and Albany. The Mohawk and Hudson opened on September 24, 1831, and changed its name to the Albany and Schenectady Railroad on April 19, 1847.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 26-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
A&W hex stamp under the "R."
Superb lettering and gold patina.
Key used on lines east of Buffalo.
History - continued from above
The NYC hosted the streamlined steam-powered Rexall Train of 1936, which toured 47 states
to promote the Rexall chain of drug stores and to provide space for company conventions.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 27-N Price: $110.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Attractive pocket worn block lettering
and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four, was formed on June 30, 1889 by the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway, the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway and the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railway. The following year, the company gained control of the former Indiana Bloomington and Western Railway. By 1906, the Big Four was itself acquired by the New York Central Railroad. It operated independently until 1930, it was then referred to as the Big Four Route.
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New York Central System Railroad
Item: 28-N Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. post-1935
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
Steam locomotives of the NYC were optimized for speed on that flat raceway of a main line, rather than slow mountain lugging. Famous locomotives of the system included the well-known 4-6-4 Hudsons, particularly the 1937-38 J-3a's; 4-8-2 WW2 era L-3 and L-4 Mohawks; and the postwar S-class Niagaras: fast 4-8-4 locomotives often considered the epitome of their breed by steam locomotive aficionados.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 29-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Bohannan forged.
Superb serif lettering and two-tone patina.
Key barrel is 1/8 smaller than standard NYC key.
A nice 1!
History - continued from above
The generally level topography of the NYC system had a character distinctively different than the mountainous terrain of its archrival, the Pennsylvania Railroad. Most of its major routes, including New York to Chicago, followed rivers and had no significant grades other than West Albany Hill. This influenced a great deal about the line, from advertising to locomotive design, built around its flagship New York-Chicago Water Level Route.
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New York Central System Railroad
Item: 32-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. post-1935
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Key used on lines west of Buffalo.
History - continued from above
At various times during the 1940s and 1950s, the Century and other NYC trains exchanged sleeping cars in Chicago with western trains such as the Super Chief and the City of San Francisco. The cars, which contained roomettes, double bedrooms and drawing rooms, provided through sleeper service between New York City and Los Angeles or San Francisco (Oakland Pier).
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New York Central System Railroad
Item: 33-N track dept. Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. post-1935.
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
Check out the map to see just how large
the NYC was in 1926.
History - continued from above
On January 26, 1968, the NYC's last passenger timetable became effective. The final timetable revealed a drastically truncated schedule in anticipation of its merger with the PRR. Most local and long-distance passenger service had ended, including that of the 20th Century Limited.
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New York Central System Railroad
Item: 34-N Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. post-1935.
Steel shorty. The SP also used this style.
History - continued from above
In 1914, the operations of eleven subsidiaries were merged with the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, re-forming the New York Central Railroad. From the beginning of the merger, the railroad was publicly referred to as the New York Central Lines. In the summer of 1935, the identification was changed to the New York Central System, that name being kept until the merger with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968.
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New York Central Railroad
Item: 35-N tool house key Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1935
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
In 1968 the NYC merged with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to form Penn Central. Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and merged into Conrail in 1976. Conrail was broken up in 1998, and portions of its system were transferred to CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway, with CSX acquiring most of the old New York Central trackage.
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New York Central System Railroad
Item: 36-N tool house key Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. post-1935. Bohannan forged?
Nice serif lettering and gold patina.
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New York Metro
Item: 38-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Passenger rail line.
Superb block lettering and carmel patina.
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(New Orleans) Public Belt Railroad
Item: 40-N Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
New Orleans own.
History
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad is a Class III railroad, and a subsidiary of the Port of New Orleans. It connects with six Class I railroads serving the city, and provides switching and haulage service. It is estimated that one-third of the United States' east-west rail freight crosses the Mississippi on the Huey P. Long Bridge segment of the railroad.
The railroad is managed by the Public Belt Railroad Commission, which also owns and maintains the Huey P. Long Bridge. NOPB covers over 100 miles of track with ten locomotives. No funding is received from the city; operating and capital expenses are covered by operating revenues.
Click on image to view larger pictureHypnotherapy
New York-Ontario & Western Railroad
Item: 41-N New Listing Price: $165.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Very nice stamp marks and patina.
Stylish accent rings
This key stamped "RR" + key below
stamped "RY" = nice set!
Sharp!
History
The New York-Ontario & Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first notable U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
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New York-Ontario & Western Railway
Item: 42-N New Listing Price: $165.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb stamp marks and carmel patina.
Stylish tapered barrel
This key stamped "RY" + key above
stamped "RR" = nice set!
History - continued from above
The railroad began life as the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, organized by Dewitt C. Littlejohn in 1868. Its mainline extended from Weehawken, New Jersey in the greater New York City area to Oswego, New York, a port city on Lake Ontario. It had branch lines to Scranton, Pennsylvania; Kingston, New York; Port Jervis, New York; Monticello, New York; Delhi, New York; Utica, New York and Rome, New York. The part south of Cornwall, New York was operated over the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad via trackage rights.
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New York-Ontario & Western Railway
Item: 43-N New Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb serif lettering and silver patina.
Legacy
By virtue of its superb online scenery and anachronistic operations, the O&W retains "cult status" among railroad and history buffs 64 years after its abandonment, with periodic bus tours of remaining railroad artifacts. New York State Route 17 parallels the O&W from south of Liberty to Hancock in Sullivan and Delaware counties.
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New York State Railway
Item: 44-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Great looking trolley key!
History
New York State Railways was a subsidiary of the New York Central Railroad that controlled several large city streetcar and electric interurban systems in upstate New York. New York State Railways was formed in 1909 when the properties controlled by the Mohawk Valley Company were merged.
New York State Railways emerged from receivership in 1934, and gradually the remaining core city lines were sold as separate operations.
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New York-Susquehanna & Western Railroad
Item: 46-N Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Nice deep stamp marks and dark patina.
History
The New York-Susquehanna & Western Railway (reporting mark NYSW) (a.k.a. the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles (800 km) of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several smaller railroads. Passenger service in Northern New Jersey was offered until 1966. The railroad was purchased by the Delaware Otsego Corporation in 1980, and became a regional player during the 1980s in the intermodal freight transport business.
The NYS&W operates over 500 miles of track in three states. The network consists of three main routes, one running from Northern New Jersey to Binghamton and the other two branching north from Binghamton to serve Utica and Syracuse.
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New Hope & Ivyland Railroad
Item: 48-N Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Nice block lettering and copper/gold patina.
History
The NH&I got its start as the Northeast Pennsylvania Railroad. Its trains began running between New Hope and Philadelphia in 1891. Later incorpated into the Reading System, the NH&I became a classic milk route, providing freight and passenger servive to residents of a rural area.
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New Hope & Ivyland Railroad
Item: 49-N Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Different style cut than NH&I key above.
History - continued from above
The NHRR was originally known as the New Hope Branch of the Reading Company (RDG), which leased the North Pennsylvania Railroad, of which it was a part. The railroad ran as far as Hartsville Station (near Bristol Road) until March 29, 1891, when the line was extended to the long-desired terminal of New Hope, Pennsylvania.
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Nacozari Railroad
Item: 51-N Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
Ore feeder line to the Moctezuma smelter at Nacozari.
This key has a Santa Fe style key bit, and works great with AT&SF switch locks. In the beginning, the Nacozari Railroad, owned by Moctezuma Copper Co., interchanged with the Santa Fe Railroad, which explains the legacy style cut. Also, it would not surprise me, if another Nacozari switch key popped up, but with a SP style cut. All in the Family: the EP&SW and Nacozari were both ore feeder lines, both gobbled up by the Southern Pacific. EP&SW collectors might want to take a second look at this relic.
History
The Nacozari Railroad was incorporated on March 10, 1899. The company owned 76.55 miles of line from Douglas, Arizona to Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico. Originally owned by the Moctezuma Copper Company, it was acquired by the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, which was sold to the Southern Pacific Company in 1955.
With production in the Bisbee area expanding, Douglas formed the Arizona and South Eastern Railroad in 1888. The railroad ran on a short spur of track from Bisbee to Fairbank, Arizona, where it met the mainline of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Shortly thereafter and unhappy with AT&SF rates, the line was extended to Benson, Arizona, to connect with the Southern Pacific Railroad.
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Northampton & Bath Railroad
SOLD Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and copper patina.
History
Chartered in 1902, this shortline railroad connected from the LV, CNJ, and RDG at Northampton to the L&NE and DL&W at Bath.
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Nevada Northern Railway
Item: 56-N Price: $195.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
A popular western short line.
History
The Nevada Northern owes its beginnings to the discovery and development of large porphyry copper deposits near Ely early in the 20th century. Two of the region's largest mines (including the Robinson Mine) were purchased in 1902 by Mark Requa, president of the Eureka and Palisade Railroad in central Nevada.
A series of corporate financial transactions in the 1920s and 1930s brought Nevada Consolidated under the control of the Kennecott Copper Corporation, and Nevada Consolidated was merged into Kennecott in 1942. The Nevada Northern thus became a Kennecott subsidiary. Faced with declining ore reserves and low copper prices, Kennecott closed its Ruth-area mines in May 1978, thus ending the ore trains between Ruth and the McGill smelter. The smelter closed on June 20, 1983, and the Nevada Northern suspended all operations immediately thereafter.
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Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad
Item: 58-N Price: $135.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
A beauty!
History
The Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad (NPBL) is a class III railroad operating in southern Virginia. The NPBL serves Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake and has been operating since 1898. The NPBL is owned fifty-seven percent by Norfolk Southern Railway and forty-three percent by CSX Transportation. The NPBL interchanges with; Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad, CSX Transportation, Bay Coast Railroad (formerly the Eastern Shore Railroad), and Norfolk Southern. The NPBL is a terminal switching company that owns 36 miles of track, (plus 27 miles of trackage rights) and links commerce around the deepwater port from Sewells Point to Portsmouth Marine Terminal, including the Southern Branch Elizabeth River.
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Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad
Item: 59-N Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Key got plenty of use and still looks good.
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Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway
Item: 61-N interurban line Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s.
Nice stamp marks and carmel patina.
NW stamped on both sides.
Nice Pennsy oldie!
History
The Pennsylvania Trolley Lines received a face lift and by May 2, 1909, the new electrified railway had twenty-seven trains going through Cambridge Springs, serving as the connection to Meadville. A traveler who used the line from Cambridge Springs to Erie would expect a commute of about 85 minutes. However, On November 6, 1912, it was agreed that the two services would merge and become one operation, the Northwestern Pennsylvania Railway, providing direct service between Erie and Meadville.
In 1925, with the introduction of bus service to Erie and Meadville, the decline of the trolleys expanded even further. Service was cut from downtown Meadville in September 1927, service was ended to Linesville the same year. The Meadville and Conneaut Park line was canceled in August 1928. Finally, the last service of trolley lines through Cambridge Springs, which went from Meadville to Erie, was ended on September 28, 1928.
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Northern Pacific Railroad
Item: 64-N Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Northern Pacific Railway (NP) was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly 40 million acres of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe for construction. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in western Montana on Sept. 8, 1883.
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Northern Pacific Railroad
Item: 65-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and dark patina.
Shows better in your hand.
History - continued from above
Congress chartered the Northern Pacific Railway Company on July 2, 1864 with the goals of connecting the Great Lakes with Puget Sound on the Pacific, opening vast new lands for farming, ranching, lumbering and mining, and linking Washington and Oregon to the rest of the country. Congress granted the railroad a potential 60 million acres of land in exchange for building rail transportation to an undeveloped territory.
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Northern Pacific Railway
Item: 66-N Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice gold patina.
History - continued from above
In 1886 the Northern Pacific also opened colonization offices in Germany and Scandinavia, attracting farmers with cheap package transportation and purchase deals. The success of the NP was based on the abundant crops of wheat and other grains and the attraction to settlers of the Red River Valley along the Minnesota-North Dakota border between 1881 and 1890. The Northern Pacific reached Dakota Territory at Fargo in 1886, and began its career as one of the central factors in the economic growth of North Dakota. The climate, although very cold, was suitable for wheat, which was in high demand in the cities of the United States and Europe. Most of the settlers were German and Scandinavian immigrants who bought the land cheaply, and raised large families. They shipped huge quantities of wheat to Minneapolis, while buying all sorts of equipment and home supplies to be shipped in by rail.
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Northern Pacific Railway
Item: 67-N Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Nice serif lettering and patina.
History - continued from above
After the turn of the century the Northern Pacific had a record of steady improvement. Together with the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific also gained control of the Chicago-Burlington & Quincy Railroad, gaining important access to Chicago, the central Middle West and Texas, as well as the Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railway, an important route through eastern and southern Washington. Its physical plant was upgraded continuously, with double-tracking in key areas, and automatic block signaling along its entire main line. This in turn gave way to centralized traffic control, microwave and radio communications as time progressed.
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Northern Pacific Railway
Item: 68-N Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and copper patina.
History - continued from above
In later years, Louis W. Menk became president of the Northern Pacific, and then he brought it together with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Great Northern Railway, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway on March 2, 1970, to form the Burlington Northern Railroad. The merger was allowed despite a challenge in the Supreme Court, essentially reversing the outcome of the 1904 Northern Securities ruling. A 900 mi (1,400 km) portion of the former Northern Pacific mainline in Montana was spun off and is now operated by Montana Rail Link.
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Northern Pacific Railway
Item: 69-N Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice gold patina.
History - continued from above
The NP's premier passenger train, the "North Coast Limited" was among the safest and finest in the nation, suffering only one passenger fatality in nearly 70 years of operation.
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Northern Pacific Railroad
Item: 70-N Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and rustic patina.
History - continued from above
The Northern Pacific was headquartered in Minnesota, first in Brainerd, then in Saint Paul. It had a tumultuous financial history; the NP merged with other lines in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, which in turn merged with the Santa Fe to become the BNSF Railway in 1996.
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Norfolk Southern Railroad
Item: 73-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and dark patina.
Not to be confused with today's
Class-1 Norfolk Southern.
History
The Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) was the final name of a railroad that ran from Norfolk, Virginia, southwest and west to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was acquired by the Southern Railway in 1974, which merged with the Norfolk & Western Railway in 1982 to form the current Norfolk Southern Railway.
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Norfolk Southern Railroad
Item: 74-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
Not to be confused with today's
Class-1 Norfolk Southern.
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Newburgh & South Shore Railway
Item: 76-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by Adlake Co.
History
The Newburg & South Shore Railroad (reporting mark NSR) is a railroad that operates in Cleveland, Ohio. The line operates on 13 miles of railroad track. It was originally built to service U.S. Steel mills in Cleveland. The line is owned by Omnitrax.
Also known as the South Shore Belt Line, the N&SS served industrial sites in the Cleveland area. Only seven main-line miles long, it was completed in 1904 as a wholly owned railroad of the US Steel Corporation. Its railbed bore heavy 90 lb/yard (45 kg/metre) rail and presented N&SS trains with 2 miles of 1% grades and 2 miles of 1.15% grade.
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Norfolk & Western Railway
Item: 79-N New Listing Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Most likely Slaymaker forged.
Nice serif lettering and gold patina.
Given the moniker, "King Coal."
History
The Norfolk & Western Railway (NW), was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its 150-year existence. Its motto was "Precision Transportation." It had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America" even though the N&W had mostly articulated steam on its roster. During the Civil War, the N&W was the biggest railroad in the south and moved most of the products with their steam locomotives to help the South the best way they could.
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Norfolk & Western Railway
Item: 80-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
This style of key will work the
N&W castbrass locks
as well as the key above and below.
History - continued from above
The N&W's earliest predecessor was the City Point Railroad (CPRR), a 9-mile (14 km) short-line railroad formed in 1838 to extend from City Point (now part of the independent city of Hopewell, Virginia), a port on the tidal James River, to Petersburg, Virginia, on the fall line of the shallower Appomattox River. In 1854, CPRR became part of the South Side Railroad, which connected Petersburg with Lynchburg, where it interchanged through traffic with the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (V&T) and the James River and Kanawha Canal.
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Norfolk & Western Railway
Item: 81-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1921-30
Fraim/Slaymaker forged.
Superb stamp marks and copper patina.
A nice 1!
History - continued from above
William Mahone (1826–95), an 1847 engineering graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), was employed by Francis Mallory to build the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad (N&P) and eventually became its president in the pre-Civil War era. Construction of N&P began in 1853. Mahone's innovative corduroy roadbed through the Great Dismal Swamp near Norfolk, Virginia, employed a log foundation laid at right angles beneath the surface of the swamp. It is still in use 150 years later and it withstands immense tonnages of coal traffic.
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Norfolk & Western Railway
Item: 82-N car key Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
This style of key will work the
N&W castbrass locks
BEWARE:
All N&W castbrass CAR LOCKS I've sold,
did not have a "C" stamp on hasp.
Best to buy one with the correct key.
History - continued from above
The N&P was severed by the war. The portion east of the Blackwater River at Zuni, Virginia, was held by the Union for most of the war. The eastern portion of the City Point Railroad played a crucial role for Union General Ulysses S. Grant during the Siege of Petersburg, and was operated by the United States Military Railroad. The South Side Railroad was also heavily damaged.
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Norfolk & Western Railway
Item: 83-N W&LE-cut Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Leased to the NKP in 1949, and merged
into the N&W Railway in 1988.
History - continued from above
William and Otelia Mahone were illustrious characters in post-bellum Virginia. Mahone got quickly to work restoring "his" N&P, and resumed his dream of linking the three trunk lines across the southern tier of Virginia to reach points to the west. He became president of all three, and drove the 1870 merger of N&P, South Side Railroad and the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad to form the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O). The AM&O extended 408 miles (657 km) from Norfolk to Bristol, Virginia. The Mahones moved to the headquarters city of Lynchburg, the midpoint of the AM&O. The acronym AM&O was said to stand for "All Mine and Otelia's."
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 84-N W&LE-cut Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Leased to the NKP in 1949, and merged
into the N&W Railway in 1988.
History - continued from above
In 1881, the AM&O was reorganized and renamed Norfolk and Western, a name perhaps taken from an 1850s charter application filed by citizens of Norfolk, Virginia. George Frederick Tyler became president. Frederick J. Kimball, a civil engineer and partner in E.W. Clark & Co., became First Vice President. Henry Fink, whom Mahone had hired in 1855, became Second Vice President and General Superintendent.
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 85-N post N&W-NKP merger key Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1960s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Key has the same style bit as a NKP key.
History - continued from above
As the availability and fame of high-quality Pocahontas bituminous coal increased, economic forces took over. Coal operators and their employees settled dozens of towns in southern West Virginia, and in the next few years, as coal demand swelled, some of them amassed fortunes. The countryside was soon sprinkled with tipples, coke ovens, houses for workers, company stores and churches. In the four decades before the Crash of 1929 and subsequent Depression, these coal towns flourished. One example was the small community of Bramwell, West Virginia, which in its heyday boasted the highest per capita concentration of millionaires in the country.
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 86-N post N&W-NKP merger key Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. 1960s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Key has the same style bit as a NKP key
History - continued from above
The company was famous for building its own steam locomotives, a practice rare outside Britain (where most railways either built their own locomotives or had outside contractors build locomotives to their designs). The locomotives were built at the Roanoke Shops at Roanoke. The Shops employed thousands of craftsmen, who refined their products over the years. The A, J, and Y6 locomotives, designed, built and maintained by NW personnel, brought the company industry-wide fame for its excellence in steam power.
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 87-N Wabash style cut Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. 1960s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Post 1964 N&W-Wabash merger key.
History - continued from above
In 1982, NW merged with the Southern Railway, another profitable carrier, to form the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), but it continued paper operations until it was merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1997.
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 88-N Wabash style cut Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. 1960s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Very nice block lettering and patina.
Post 1964 N&W-Wabash merger key.
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Norfolk & Western Railroad
Item: 89-N signal lock key Price: $18.00
Remarks: Key will work with this style N&W signal lock
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Nickel Plate Road
aka "The New York-Chicago & St. Louis R.R."
Item: 91-N Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Nickel Plate Railroad was constructed in 1881 along the South Shore of the Great Lakes connecting Buffalo and Chicago to compete with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. The railroad operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Its primary connections included Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Toledo. In 1964 the Nickel Plate Road and several other mid-western carriers were merged into the larger Norfolk and Western Railway.
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Nickel Plate Road
aka "The New York-Chicago & St. Louis R.R."
Item: 92-N signal lock key Price: $25.00
Remarks: Key will work this type of NKP Yale signal lock
If key does not work your lock, you can return it.
History - continued from above
Starting about 1877, two great railroad developers, William H. Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, began competing for the railroad traffic along the south shore of the Great Lakes. By 1878 William Vanderbilt had a monopoly on rail traffic between Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, because he owned the only railroad linking those cities - the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway.
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Nickel Plate Road
aka "The New York-Chicago & St. Louis R.R."
Item: 93-N New Listing Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Forged by the Corbin Co.
Key will most likely work a NKP utility lock
such as this style shown.
History - continued from above
By 1881 Jay Gould controlled about 15% of all U.S. railroad mileage, most of it west of the Mississippi River and he was considered the most ruthless financial operator in America. Gould's major railroad east of the Mississippi River was the 335-mile Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway (Wabash). The Wabash mainline ran from St. Louis, Missouri, to Toledo, Ohio, where it was forced to deliver its railroad traffic to William H. Vanderbilt's Lake Shore Railroad for delivery to the eastern United States.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 96-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and yellow-gold patina.
History - continued from above
Jay Gould and William Vanderbilt together oversaw all east-west rail traffic in the mid-west. The Seney Syndicate, owners of a 350-mile railroad, the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, were interested in tapping new sources of revenue. The stage was set for the creation of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railway
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 97-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
Rare "RY" stamp. A beauty!
History - continued from above
The Seney Syndicate, headed by banker George I. Seney, met at Seney's New York City bank and organized the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company on February 3, 1881. The original proposal for the NYC&StL was a 340-mile railroad west from Cleveland, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois, with a 325-mile branch to St. Louis, Missouri.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 98-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and carmel patina.
A well preserved beauty!
History - continued from above
The idea of an east-west railroad across northern Ohio was very popular with the people of Ohio. They wanted to break the high freight rates charged by Jay Gould and William Vanderbilt. No one was less popular in Ohio than William Vanderbilt since the December 29, 1876, collapse of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway's Ashtabula River trestle, where 64 people had been injured and 92 were killed or died later from injuries.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 99-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
Another well preserved relic!
History - continued from above
Another reason for the popularity of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway was the positive economic impact on cities that any new railroad went through at that time. During a newspaper war to attract the NYC&St.L, the Norwalk, Ohio Chronicle Newspaper referred to it as a "double-track, nickel-plated railroad." The railroad adopted the nickname and it became better known as the Nickel Plate Road.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 100-N Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb serif lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway was controlled by the New York Central Railroad's Alfred Holland Smith, a close friend of the Van Sweringens. He had guided the Van Sweringens and even financed their rapid transit to Shaker Heights. In late 1915, the Attorney General of the United States advised the New York Central that its control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and the Nickel Plate was in violation of the Federal antitrust laws.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 101-N Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Double digit serial #
History - continued from above
On February 1, 1916, Alfred Smith called his friends, the Van Sweringens, and offered them the Nickel Plate. They bought it for $8.5 million on April 13, 1916, equal to $202,200,000 today. In return for operating concessions and access to certain stations, they only put up a little over $500,000 (equal to $11,890,000 today) but they controlled 75% of Nickel Plate's voting stock.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 102-N New Listing Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
A beauty!
History - continued from above
The Van Sweringens had no intention of running the Nickel Plate. Alfred Smith was happy to give the Van Sweringens a vice-president of the New York Central, John J. Bernet, and some of his top men. Smith wanted to show that the Van Sweringens were not New York Central puppets, and the Nickel Plate needed to earn money to retire the $6.5 million in notes owed to the New York Central.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 103-N repair track key Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Fraim forged.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
A rare 1!
History - continued from above
During Bernet's reign, the Nickel Plate grew substantially. In 1922, the Nickel Plate purchased the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, giving it access to Sandusky, Ohio and Peoria, Illinois. Later that year, on December 28, the Nickel Plate purchased the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, also known as the "Clover Leaf Route," finally giving the Nickel Plate access to the St. Louis area, as well as to the port in Toledo, Ohio. Bernet also doubled the railroad's total freight tonnage and average speeds system wide, while cutting fuel consumption in half. Bernet left the Nickel Plate in late 1926.
Bernet returned to the Nickel Plate in 1933. In 1934, Bernet ordered 15 Berkshire locomotives, which would become legendary with the Nickel Plate. Bernet remained as the president of the company until his death in 1935.
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New York-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
aka "The Nickel Plate Road"
Item: 104-N repair track key Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Fraim forged.
Superb block lettering and dark patina.
History - continued from above
As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline after World War II, the Nickel Plate Road together with the Wabash and several smaller carriers merged with the profitable Norfolk and Western (N&W) on October 16, 1964.
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New York & Long Branch Railroad
Item: 105-N Price: $135.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Stylish ring barrel.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
The New York & Long Branch Railroad (NYLB) was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy & Elizabethport Railroad. The railroad was jointly owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey and became property of Conrail in 1976. It is now part of New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line.
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New York & Long Branch Railroad
Item: 106-N Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Slaymaker forged?
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New York-Lake Erie & Western Railroad
Item: 109-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the T. Slaight Co.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
Nice Slaight centenarian +
History - 1878-1895
The New York and Erie Rail Road was chartered April 24, 1832 by Governor of New York, Enos T. Throop to connect the Hudson River at Piermont, north of New York City, west to Lake Erie at Dunkirk. On February 16, 1841 the railroad was authorized to cross into the northeast corner of Pennsylvania on the west side of the Delaware River. Construction began in 1836.
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New York-Lake Erie & Western Railroad
Item: 110-N Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the T. Slaight Co.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Another nice Slaight centenarian +
History - continued from above
In the beginning, like most start-up roads, the NY&E went through troubled times. After being reorganized as the Erie Railway in 1861, the Erie still did not see profits and via bankruptcy was sold in 1878 to become the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad. By 1893, the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad went into bankruptcy reorganization again and emerged in 1895 as the Erie Railroad.
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New York-Lake Erie & Western Railroad
Item: 111-N Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Bohannan forged.
Nice serif lettering and great patina.
History - continued from above
In 1960 the Erie merged with the Delaware-Lackawanna & Western Railroad to form the Erie-Lackawanna. In 1976 this organization and five other lines that had gone bankrupt were merged to form the Conrail system, which in 1999 became part of the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads.
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New York-New Haven & Hartford Railroad
Item: 114-N signal dept. key Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s
Rustic style key with superb block lettering.
Key listed in the "American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The New York-New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH), commonly known as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in New England from 1872 to 1968, dominating the region's rail traffic for the first half of the 20th century.
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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 03/14/2022
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