Olympia & Chehalis Valley Co.
Item: 3-O Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb pocket worn block lettering and gold patina.
Short lived Washington State coal line. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad connected Olympia with Tenino and another railroad connected the Northern Pacific at Stuck directly with Seattle. Eventually, in 1914, this 15 mile line was acquired by the Northern Pacific.
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Old Colony Railroad
Item: 5-O Price: $115.00
Remarks: Operated 1845-1893. Bohannan forged.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Handsome accent ring barrel.
History
The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. From 1845 to 1893, the OC network grew extensively largely through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, until it was itself acquired by the New York-New Haven & Hartford Railroad under lease agreement on March 1, 1893 for its entire 617-mile network. After this date, all trains, lines, and stations became known as the "Old Colony Division" of the huge "New Haven" system. During this period, the New York-New Haven & Hartford Railroad enjoyed a virtual monopoly on all passenger and freight rail service in southern New England.
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Old Colony Railroad
Item: 6-O Price: $125.00
Remarks: Operated 1845-1893. Bohannan forged.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Handsome accent ring barrel.
History - continued from above
Other parts of the former OC system continue to be used for freight service by CSX Transportation and other short line railroads, including the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad which operates on Cape Cod and in southeastern Massachusetts.
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Ohio Connecting Railroad
Item: 8-O Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Bohannan forged?
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
A subsidiary of the Pennsylvania R.R.
A rare 1!
History
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.
The PRR controlled the Philadelphia & Trenton, and had originally intended to directly connect the two lines through the heart of Philadelphia. However, attempts to buy out and demolish buildings in the right-of-way led to riots, and the Philadelphia & Trenton was forced to end at Kensington. To resolve the problem, Connecting Railway Company was incorporated May 15, 1863, and between 1864 and June 1867, constructed a 6.75-mile (10.86 km) connecting line between Frankford Junction on the Philadelphia & Trenton and Mantua Junction (now Zoo interlocking) on the PRR main line, passing through what is now North Philadelphia.
On January 1, 1902, these seven corporations were consolidated into The Connecting Railway Company. This company and all its predecessors were directly or indirectly controlled by the PRR throughout their history. On December 9, 1956, the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad, an agglomeration of certain PRR Lines West, was merged into the corporation. This was solely for the sake of corporate bookkeeping and had no effect on operations.
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Omaha Railway
aka "the Chicago-St. Paul-Minneapolis & Omaha Railway"
Item: 10-O Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering and gold patina.
Given the moniker, "the Granger Line."
History
The Chicago-St. Paul-Minneapolis & Omaha Railway or Omaha Road (reporting mark CMO) was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago-St. Paul & Minneapolis Railway and the North Wisconsin Railway. The Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) gained control in 1882. The C&NW leased the Omaha Road in 1957 and merged the company into itself in 1972.
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Omaha Railway
aka "the Chicago-St. Paul-Minneapolis & Omaha Railway"
Item: 11-O Price: 85.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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Oneida Railway
Item: 12-O Price: $100.00
Remarks: NY trolley line, operated 1907-1930.
Owned by the - NYCS, key also has a
Toledo & Ohio Central style bit.
History
The Oneida Railway, which was an interurban rail, was established in 1907 when the New York Central Railroad electrified 49 miles of the West Shore Railroad between Syracuse, New York and Utica, New York. The interurban railroad used nontraditional third-rail pickup for power instead of the typical overhead catenary. In 1909 the system merged with the New York State Railways system which remained in business until 1930.
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Ontario Northland Railway
Item: 13-O New Listing Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Slaymaker forged?
Nice serif lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. The line was originally chartered as the Lake Nipissing And James Bay Railway in 1884.
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Oregon & Eureka Railroad
Item: 14-O Price: $175.00
Remarks: Operated 1903-07. Forged by the JHW Climax Co.
Handsome double ring barrel and superb gold patina.
Oregon logging line. A rarity!
History
Southern Pacific Transportation Company formed the Oregon and Eureka Railroad in 1903 in an agreement to use logging railroads as part of a line connecting Humboldt County (California) sawmills with the national rail network. Northwestern Pacific Railroad offered service over the route from 1911 through 1933. The northern 6-mile (9.7 km) of the line remained in use as a Hammond Lumber Company logging branch until 1948.
The 36-mile (58 km) Oregon and Eureka Railroad formed through Hammond's 1903 agreement with Southern Pacific was equipped with seven locomotives, two 48-foot (15 m) passenger coaches, and 166 freight cars. The railroad had 212 freight cars by 1905, and was extended in 1906 to carry lumber from the Little River Redwood Company sawmill at Crannell, California. The Oregon and Eureka was included in the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) merger on 8 January 1907, and extended to Trinidad, California on 22 June.
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Oregon Short Line Railroad
Item: 19-O early 1881-82 issue Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina. Low three digit serial #
Key bit style similar to Clinchfield Key
History
The Oregon Short Line Railroad (OSL) was a railroad in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon. The line was organized as the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway. Union Pacific intended the line to be the shortest route ("the short line") from Wyoming to Oregon. In 1889 the line merged with the Utah & Northern Railway and a handful of smaller railroads to become the Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway. Following the bankruptcy of Union Pacific, the line was taken into receivership and reorganized as the Oregon Short Line Railroad.
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Oregon Short Line Railroad
Item: 20-O CS-2 Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The OSL was independent for a short period of time until October 1898 when the newly reformed Union Pacific Railroad took control of a majority of the board of directors. During the early part of the 20th century the railroad publicized tours of Yellowstone National Park by way of a spur constructed from Idaho Falls, Idaho to West Yellowstone, Montana. In 1938, Union Pacific began consolidating operations and leased for operation a number of its subsidiaries including the Oregon Short Line. The railroad operated under the lease until December 30, 1987, when the OSL was fully merged into the Union Pacific Railroad.
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Oregon Short Line Railroad
Item: 21-O early 1881-82 issue Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca.early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
A nice 1!
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Oregon Short Line Railroad
Item: 22-O road & bridge Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
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Oregon Short Line Railroad
Item: 23-O Special Price: $195.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
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Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co.
SOLD pre-merger 1910 UP/OWRR&N Co. style key Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's-early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
Note: No "W" (Washington) stamp.
History
The OR&N company traces its roots back as far as 1860. It was incorporated in 1879 in Portland, Oregon and operated between Portland and eastern Washington and Oregon until 1896, when it was reorganized into the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. The OR&N company was the core 643 miles of the OR&N. Its route eventually became the backbone of Union Pacific Railroad's mainline from Utah to the Pacific Northwest.
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Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.
Item: 27-O post 1910 UP/OWRR&N Co. merger key Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company's purchase of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company in 1880 gave it a partial route on the south (Oregon) side of the Columbia River. The company then pursued expansion of its Columbia River route, surveying from where the Oregon Steam Navigation tracks ended at Celilo and continuing east to Wallula. By 1882 the route along the Columbia River was complete.
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Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.
Item: 28-O post 1910 UP/OWRR&N Co. merger key Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
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P
Panama Railway
SOLD Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Forged by Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and patina. The Panama Railway
greatly contributed to the bldg. of the canal. A Commonwealth country
of the U.S., Panama hopes to one day become the 51st state in our Union.
History
The Panama Canal Railway (Spanish: Ferrocarril de Panama) is a railway line that runs parallel to the Panama Canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches 47.6 miles (76.6 km) across the Isthmus of Panama from Colon (Atlantic) to Balboa (Pacific, near Panama City). It is operated by Panama Canal Railway Company which is jointly owned by Kansas City Southern and Mi-Jack Products.
The Panama Canal Railway currently provides both freight and passenger service.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 3-P New switch key Listing Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was so named because it was established in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 4-P New switch key Listing Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Adlake forged?
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
By 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad had become the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. Its budget was second only to the U.S. government. The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 consecutive years.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 5-P New switch key Listing Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. A&W forged?
Nice block lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
In 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad absorbed its rival New York Central Railroad and the railroad eventually went by the name of Penn Central Transportation Company, or "Penn Central" for short, the railroad filed for bankruptcy within two years.
Bankruptcy continued and on April 1, 1976, the railroad gave up its railroad assets, along with the assets of several other failing northeastern railroads, to a new railroad named Consolidated Rail Corporation, or Conrail for short. Conrail was itself purchased and split up in 1999 with 58 percent of the system going to the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), including nearly all of the remaining former Pennsylvania Railroad. US passenger carrier Amtrak received the electrified segment of the Main Line east of Harrisburg.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 6-P car key Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Forged by the Stewart & Mattson Co.
Excellent stamp marks and gold patina.
A beauty!
History - continued from above
In 1847, the Pennsy's directors chose J. Edgar Thomson, an engineer from the Georgia Railroad, to survey and construct the line. He chose a route that followed the west bank of the Susquehanna River northward to the confluence with the Juniata River, following its banks until the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains were reached at a point that would become Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Early in the 20th century the PRR tried electric power for its trains. First was the New York terminal area, where tunnels and a city law restricting the burning of coal precluded steam locomotives. There a direct current (DC) 650-volt third rail powered PRR locomotives (and LIRR passenger cars). The system was put into service in 1910.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 7-P car key Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's. Forged by the Stewart & Mattson Co.?
Same style Pennsy key as above. Nice!
History - continued from above
On June 15, 1887, the Pennsylvania Limited began running between New York and Chicago. This was also the introduction of the vestibule, an enclosed platform at the end of each passenger car, allowing protected access to the entire train. In 1902 the Pennsylvania Limited was replaced by the Pennsylvania Special which in turn was replaced in 1912 by the Broadway Limited which became the most famous train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. This train ran from New York City to Chicago, via Philadelphia, with an additional section between Harrisburg and Washington (later operated as a separate Washington–Chicago train, the Liberty Limited).
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 8-P knobby car key Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by Fraim/Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif lettering and dark patina.
History - continued from above
After Conrail was divided between the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation, most of the former Pennsy's remaining trackage went to Norfolk Southern. Ironically, after 1976, the railroad eventually became an insurance company and now goes by the name of American Premier Underwriters and is now a subsidiary of American Financial Group.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 9-P knobby car key Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Item of Interest
The Second Vice-President of the PRR, John Borland Thayer, is lost in the sinking of RMS Titanic (1912) at age of 49.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 10-P knobby car key Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. F/S forged?
Great serif lettering and gold patina.
An interesting key
At first, I didn't think too much about this certain Pennsy key. After all, I think we've all seen double stamped keys before. Upon a closer look, viewing the key with 10x magnification, what I believed to be a "P" is actually a pocket worn "B." The person who once owned this key, was most likely an engineer. The reason I state this; before merging with an outside union, the engineer's nationwide union was known as the "BLE, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. This thought leaves me to speculate, that a certain Pennsy Superintendent could have placed an order for the stamped BLE logo keys. The serif stamp marks look too good to have been engraved by an outsider. I'm thinking along the lines of a gratuity (for safety?), for his train yard's engineers. The Norfolk & Western / Norfolk Southern, were periodically handing out (and still is), memorabilia trinkets for safety, as well as the other big Carrier's. A great conversation piece. Any other thoughts on this key are welcome.
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Penna Co.
Item: 12-P "S" type key for Penna brass switch locks Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Nice (A&W) hex stamp oldie!
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 13-P Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
Same style key as above but not as old.
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Pennsylvania Railroad
Item: 14-P "C" type key for Penna brass car locks Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Nice Pennsy oldie!
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Penna Co
aka "the Pennsylvania Railroad"
Item: 15-P "C" type key for Penna brass car locks Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb serif lettering dark patina.
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Penna Co.
Item: 16-P "C" type key for Penna brass car locks Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and bright gold patina.
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Penna System
Item: 17-P locomotive cab key Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and bright gold patina.
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Pennsylvania/New York Central Railroad
Item: 18-P PRR-NYC post merger key Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Double stamped key.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
Nice commemorative for Pennsy collectors!
History
The merger formally closed on February 1, 1968. On that date, the PRR, the nominal survivor of the merger, changed its name to Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company. It shortened its name to Penn Central Company on May 8, 1968. On October 1, 1969, Penn Central reorganized as a holding company, with its railroad interests under a wholly owned subsidiary, Penn Central Transportation Company
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Pennsylvania Midland Railway
Item: 21-P Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
A rare 1!
History
After the panic of 1863 subsided, the New York and Scranton Construction Company was founded by entrepreneurs from both of those cities to create rail routes from New York to the coal-rich Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Coal was the fuel of the industrial revolution and it needed to be transported from the Pennsylvania mines to New York City and beyond. At least four railroads were chartered to build inland routes. On June 12, 1881, a meeting took place in Jersey City in which the stockholders of the following six railroads; New Jersey Midland Railway, Paterson Extension Railway, Midland Connecting Railway, Northern Jersey Railway, Water Gap Railroad and Pennsylvania Midland Railway agreed to consolidate under the name "New York-Susquehanna & Western Railroad Company."
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Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
Item: 23-P aka the Panhandle Railroad Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Elongated barrel.
Nice block lettering and carmel patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, which began at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crossed the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, and continued west to Bradford, Ohio, where it split into a northern line to Chicago and a southern one through Indianapolis, Indiana, to East St. Louis, Illinois.
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Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad
Item: 25-P Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Adlake forged.
Nice block lettering and patina.
History
The Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad Company began life on July 21, 1903 as the Brookville & Mahoning Railroad, leased by the Pittsburg-Shawmut & Northern Railroad. When the PS&N declared bankruptcy in 1905, the B&M was spun off into a separate entity and was renamed in 1909 due to confusion with the Boston & Maine Railroad's initials. Like its parent, the P&S was also financially troubled in its early years. The company struggled until corporate fortunes improved with the war mobilization of the 1940s. Coal was the principle commodity for the line for its entire existence. Doodlebugs and passenger trains ran on the route in the early years but had all been eliminated by 1939.
The company acquired a ten mile section of Conrail track running from Sligo to Lawsonham in 1989 and reorganized it as the Red Bank Railroad. On December 31, 1991 the company purchased about 110 miles of "low grade secondary" track from Lawsonham to Driftwood, Pennsylvania from Conrail and organized it as the Mountain Laurel Railroad.
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Panhandle Railroad
Item: 27-P aka the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Chicago & St. Louis R.R. Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Adlake forged?
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Columbus-Chicago & Indiana Central Railway went bankrupt and was sold at foreclosure on January 10, 1883. The Chicago-St. Louis & Pittsburgh Railroad was incorporated in Indiana on March 14 and Illinois on March 15, and the former CC&IC was conveyed to the two companies on March 17. Operation by the PC&StL continued until April 1, 1883. On April 1, 1884, the two companies merged to form one Chicago-St. Louis & Pittsburgh Railroad. That company was merged with the PC&StL, Cincinnati & Richmond Railroad and Jeffersonville-Madison & Indianapolis Railroad on September 30, 1890, to form the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Chicago & St. Louis Railway (PCC&StL).
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Penn Central Railroad
Item: 29-P former Pennsy key bit style Price: $65.00
Remarks: Operated 1968-1976. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Class I railroad headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1968 until 1976. It was created by the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. The New York-New Haven & Hartford Railroad was added to the merger in 1969; by 1970, the company had filed for what was, at that time, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
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Penn Central Railroad
Item: 30-P former NYC key bit style Price: $50.00
Remarks: Operated 1968-1976. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
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Penn Central Railroad
Item: 31-P former NYC key bit style Price: $45.00
Remarks: Operated 1968-1976. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
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Penn Central Railroad
Item: 32-P former NYC repair track key bit style Price: $45.00
Remarks: Operated 1968-1976. Adlake forged.
Same style bit as a AT&SF derail key
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Pacific Coast Railroad (Seattle)
Item: 34-P Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Fraim forged.
Superb block lettering and patina. Started out as
a narrow gauge line. Merged into Great Northern in 1951.
Key is listed in the "American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The carrier was incorporated November 26, 1880, under the general laws of the Territory (now State) of Washington, as The Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad Company, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad from Seattle to Walla Walla, Wash., and to purchase and operate the property of the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad Company, On March 20, 1916, under the general laws of the State of Washington, the name of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad Company was changed to the Pacific Coast Railroad Company. The date of organization of the carrier was November 27, 1880.
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Pacific Great Eastern Railway
Item: 36-P Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Adlake forged.
Great block lettering and gold patina.
History
British Columbia's largest railroad and Canada's third largest was the Pacific Great Eastern Railway of the early 20th century. The system languished for years as an incomplete, money-losing operation with a few hundred miles in service north of Vancouver. This changed after World War II when government funding helped expand the PGE by several hundred miles and it continued to grow throughout the 1980s. By then the railroad was renamed as the British Columbia Railway and efforts were in place to extend it to the Alaskan border, finally allowing that state to connect with the North American rail network. This proposal would ultimately fall through due to rising costs. Later, the BC Rail system disappeared into Canadian National, which now leases the entire railroad from the local government.
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Pacific Electric Railway
Item: 38-P Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History
Pacific Electric, also known as the Red Car system, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars and buses. The PE was the largest electric railway system in the world in the 1920s. Organized around the city centers of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, it connected cities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County. The system shared dual gauge track with the 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge Los Angeles Railway, "Yellow Car", or "LARy" system on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles (directly in front of the 6th and Main terminal), on 4th Street, and along Hawthorne Boulevard south of downtown Los Angeles toward the cities of Hawthorne, Gardena and Torrance.
Following these acquisitions, PE was the largest operator of interurban electric railway passenger service in the world, with 2,160 daily trains over 1,000 miles of track. It operated to many destinations in Southern California, particularly to the south and east.
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Pacific Electric Railway
Item: 39-P New Listing Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Fraim forged.
Nice block lettering and two-tone patina.
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Pensacola Electric Company
Item: 41-P Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the M.M. Buck Co.
Tapered barrel, superb serif lettering and gold patina.
Florida trolley line.
History
The streetcar system in Pensacola can be traced to Conrad Kupfrian, a German immigrant who was reportedly inspired by the horsecars he saw in St. Louis on a business trip. He formed a partnership, the Pensacola Streetcar Company, with Henry Pfeiffer and John Cosgrove. The men raised $50,000 in capital for the project and, on November 15, 1882, convinced the Pensacola City Council to pass an ordinance allowing steel track to be placed in the roadways.
An economic downturn affected the streetcar company in 1897. It was reorganized again as the Pensacola Electric Terminal Railway Company, with Captain William H. Northrup as president. During the course of it's operation, the PE had exchanged owners a few times. The PE was plagued by union strikes, segregation problems and later, the automoblie. At its peak, a total of 30 trolley cars carried four million passengers per year (1920). Partially covered tracks and barely concealed right-of way are clearly visible in various places along the former routes, including on West Gadsden Street, West DeSoto Street, and East Jackson Street.
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Peoria Railway Terminal
Item: 43-P Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Peoria short line.
Rustic serif lettering and patina. Owned by the Rock Island,
Chicago & Alton and Peoria & Pekin Union Railroads.
History
The Peoria Terminal was incorporated January 18, 1926, under the general laws of Illinois, to acquire the property of the Peoria Terminal Railway Company.
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Peoria Railway Terminal
Item: 45-P Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Peoria short line.
Rustic serif lettering and patina. Owned by the Rock Island,
Chicago & Alton and Peoria & Pekin Union Railroads.
History
The Peoria Terminal owns and uses 20.905 miles of all tracks and uses but does not own 8.725 miles of all tracks. It also owns jointly with the Peoria and Pekin Union Railway Company, 0.243 undivided mile of yard tracks and sidings at Bartonville, Ill. In addition, the Peoria Terminal has trackage rights over about 1.39 miles of road owned by other carriers at Pekin and Peoria, Illinois.
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Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co
Item: 46-P Price: $100.00
Remarks: Incorporated in 1902. Phily's 1st electric trolley line.
Superb block lettering and bronze patina.
History
At the turn of the last century, the privately formed Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company contracted with the city to build and operate the electrified Market Street Elevated ("The El"), with a component designated for West Philadelphia. In 1907, the PRT and the city negotiated a contract giving PRT management of all transit lines and their construction. This contract secured PRT's monopoly and provided the city with regulatory authority and profit-sharing in the operation of the rapid transit system.
In 1940, PRT was officially reorganized into Philadelphia Transportation Company. The old company union was long gone by the mid 1940s, and employees were organized by the Teamsters and the Transit Workers Union. Control of the city's transit lines passed to National City Lines in the 1950s, which was then consolodated into SEPTA in 1968.
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Pickens Railroad
Item: 48-P Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Adlake forged?
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
South Carolina short line. Key is listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The Pickens Railroad is a shortline railroad that operates in the South Carolina Upstate region for more than a century, beginning in the 1890s.
The train became known as the Doodle train because there was no way to turn the engine between runs on the eight-mile route and it returned to Pickens backward, looking like a doodle bug
In the early 1990s NRUC became Emergent Group and sold the railroad to CLC-Chattahoochee Locomotive Corp., which renamed the railroad Pickens Railway Company, according to the Federal Register, 1 May 1996. On April 2, 2013, Pickens Railway pulled the last train to Easley because of lack of business. The final run was pulled by Pickens No.9502 and CLCX No.12132. The last train ended an era of over 100 years of running to Easley.
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Pine Creek Railroad
Item: 49-P Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Narrow gauge switch key.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
The origins of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation began with the purchase of a Baldwin 0-4-0T engine from the Raritan River Sand Company in 1952 by a pair of railroad enthusiasts. This first engine was named the Pine Creek No. 1 and was eventually sold to the Walt Disney company, where it was overhauled and renamed the No.4 Ernest S. Marsh. The engine is still in use today at the California theme park.
Initially a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) plot of land on Route 9 in Marlboro was purchased where the railroad was run as a tourist attraction, but in 1952 when the organization was facing large property tax increases the not-for-profit Pine Creek Railroad Division of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation was formed and the operations were moved to its present day location in Allaire State Park.
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Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad
Item: 51-P Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE), also known as the "Little Giant," was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, Pennsylvania to the east. It did not reach Lake Erie (at Ashtabula, Ohio) until the formation of Conrail in 1976. The P&LE was known as the "Little Giant" since the tonnage that it moved was out of proportion to its route mileage. While it operated around one tenth of one percent of the nation's railroad miles, it hauled around one percent of its tonnage. This was largely because the P&LE served the steel mills of the greater Pittsburgh area, which consumed and shipped vast amounts of material. It was a specialized railroad deriving much of its revenue from coal, coke, iron ore, limestone, and steel. The eventual closure of the steel mills led to the end of the P&LE as an independent line in 1992.
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Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad
Item: 52-P Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Slaymaker forged.
Nice serif lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The P&LE was known as the "Little Giant" since the tonnage that it moved was out of proportion to its route mileage. While it operated around one tenth of one percent of the nation's railroad miles, it hauled around one percent of its tonnage. This was largely because the P&LE served the steel mills of the greater Pittsburgh area, which consumed and shipped vast amounts of material. It was a specialized railroad deriving much of its revenue from coal, coke, iron ore, limestone, and steel. The eventual closure of the steel mills led to the end of the P&LE as an independent line in 1992.
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Pittsburgh Joint Stockyards Co.
Item: 54-P Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Elongated barrel.
Superb serif lettering and patina. A rarity!
Joint venture between the B&O and Pennsy railroads.
History
The first stockyards were built on Herr's Island by Pittsburgh tanner James Callery in 1885. Between 1903 and the 1950s the island, located in the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh, was the America's tenth largest livestock terminal and the second largest east of the Mississippi in terms of the volume of cattle, pigs, and sheep processed. Two of the island's principal tenants, the Pittsburgh Joint Stock Yards and the Pittsburgh Provision Company, not only held animals bound for Pittsburgh slaughterhouses but also put on livestock shows and auctions on the island. The stockyards closed in the summer of 1965 and were replaced by homes, tennis courts, office buildings, and rowing clubs on the renamed Washington's Landing Development.
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Pittsburgh-Lisbon & Western Railroad
Item: 56-P Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Elongated barrel.
Nice block lettering and rustic patina.
History
The Pittsburgh-Lisbon & Western Railroad was a short line that worked under the Youngstown & Southern Railroad until January 1, 1945 when it was absorbed into the smaller line.
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Pittsburgh-Lisbon & Western Railroad
Item: 57-P Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Elongated barrel.
Nice block lettering and dark patina.
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Pittsburgh-Shawmut & Northern Railroad
Item: 59-P Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the J.W. Climax Co.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
Handsome double accent barrel rings.
History
The Pittsburg-Shawmut & Northern Railroad (reporting mark PSN) also known as the Shawmut Line, was a Class I railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central Pennsylvania and western New York. The line was financially troubled for its entire life span and declared bankruptcy after just six years of operation. It would spend the remaining 42 year of its existence in receivership or trusteeship, one of the longest bankruptcy proceedings in American railroading history.
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Pittsburgh-Shawmut & Northern Railroad
Item: 60-P Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the J.W. Climax Co.
Excellent serif lettering and gold patina.
Handsome double accent barrel rings.
History - continued from above
The PS&N Railroad began life on August 2, 1899, as the merger of five small railroads in New York and Pennsylvania. 60 miles of what ultimately became the PS&N were originally 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge lines, though by the time of the PS&N's incorporation only 18 miles remained as narrow gauge. PS&N operations ended effective April 1, 1947. Portions of the line serving Olean, Brandy Camp, and Farmers Valley were acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Farmers Valley portion is today owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway and operated by the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad.
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Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway
Item: 62-P Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Excellent block lettering and patina.
A short lived line. Very early issue.
History
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line was cut loose.
The railroad was leased in 1964 to NSC, formerly Norfolk and Western Railway Company, by the Company's predecessor for 99 years with the right of unlimited renewal for additional 99-year period under the same terms and conditions, including annual rent payments. The lease provides that NSC at its own expense and without deduction from the rent, will maintain, manage and operate the leased property and make such improvements thereto as it considers desirable. Such improvements made by NSC become the property of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railroad, and the cost thereof constitutes a recorded indebtedness of the Company to NSC.
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Pere Marquette Railroad
Item: 64-P Price: $85.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering and dark patina.
History
The Pere Marquette Railroad was incorporated on November 1, 1899 in anticipation of a merger of three Michigan-based railroad companies that had been agreed upon by all parties. It began operations on January 1, 1900, absorbing the following companies: Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western Railroad (DGR&W)
Chicago & West Michigan Railway (C&WM).
The company was reincorporated on March 12, 1917 as the Pere Marquette Railway. In the 1920s the Pere Marquette came under the control of Cleveland financiers Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen. These brothers also controlled the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate), the Erie Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and planned to merge the four companies. However, the ICC did not approve the merger and the Van Sweringens eventually sold their interest in the Pere Marquette to the C&O, with which it formally merged on June 6, 1947. The C&O has since become part of CSX Transportation.
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Pomeroy & Newark Railroad
Item: 65-P Price: $215.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800's-very early 1900's.
Superb serif lettering and patina. Pennsy predecessor.
History
The Pomeroy & Newark Railroad was a predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania. It connected Pomeroy, Pennsylvania to Newark, Delaware, and has mostly been abandoned.
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Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad
Item: 67-P Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering. Great gold patina.
This key stamped "RR" + key below stamped "RY" = nice set.
History
The Peoria & Pekin Union Railway (PPU) is a switching and terminal railroad in Illinois that began operating in 1881 and was leased to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad in 2004. Its main yard and roundhouse are in East Peoria, Illinois, and it owns track on both sides of the Illinois River. The company also owns a rail bridge over the river.
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Peoria & Pekin Union Railway
Item: 68-P Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Excellent block lettering and two-tone patina. This key
stamped "RY" + key above stamped "RR" = nice set.
History - continued from above
By 1944, the P&PU was switching 14 major railways that ran into Peoria, an unusually high number of railways for a city the size of Peoria. The P&PU currently switches trains for 8 other railways, handles over 170,000 cars per year, and is owned jointly by the Canadian National Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad.
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Peoria & Pekin Union Railway
Item: 69-P Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
A nice 1!
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Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Item: 71-P Price: $60.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Large hilt.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P&R) was one of the first railroads constructed in the United States, chartered in 1833. It opened in 1842 from Philadelphia along the Schuylkill River through Reading and Pottsville, Pennsylvania, having the distinction of being the first double track main line in the country. The purpose of the railroad was to carry anthracite coal from the mines in northeastern Pennsylvania's coal region to Philadelphia.
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Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Item: 72-P Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. A shorty.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History - continued from above
In the reorganization of 1896 the railroad and the coal company both became properties of the Reading Company (RDG), a holding company. In 1898 the RDG leased the Wilmington & Northern Railroad, a line from Reading to Wilmington, Delaware, and in 1901 the RDG acquired control of the CNJ. At that same time the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) purchased a controlling interest in the RDG.
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Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Item: 73-P Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the A&W Co.
Attractive block lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
During the 1890s, to ward off government efforts to break up monopolies, the P & R's owners created a new holding company named Reading Company, to own on paper, the P & R Railroad and P & R Coal and Iron Co. Finally, a Supreme Court ruling forced a complete separation of the P & R entities. On January 1, 1924, the P & R Coal and Iron Co. became independent, and Reading Company became the railroad's operating name.
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Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Item: 74-P Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
History - continued from above
After World War II as America began to turn away from coal as its major fuel, The Reading's fate began to turn as well. Dragged down by the failure of surrounding lines on which it depended for traffic to offset the loss of the coal business, The Reading entered bankruptcy in 1971. Its operations were taken over as part of the federally financed CONRAIL, on April 1, 1976.
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Philadelphia & Reading Railroad
Item: 75-P Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900's. Fraim forged?
Superb serif lettering and patina.
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Pickering Valley Railroad
Item: 77-P Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The Pickering Valley Railroad was a short line railroad in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It ran from Phoenixville to Byers, near Eagle, in Upper Uwchlan Township, a distance of approximately 11 miles (18 km), over which distance it gained 316 feet (96 m) in elevation. The company was incorporated June 4, 1869, under the provisions of a special act of the Pennsylvania government approved April 3, 1869, and organized June 22, 1869, with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company subscribing to the bulk of the stock. In or about 1870, the still-unbuilt railroad was leased to the Reading Railroad; it opened in September 1871.
Passenger service on the Pickering Valley was discontinued in 1934, and the portion of the line from Kimberton to Byers was abandoned in 1948. The remaining track served the Phoenix steel mill (a portion was also briefly used by the Valley Forge Scenic Railroad until abandoned by Conrail (successor to the Reading) in the 1980s. Little remains of the line today.
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Port Terminal Railroad Association
Item: 78-P Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Nice serif lettering and patina.
History
PTRA is an association formed in 1924 by the 18 railroads that had access to Houston at the time. UP and BNSF are now the voting members of the Board of Directors that actually control the PTRA. Non-voting members are the PTRA and the Port of Houston.
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Pennsylvania Railroad (Portugal)
Item: 80-P New Pennsy switch key Listing Price: $60.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Collectors all agree
Portugal stamped switch keys, were made
in the country of Portugal for the Pennsy.
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(New Orleans) Public Belt Railroad Co.
SOLD New Listing Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900's. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering and gold patina.
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.
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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 01/20/2020
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