R
Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 1-R Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Fraim forged.
Nice block lettering and patina. This key has
different style bit and a wider barrel opening than
Reading keys below.
History
The Reading Company, usually called the Reading Railroad, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states. Until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States. Reduced coal traffic coupled with highway competition and short hauls forced it into bankruptcy in the 1970s. The railroad was merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, disposing of real estate holdings.
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Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 2-R Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Elongated barrel. Superb block lettering and patina.
Standard Reading switch key. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History - continued from above
Commonly called the Reading Railroad and logotyped as Reading Lines, the Reading Company was a railroad holding company for the majority of its existence and was a (single) railroad during its later years. It was a successor to the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company founded in 1833. Until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States.
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Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 3-R Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Elongated barrel. Superb serif lettering
and carmel patina. A nice 1!
History - continued from above
Competition with the modern trucking industry that used the Interstate highway system for short distance transportation of goods, also known as short hauls, compounded the company's problems, forcing it into bankruptcy in the 1970s.
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Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 4-R Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Fraim forged.
Superb block lettering and dark patina.
"G" and "H" series keys listed below.
History - continued from above
The Reading Company did not operate extensive long distance passenger train service, but it did field a number of named trains, most famous of which was the streamlined Crusader, which connected Philadelphia and Jersey City.
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Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 5-R Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Fraim forged?
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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Reading Co. Railroad
Item: 6-R Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Fraim forged?
Nice block lettering and patina.
"G" and "F" series keys listed above.
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Raleigh & Gaston Railroad
Item: 8-R Price: $275.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1800s. North Carolina line.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History
The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad was a Raleigh, North Carolina-based railroad opened in April 1840 between Raleigh and the town of Gaston, North Carolina, on the Roanoke River. It was North Carolina's second railroad (the Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad opened one month earlier). The length was 100 miles (160 km) and built with 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) gauge
The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900, eventually becoming part of CSX Transportation. The Raleigh & Gaston's tracks now make up part of CSX's - S Line; the Norlina Subdivision of CSX's Florence Division.
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River Terminal Railway
Item: 10-R Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Nice block lettering and patina.
This Cleveland "Belt Line" was Chartered in 1909.
History
The River Terminal Railway Co., a class I "switching" or "Belt line," has been a vital link between Cuyahoga River Valley industries and the main-line railroads into Cleveland. The railway was incorporated in 1909 as a subsidiary of the Corrigan-McKinney Steel Co. to service 2 small blast furnaces on the west side of the Cuyahoga river. When Corrigan-McKinney became part of Republic Steel Corp. in 1935, the River Terminal Railway became a subsidiary of that company, with 1.5 mi. of main track connecting Republic's 2 open hearth blast furnaces on east side of the river. It continued to add sidings, locomotives, and freight cars to pick up iron ore from Republic's docks and move it to interchange points with other railroads, which then delivered it to plants in Warren and Youngstown. From these interchange points the railway would transport coal back to the mills. By 1972 it was moving 120 carloads of coal a day and 1.5 million tons of iron ore, as well as molten steel and finished products from one section of Republic's plant to another. The belt line also served chemical plants and other industries along the Cuyahoga River.
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Rochester-Lockport & Buffalo Railroad
Item: 12-R Price: $165.00
Remarks: Operated 1909-31.
Forged by the J.W. Climax Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
Nice N.Y. trolley key!
History
The Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad was an electric interurban railway that was constructed between Rochester, New York, and Lockport, New York, connecting to the International Railway Co. at Lockport for service into Buffalo. Opened in 1909 as the Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway, the route followed the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad's Falls Road branch for most of its length. For a brief period of time, the railway was part of the Beebe Syndicate of affiliated interurban railways stretching from Syracuse to Buffalo. Entering receivership in 1917, it was reorganized as the Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad in 1919. After years of struggling with declining revenue during the Depression years, the railway's last day of service was April 30, 1931.
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Rome-Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad
Item: 14-R Price: $275.00
Remarks: Operated 1842-91.
Forged by one of the foremost
lockmaster's T. Slaight. Nice pocket worn
serif lettering and gold patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Given the moniker, "Rotten Wood & Old Rusty Rails."
History
The Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) began in 1842 as the Watertown & Rome Railroad (W&R) to link Watertown with Rome, New York on the Syracuse & Utica Railroad, later consolidated as part of the New York Central Railroad (NYC). The Potsdam & Watertown Railroad was formed at this time to link Watertown with Potsdam, New York in St. Lawrence County. In 1861 these two railroads merged as the RW&O.
By 1878 the RW&O had been merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). DL&W built the Ontario Secondary in 1882 (Beebee line) from Charlotte, New York (where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario) to Rochester, New York. By 1891 RW&O became a subsidiary of NYC. On April 12, 1913 the RW&O was formally merged into the NYC.
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Rutland Railroad
Item: 16-R Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
After World War II the decline continued; many branches were closed down. In 1950 the company was reorganized as the Rutland Railway. The year 1953 brought three weeks of employee strike action, which killed off the remaining passenger service on the line.
In 1961 after further strikes the railroad apparently decided it was no longer viable and applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission for complete abandonment. This was approved, and the railroad closed down on May 20, 1963. The strike was brought on by the employees' unwillingness to accept changes that would have moved the center of operations from Rutland to Burlington, requiring them to relocate from Rutland to Burlington. A few years later the national unions agreed to nationwide job changes that allowed this type of change.
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S
Sacramento Northern Railway
Item: 4-S Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Adlake forged?
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
Key listed in the "American Railway's
Switch Key Directory."A rare !1
History
The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was an 183-mile electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland, Sacramento, Yuba City, Chico, and Woodland and ran passenger service until 1941 and freight service into the 1960s.
Both Northern Electric and the Oakland and Antioch line went through a number of corporate reorganizations and name changes. Western Pacific Railroad bought both interurban lines and merged them into the Sacramento Northern Railway at the end of 1928.
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Sand Springs Railway Co.
Item: 7-S Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Eagle Lock Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
Oakie 32 mile short line.
History
The Sand Springs Railway (SS) is a class III railroad operating in Oklahoma. It began in 1911 as an interurban railway providing passenger service between Tulsa and Sand Springs. It soon developed a freight hauling business between the two cities. Passenger service was discontinued January 5, 1955, but the railroad has continued to operate until the present. On May 28, 2014, it was announced that the railroad would be acquired by OmniTRAX, with operations commencing no later than July 31, 2014. It provides freight rail service between Sand Springs and Tulsa over a 32 mile route. The company primarily hauls steel, pulp, scrap iron, scrap paper, petroleum products, plastic, and lumber. It interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway and the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.
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Sandy River Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $425.00
Remarks: Operated 1879-1908. Very rare
Maine narrow gauge line. Superb serif
lettering and patina.
One of a few keys in exsistence.
History
The Sandy River Railroad was a 2 foot narrow gauge railway built to serve the towns of Strong and Phillips in the Sandy River valley upstream of Farmington. The Sandy River Railroad was the first narrow gauge common carrier railroad built in the State of Maine.
Sandy River management began purchasing defaulted bonds of the P&R and its subsidiary Madrid Railroad and Eustis Railroad; and put the P&R into receivership in 1905. Sandy River management then forced auction of the properties to satisfy the defaulted bonds, purchased the P&R and Madrid Railroad at that auction, and merged them with the F&M and Sandy River as the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in 1908. The Eustis Railroad was leased until it joined the merger in 1911.
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Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $425.00
Remarks: Operated 1908-1935.
Slaymaker forged. Very rare Maine
narrow gauge line key. Nice serif
lettering and dark patina.
One of a few keys in exsistence.
History
The Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR&RL) was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge common carrier railroad that operated approximately 112 miles (180 km) of track in Franklin County, Maine. Former equipment from the SR&RL continues to operate in the present day on a revived, short segment of the railway in Phillips, Maine.
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San Pedro-Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad
Item: 10-S Price: $265.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
A rare 1!
History
The San Pedro-Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, the first direct route from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles when it was completed in 1905, was perhaps the single most significant factor in the creation of what would become the city of Las Vegas, and later, Clark County.
Incorporated in Utah in 1901 as the San Pedro-Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, the line was largely the brainchild of William Andrews Clark, a Montana mining baron and United States Senator. Clark enlisted the help of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, mining magnate and newspaper man, to ensure the success of the line through Utah. Construction of the railroad's main line was completed in 1905. Company shareholders adopted the LA&SL name in 1916. The railway was also known by its official nickname, "The Salt Lake Route," and was sometimes informally referred to as "The Clark Road." The tracks are still in use by the modern Union Pacific Railroad, as the Caliente and Lynndyl subdivisions.
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Santa Fe Railroad
Item: 11-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Excellent deep stamp marks!
A&W football style stamp = 2nd series.
History
The Atchison-Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.
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Santa Fe Railroad
Item: 12-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and carmel patina.
A&W football style stamp = 2nd series.
History - continued from above
AT&SF reached Albuquerque in 1880; Santa Fe, the original destination of the railroad, found itself on a short branch from Lamy, New Mexico. In March 1881 AT&SF connected with the Southern Pacific (SP) at Deming, New Mexico, forming the second transcontinental rail route. The railroad then built southwest from Benson, Arizona, to Nogales on the Mexican border where it connected with the Sonora Railway, which the AT&SF had built north from the Mexican port of Guaymas.
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Santa Fe Route
Item: 13-S Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Santa Fe began to expand: a line from Barstow, California, to San Diego in 1885 and to Los Angeles in 1887; control of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway (Galveston-Fort Worth-Purcell) in 1886 and a line between Wichita and Fort Worth in 1887; lines from Kansas City to Chicago, from Kiowa, Kansas to Amarillo, and from Pueblo to Denver (paralleling the D&RGW) in 1888; and purchase of the Frisco and the Colorado Midland Railway in 1890. By January 1890, the entire system consisted of some 7,500 miles of track.
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Santa Fe Route
Item: 14-S Price: $150.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and bronze patina.
History - continued from above
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight service, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean.
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Santa Fe Route
Item: 15-S Price: $150.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s.
A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb bold lettering and patina.
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Santa Fe Railroad
Item: 16-S Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and patina.
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Santa Fe Railroad
Item: 17-S Price: $245.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s.
Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
A rare 1!
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Savannah & Atlantic Railway
Item: 18-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Ex-fine pocket wear and great carmel patina. Key listed
in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
Popularly referred to as the “Tybee Branch” or “Tybee Railroad,” the Savannah and Atlantic Railroad was built in 1887, extending from Savannah to the main part of Tybee Island, a distance of 17.7 miles.
On July 16, 1917, the Savannah and Atlanta bought the Savannah and Northwestern, and thereafter the entire line of 141 miles became the Savannah and Atlanta.
In 1921, the line was thrown into receivership, and in 1929 was bought by Robert M. Nelson. Mr. Nelson sold it to the Central in 1951 for $3,500,000.
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Savannah & Atlantic Railway
Item: 19-S New Listing Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great block lettering and patina. A popular
southern railroad S&A keys rarely circulate!
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Salt Lake-Garfield & Western Railway
Item: 20-S Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Adlake forged?
Superb block lettering and patina.
History
The Salt Lake-Garfield & Western Railway (SLGW), nicknamed through most of its history as The Saltair Route, is a short line railroad located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally incorporated as a dual passenger and freight ailroad, it now provides freight-only railcar switching services to industries in Salt Lake City along its sixteen miles of track.
The SLG&W was incorporated on September 6, 1891 as the Saltair Railway, with the express purpose of tapping the tourist market visiting the Saltair Beach Resort on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. It was reorganized as the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railroad in April 1892, and renamed soon after the Salt Lake-Garfield & Western Railway. The line carried passengers to Saltair and freight to the mining area of Garfield, Utah including Morton Salt located on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. On June 8, 1893, the Saltair Resort was officially opened. Saltair was founded and owned originally by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but was later transferred to the railroad under the ownership of the Snow Family, and the railroad was sold to the Hogle family in the early 1960's.
The first diesel on the line was purchased in 1951, and was a GE 44-tonner. In July 1954 a head-on collision caused the railroad to lease a GE centercab diesel from U.S. Steel, and this unfortunate incident marked the end of electric operations on the SLG&W. The SLG&W continues to haul freight to this day along its 16 miles of track with additional sidings for railcar storage, transloading, railcar cleaning and other rail-related services.
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Susquehanna-Bloomsburg & Berwick Railroad
Item: 21-S Price: $225.00
Remarks: Operated 1902-1918. Fraim forged.
Superb serif lettering and carmel patina.
Also given the moniker, "Sweet By and By."
History
The SB&B Railroad or the Weak and Weary Railroad, which referred to the fact that it was not a financial success, was a railroad in northeastern Pennsylvania until 1918. The route ran from Watsontown, Pennsylvania to Berwick, Pennsylvania
The Susquehanna, Bloomsburg and Berwick began as the Wilkes-Barre and Western Railway, incorporated on June 22, 1886 to build from Watsontown to Shickshinny. It opened 22 miles of line from Watsontown to Millville in 1887, and in 1891, opened an additional 9 miles from Millville Junction, just south of Millville, to Orangeville. What remains of it is currently a subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Railroad (nee Conrail/PRR).
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Seaboard Airline Railway
Item: 22-S Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Excellent block lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL), which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900 until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia. The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted to luxury apartments.
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Seaboard Airline Railway
Item: 23-S New Listing Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged.
Excellent block lettering and carmel patina.
History - continued from above
In the days before air travel, air line was a common term for the shortest distance between two points: a straight line drawn through the air (or on a map), ignoring natural obstacles (i.e. "as the crow flies"). Hence, a number of 19th century railroads used air line in their titles to suggest that their routes were shorter than those of competing roads. The Seaboard never owned an airplane. In 1940 the railroad proposed the creation of "Seaboard Airlines" but this idea was struck down by the Interstate Commerce Commission as violating federal anti-trust legislation.
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Seaboard Coastline Railroad
Item: 24-S Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Post ACL/SAL merger key.
History
The Seaboard Coast Line emerged on July 1, 1967, following the merger of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The combined system totaled 9,809 miles (15,786 km), the eighth largest in the United States at the time. The railroad had $1.2 billion in assets and revenue with a 54% market share of rail service in the Southeast, facing competition primarily from the Southern.
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Seaboard Coastline Railroad
Item: 26-S Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
History - continued from above
Prior to the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the Seaboard Coast Line provided passenger service over much of its system, including local passenger trains on some lines. Local trains ended when the Amtrak era began. Although several named passenger trains survived through the Amtrak era, many were renamed or combined with other services.
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Seaboard Coastline Railroad
Item: 27-S Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and dark patina.
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Seattle-Renton & Southern Railway
SOLD Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s. Seattle interurban.
Attractive tapered ring barrel. Superb serif lettering
and patina. Over 100 years young - a real beauty!
History
The Seattle-Renton & Southern built King County's first true interurban railroad beginning in 1891, and spurred development of the then largely agricultural Rainier Valley. The line was begun by J. K. Edmiston and extended by W. J. Grambs, Frank Osgood (1852-1934), and W. R. Crawford. In 1912, its name was changed to the Seattle & Rainier Valley Railway. The line suffered from safety problems, lack of capital, and lax management. The City of Seattle attempted to buy it in 1914 and finally (in 1936) revoked its franchise. The last Renton inturban finished its run early on the morning of January 1, 1937. The rails were removed and paved over to widen Rainier Avenue S.
Ironically, hopes that the rail line would one day be extended farther south, perhaps to Puyallup, were never realized. This idea was the "southern" part of Seattle-Renton & Southern Railway.
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South Buffalo Railway
Item: 30-S Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged?
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
The South Buffalo Railway operates more than fifty miles of railway lines along the southeast shore of Lake Erie. South Buffalo connects to CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific, and Canadian National Railway.
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South Georgia Railway
Item: 33-S Price: $85.00
Remarks: SG chartered in 1897. Adlake forged?
Superb block lettering and gold patina. In 1971 the
SG merged with the Live Oak-Perry & Gulf R.R.
History
Incorporated in 1896, the South Georgia Railroad opened its 28-mile railroad between Heartpine and Quitman in March of 1897. A 23-mile extension from Quitman to Greenville, Florida, opened in October of 1901.
In 1971 the South Georgia merged with the Live Oak-Perry & Gulf Railroad to form the Live Oak-Perry & South Georgia Railway, running from Adel to Perry. It was owned and operated by Southern Railway.
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Southern Railroad
Item: 35-S eastern section key Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Rare Fraim forged key.
Superb serif lettering and patina. This key stamped
"RR" + key below stamped "RY" = nice set.
History
The Southern Railway (SOU) was a US class 1 railroad that was based in the Southern United States. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.
Southern Railway came into existence in 1894 through the combination of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the Richmond and Danville system and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad. The company owned two-thirds of the 4,400 miles of line it operated, and the rest was held through leases, operating agreements and stock ownership. Southern also controlled the Alabama Great Southern and the Georgia Southern and Florida, which operated separately, and it had an interest in the Central of Georgia. Additionally, the Southern Railway also agreed to lease the North Carolina Railroad Company, providing a critical connection from Virginia to the rest of the southeast via the Carolinas.
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Southern Railway
SOLD Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Superb stamp marks.
This key stamped "RY" + key above
stamped "RR = nice set.
History - continued from above
Known as the "First Railroad War," the Civil War left the South's railroads and economy devastated. Most of the railroads, however, were repaired, reorganized and operated again. In the area along the Ohio River and Mississippi River, construction of new railroads continued throughout Reconstruction. The Richmond and Danville System expanded throughout the South during this period, but was overextended, and came upon financial troubles in 1893, when control was lost to financier J.P. Morgan, who reorganized it into the Southern Railway System.
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Southern Railway
Item: 37-S Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Nice stamp marks!
History - continued from above
After the line from Meridian, Mississippi, to New Orleans, Louisiana was acquired in 1916 under Southern's president Fairfax Harrison, the railroad had assembled the 8,000-mile, 13-state system that lasted for almost half a century. Additionally, Southern have operated 6,791 miles of road at the end of 1925, but its flock of subsidiaries added 1000+ more.
In 1912, the Southern Railway leased most of its Bluemont, Virginia, branch to the newly formed Washington and Old Dominion Railway. In 1945, the Southern sold most of the remnant of the branch to the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, the successor to the Washington and Old Dominion Railway.
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Southern Railway
Item: 38-S signal box key Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. A rare 1!
History - continued from above
In response to the creation of the CSX Corporation in November 1980, the Southern Railway joined forces with the Norfolk and Western Railway and formed the Norfolk Southern Corporation in 1980 which began operations in 1982, further consolidating railroads in the eastern half of the United States.The Southern Railway was renamed Norfolk Southern Railway as the Norfolk and Western Railway became a subsidiary to its system on June 1, 1982. The railroad then acquired more than half of Conrail on June 1, 1999.
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South Omaha Terminal Railway Co.
Item: 41-S Price: $110.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Excellent serif lettering and gold patina.
116yr. old stockyard institution closed in 1999.
History
The South Omaha Terminal Railway, a subsidiary of the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, was a spur line established to serve the Omaha stockyards, which opened in the 1880s. It was transformed into the South Omaha Terminal Railway in the 1920s. Because of the Stockyards, by the 1880s Omaha was served by every major railroad in the country. Other railroads in the city included the Omaha Road, Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway, Omaha Southern Railroad, Kansas, Nebraska and Omaha Railway, Omaha and Republican Valley Railway, Omaha and South Western Railroad and Omaha, Abilene and Wichita Railway.
The South Omaha Terminal Railway in Omaha, Nebraska was a subsidiary of the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. Until the separate railroad company was created in July 1927, the trackage, about 17 miles (27 km), was owned and operated directly by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. On April 4, 1978, an Interstate Commerce Commission emergency service order was issued at which time the Brandon Corporation took over service.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 43-S Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and dark patina.
History
The Minneapolis-St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (reporting mark SOO) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest United States. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the Soo Line Railroad. As time passes, more and more Soo Line equipment is being repainted into the Canadian Pacific's current paint scheme, slowly erasing the Soo's identity as a subsidiary railroad.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 44-S Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Excellent serif lettering and superb gold patina.
History
The Minneapolis-St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (reporting mark SOO) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest United States. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the Soo Line Railroad. As time passes, more and more Soo Line equipment is being repainted into the Canadian Pacific's current paint scheme, slowly erasing the Soo's identity as a subsidiary railroad.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 45-S Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Adlake forged.
Great block lettering and superb gold patina.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 46-S Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s. KeLine forged.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 47-S m = post merger key Price: $40.00
Remarks: ca. late 1900s. KeLine forged.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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Soo Line Railroad
Item: 48-S New Listing Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Nice serif lettering and deep carmel patina.
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South Pacific Railroad
Item: 50-S Price: $175.00
Remarks: Chartered in 1868. Western relic.
Superb stamped initials and patina. Very early
forged key with a copper alloy mix. Purchased by the
A&P, followed by the A&P being absorbed by the Frisco.
History
The South Pacific was a subsidiary of the Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) Railroad, a congressionally chartered concern backed by a million potential acres in federal land grants. It put hundreds of men to work building a bridge across the Gasconade and converting track from broad to standard gauge.
The company reached Springfield in 1869 and the western boundary of Missouri by 1870, thereby meeting the requirements of the state’s charter. The A&P bought the South Pacific to make up the eastern division of a transcontinental railway to California.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 51-S CS-4 (switch) Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb stamped initials and patina.
A&W football style stamp = 2nd series.
Nice SP oldie!
History
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP), earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually called the Southern Pacific or (from the railroad's initials) Espee, was an American Class I railroad. It was absorbed in 1988 by the company that controlled the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Eight years later the SP became part of the Union Pacific Railroad.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 52-S New CS-4 (switch) Listing Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb stamped initials and patina.
A&W football style stamp = 2nd series.
History - continued from above
The railroad was founded as a land holding company in 1865, later acquiring the Central Pacific Railroad by lease. By 1900 the Southern Pacific Company was a major railroad system incorporating many smaller companies, such as the Texas & New Orleans Railroad and Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Railroad. It extended from New Orleans through Texas to El Paso, across New Mexico and through Tucson, to Los Angeles, through most of California, including San Francisco and Sacramento. Central Pacific lines extended east across Nevada to Ogden, Utah, and reached north through Oregon to Portland. Other subsidiaries eventually included the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt), the Northwestern Pacific Railroad at 328 miles, the 1,331 miles Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico, and a variety of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge routes.
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Southern Pacific Lines
Item: 53-S CS-4 (switch) Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
Well known were the Southern Pacific's unique "cab-forward" steam locomotives. These were 2-8-8-4 locomotives set up to run in reverse, with the tender attached to the smokebox end of the locomotive. Southern Pacific had a number of snow sheds in mountain terrain, and locomotive crews nearly asphyxiated from smoke in the cab. After a number of engineers began running their engines in reverse (pushing the tender), Southern Pacific asked Baldwin Locomotive Works to produce cab-forward designs. No other North American railroad ordered cab-forward locomotives.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 54-S CS-4 (switch) Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamped initials and patina.
History - continued from above
The Southern Pacific legacy founded hospitals in San Francisco, Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. In the 1970s, it also founded a telecommunications network with a state-of-the-art microwave and fiber optic backbone. This telecommunications network became part of Sprint, a company whose name came from the acronym for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 55-S CS-4 (switch) Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb box lettering and dark patina.
History - continued from above
Early diesel locomotives were also painted black. Yard switchers had diagonal orange stripes on the ends for visibility, earning this scheme the nickname of Tiger Stripe. Road freight units were black with a red band at the bottom of the car body and a silver and orange "winged" nose. "SOUTHERN PACIFIC" was in a large serif font in Lettering Gray (a very light gray). Railfans call this paint scheme Black Widow. An experimental scheme, all-over black with a variety of orange end and side sill treatments was called the Halloween scheme. Over 200 locomotives were so painted between March 1957 and mid-1958.
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Southern Pacific Railroad
SOLD CS-4 (switch) Price: $175.00
Remarks: Early Sacramento Shop forged SP key.
Legacy Central Pacific style make.
History - continued from above
Southern Pacific road switcher diesels often had elaborate lighting clusters front and rear, with a large red Mars Light for emergency signaling, and often two pairs of sealed-beam headlamps, one on top of the cab and the other below the Mars Light on the nose. Starting in the 1970s SP had cab air conditioning on all new locomotives and the unit is visible on the cab roof. Southern Pacific placed large snowplows on the pilots of their road switchers for the heavy snowfall on Donner Pass. Many Southern Pacific road switchers had a Nathan-AirChime model P3 or P5 air horn with chords distinct to Southern Pacific locomotives in the western states.
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Southern Pacific Lines
Item: 58-S CS-5 (switch) Price: $100.00
Remarks: Early 1800s Sacramento Shop forged SP key.
Legacy Central Pacific style make.
History - continued from above
There are many Southern Pacific locomotives still in revenue service with railroads such as the Union Pacific Railroad, and many older and special locomotives have been donated to parks and museums, or continue operating on scenic or tourist railroads. Most of the engines now in use with Union Pacific have been "patched," where the SP logo on the front is replaced by a Union Pacific shield, and new numbers are applied over the old numbers with a Union Pacific sticker, however some engines remain in Southern Pacific's "bloody nose" paint scheme.
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Southern Pacific Lines
Item: 59-S CS-5 (switch) Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering
and gold patina. Single serial #4
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 60-S CS-24 (road & bridge) Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
Nice R&B oldie!
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 61-S CS-24 (road & bridge) Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and patina. Nice R&B oldie!
Unique "C" stamp.
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< --- past & present --- >
Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 62-S CS-44 (MofW) Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 63-S CS-44 (MofW) Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering and gold patina.
Pocket worn #44 on front.
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 64-S New CS-44 (Special) Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
Key will work with this SP Special Lock
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Southern Pacific (Company) Railroad
Item: 65-S CS-47 (rip track) Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and patina.
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Southern Pacific Co.
Item: 66-S SP Co. (No.72) Price: $275.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina. Key listed
in the "American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Legacy bit style used during the Central Pacific days.
The SP No.72 stamp is the style and not the serial number.
A very rare SP key!
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Sodus Point & Southern Railroad
Item: 68-S Price: $375.00
Remarks: Chartered in 1852. Coal hauling line.
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Absorbed into the Pennsy. A rare 1!
History
Reorganized in 1875 with the Geneva-Hornellsville & Pine Creek Railroad. In 1882 became the Sodus Bay & Southern Railroad. In 1884 the Northern Central Railroad bought the Sodus Point & Southern Railroad, creating a land-water shipping route from Pennsylvania to Canada.
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Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railroad
SOLD Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and gold patina.
History
The Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S) was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River. Remnants of the line are currently operated by BNSF Railway.
The railroad was chartered in 1905 by James J. Hill to connect the two transcontinental railroads owned by him, the Northern Pacific (NP) and Great Northern (GN), to Portland, Oregon from Spokane, Washington, to gain a portion of the lumber trade in Oregon, a business then dominated by E.H. Harriman's Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. In January 1908 "Spokane" was added to the railroad's name, making it the Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railway.
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Spokane-Portland & Seattle Railroad
Item: 69-S Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great block lettering and gold patina.
Unique flaired hilt.
History - continued from above
During World War II the SP&S carried war materials to the Pacific Theatre; new industries located along the Columbia River, taking advantage of cheap electricity from hydroelectric dams on the river. New industries served by the SP&S included aluminum plants, sawmills, chemical factories and grain elevators.
In 1954 an SP&S train derailed after hitting a rockslide on the route to Bend, Oregon. Part of the train landed in the Deschutes River, including a boxcar, which landed in a rapid that was later named "Boxcar Rapids" after the incident, which killed all crew members.
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St. Louis-Brownsville & Mexico Railway
Item: 71-S New Listing Price: $165.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Very nice block lettering and gold patina.
Keys hardly circulate.
History
Nicknamed the "Brownie," the STLB&M was part of the Gulf Coast Lines. The Brownie connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.
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Stony Creek Railroad
Item: 72-S Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s. Once operated by the P&R.
Superb serif lettering and patina. Passenger station was located
at Markley and Main streets. Another rare beauty!
History
Information taken from Google Books dated 1901: The Stony Creek Railroad extended from Norristown to the borough of Lansdale, where it connected with the North Pennsylvania Railroad. At Norristown, by means of the Junction road, it connected with the Philadelphia-Germantown & Norristown Railroad, thus forming a continupus line from Philadelphia to Lansdale. All the roads mentioned were once operated by the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company. A facility for turning the engines was erected on the land of the Stony Creek Railroad Company. The turntable had been in use for upward of thirty years. The news document then stated, the Stony Creek Railroad petioned the state to build a track commencing at a point on their line opposite their turntable to connect with the siding of the Adam Scheidt Brewing Company.
The Stony Creek Railroad ran from Norristown to Lansdale (still used for freight). The primary attraction of this line was service to Merck, which lies right on it; with a busier Bethlehem Branch beyond Lansdale, it would also function as an express cutoff avoiding traffic snarls downstream (particularly in the busy two-track section between Jenkintown and Wayne Jct.).
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Strouds Creek & Muddlety Railroad
Item: 73-S Price: $100.00
Remarks: West Virginia short line chartered in 1905
Superb serif lettering and patina.
History
Located in southeastern West Virginia, the SC&M was incorporated on June 14, 1904, under general laws of West Virginia, for the purpose of building a railroad from Allingdale, in a general northwesterly direction, to Delphi, a distance of 8.437 miles. The carrier also owned 2.474 miles of yard tracks and sidings. Its road thus once embraced 10.911 miles of all tracks owned and used. In addition to its owned property, the carrier leased from The Birch Valley Lumber Company certain shop buildings located at Tioga, W. Va., one motor car and all of its equipment. The SC&M granted trackage rights to The Birch Valley Lumber Company for the operation of log trains between Tioga and Delphi, W. Va., a distance of about 2 miles. The SC&M once shared jointly with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company the latter's station facilities at Allingdale, W. Va. An industrial railroad, it was controlled by the Tioga Lumber Company. The road principally served as an outlet for the timber of The Birch Valley Lumber Company, a corporation which purchased the timber property formerly owned by the Tioga Lumber Company. Most if not all of the line was abandoned in the late 1900's.
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Strasburg Railroad
Item: 75-S Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Same style bit as a Cornwall key.
History
The Strasburg Rail Road is the oldest continuously operating railroad in the western hemisphere and the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rail Road continues to operate under its original charter and original name (Strasburg Rail Road Company).
The Strasburg Rail Road is also one of the few railroads in the United States to occasionally use steam locomotives to haul revenue freight trains.
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St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad
Item: 76-S Price: $245.00
Remarks: ca. 1800s. Stamped "1" = bit number.
Attractive tapered ring barrel. Superb serif lettering and patina.
Has the characteristics of a Slaymaker-Barry forged key.
Different style cut than key below.
History
The St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad (StJ&LC) was constructed in the 1870s as the Vermont Division of the Portland & Ogdensburg Railway to connect the Great Lakes with the seaport of Portland, Maine. The westerly connection with the Great Lakes was never made. The eastern end of the Vermont Division was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1912, and the remainder of the line became a subsidiary of the Boston & Maine Railroad. The Boston & Maine operated their segment as the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad after 1925. This segment was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad in 1948.
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St. Johnsbury & Lamoille County Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $200.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s-early 1900s.
Forged by the Bohannan Co.
Superb serif lettering and bright gold patina.
Different style cut than key above.
History - continued from above
The State of Vermont purchased the line from Samuel Pinsley in 1973. The line was then operated by Morrison-Knudsen as the Vermont Northern Railroad for a time. In 1978, local shippers took over the operation and it became the Lamoille Valley Railroad. In 1989, the line was leased to a Florida company and was operated by them until major flooding in 1995 and 1997 damaged the line so much that it was not profitable to repair the track. In 2002, the state of Vermont started converting the 96 mile route into a recreational trail and created the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.
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St. Louis & Southwestern Railroad
Item: 78-S Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice block lettering and carmel patina.
History
The Cotton Belt was one of the lines comprising the railroad empire acquired by financier Jay Gould in the last quarter of the 19th century; according to the Handbook of Texas, "By 1890 Gould owned the Missouri Pacific, the Texas and Pacific, the St. Louis Southwestern, and the International-Great Northern, one-half of the mileage in the Southwest.
The railroad was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. Construction of the original Tyler Tap Railroad began in the summer of 1875.
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St. Louis & Southwestern Railway Co.
Item: 79-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Adlake forged?
Excellent block lettering. Key style listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Attractive brass/steel combo. Different but nice!
History - continued from above
The Southern Pacific Company gained Interstate Commerce Commission approval to control the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932, but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company. Cotton Belt diesel locomotives from 1959 on were painted in Southern Pacific's "bloody nose" scheme - dark gray locomotive body with a red "winged" nose. "Cotton Belt" was painted on the sides and in later years the letters "SSW" were painted on the nose.
In 1996 the Union Pacific Railroad finished the acquisition that was effectively begun almost a century before with the purchase of the Southern Pacific by UP in 1901, until divestiture was ordered in 1913. The merged company retains the name "Union Pacific" for all railroad operations.
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St. Louis & Southwestern Railroad
Item: 80-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Elongated barrel.
Superb serif lettering and gold patina.
Same style bit as a Texas Midland key.
A rare 1!
Item of Interest
The Texas Midland was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad on April 1, 1928. The Southern Pacific leased the Texas Midland to the Texas and New Orleans Railroad for operation. The Texas Midland was dissolved on June 30, 1934 when the Southern Pacific sold it to the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Not to forget, the Southern Pacific Railroad owned the Cotton Belt (SSW).
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St. Louis & O'Fallon Railway
Item: 83-S Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Nine mile Illinois short line.
Block lettering and rustic gold patina.
History
St. Louis & O"Fallon, a short line built at the suggestion of the city of St. Louis to provide an additional outlet for freight. The StL&O'F right of way paralleled the present Metrolink eastern extension at St. Clair Avenue. The carrier was incorporated June 1, 1896, under the general laws of Illinois. The owned main line extends eastwardly from East St. Louis to O'Fallon Mine No. 2, a distance of 8.939 miles. The carrier also owns and uses 11.131 miles of yard tracks and sidings. Its road thus embraces 20.070 miles of all tracks owned.
John O'Fallon (1791-December 17, 1865) was a businessman, philanthropist, and military officer. During the 19th century he rose to become the wealthiest person in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the namesake of O'Fallon, Illinois, (incorporated in 1874) as well as O'Fallon, Missouri and the nephew of William Clark.
He was especially active in railroad-building. O'Fallon presided over the 1849 committee which formed the Pacific Railroad (now Missouri Pacific Railroad); was the first president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad (now Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) and in 1850 became president of and the North Missouri Railroad (nee - Wabash Railroad).
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad
Item: 84-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Nice block lettering and superb patina! Unique style key
has a smaller barrel opening than all Frisco keys below.
This key stamped "RR" + key below stamped "RY" = nice set.
History
The "St. Louis & San Francisco Railway," aka Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to April 17, 1980. Incorporated in Missouri on September 7, 1876. It was formed from the Missouri Division and Central Division of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. The Acheson-Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, interested in the A & P right of way across the Mojave Desert to California, took the road over until the larger road went bankrupt in 1893; the receivers retained the western right of way but divested the ATSF of the St. Louis-San Francisco mileage on the great plains. The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway had two main lines: St. Louis-Tulsa-Oklahoma City and Kansas City-Memphis-Birmingham. The junction of the two lines was in Springfield, Missouri, home to the company's main shop facility and headquarters.
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Item: 85-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn block lettering and gold patina.
W = passenger train "Will Rogers"
(Wichita Line) Oklahoma City to Wichita.
This key + key below = nice set!
History - continued from above
The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad (A&P) was chartered in 1866 to build west from Springfield, Missouri, along the 35th parallel of latitude (approximately through Amarillo, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico) to a junction with the SP at the Colorado River. The infant A&P had no rail connections. The line that was to become the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Item: 86-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
T = passenger train "Texas Flash"
(Tulsa Line) Tulsa to Dallas.
This key + key above = nice set!
History - continued from above
The city of Frisco,Texas was named after the railroad and uses the former railroad's logo as its own logo. The logo is modeled after a stretched-out raccoon skin (giving rise to Frisco High School's mascot, the Fighting Raccoons). From March, 1917, through January, 1959, Frisco, in a joint venture with the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, operated the Texas Special. This luxurious train, a streamliner from 1947, ran from St. Louis to Dallas,Texas, Ft. Worth, Texas and San Antonio, Texas. While the Texas Special was the most famous passenger train Frisco ever operated, it also rostered an entire fleet of (11) named trains. Due to the harsh economic conditions of that era, the Frisco merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad on November 21, 1980.
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Item: 87-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1800s.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and gold patina.
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Item: 88-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. mid-late 1800s.
Early A&W hex stamp = 1st series.
Superb block lettering and carmel patina.
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St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad
Item: 89-S Price: $55.00
Remarks: ca. mid 1900s. Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
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St. Louis National Stock Yards
Item: 92-S hog house key Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s.
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great block lettering and patina.
History
National City was a suburb of East St. Louis, Illinois. Incorporated in 1907, it was a company town for the St. Louis National Stockyards Company. In 1996, the company, which owned all residential property in the town, evicted all of its residents. The following year, because it had no residents, National City was dissolved by court order. Its site was subsequently annexed by nearby Fairmont City, Illinois.
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South Side Elevated Railroad
Item: 93-S car key Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the A&W Co.
Superb block lettering and two-tone patina.
A rare beauty!
History
The South Side Elevated Railroad (originally Chicago & South Side Rapid Transit Railroad) was the first elevated rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois. The line ran from downtown Chicago to Jackson Park, with branches to Englewood, Normal Park, Kenwood, and the Union Stock Yards. The first 3.6 miles of the line opened on June 6, 1892, and much of its route is still used today as part of the Chicago 'L' system.
Other companies used third rail electrification to power their trains; so the South Side Elevated Railroad enlisted Frank Julian Sprague to convert its rolling stock to electrical power. Sprague used his previously untested system of multiple-unit train control (MU) whereby multiple self-powered cars could be linked together and controlled by a single person, making the South Side Elevated Railroad the first in the world to use MU operation.
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Sunset Railway
Item: 95-S Price: $195.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Forged by the Sherburne Co.
Great block lettering and gold patina.
Santa Fe & SP subsidiary. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
A rare 1!
History
The carrier was incorporated March 20, 1912, under the laws of the State of California, for a period of 50 years. The purpose of its incorporation was to effect a consolidation of the properties of the Sunset Railroad Company (incorporated March 17, 1900) and the Sunset Western Railway Company (incorporated June 18, 1909).
This railroad was built in three stages from 1901 to 1908 and ran south out of Bakersfield then northwest into Taft. It was originally built to haul oil supplies to and oil from the oil-rich area in the southwestern region of the San Joaquin Valley. Interestingly enough, a portion of the line was built atop the existing right-of-way of a former narrow-guage line, the Buena Vista Reservoir Railroad.
The spur between Pentland to Maricopa was abandoned in 1960; the rest of the line between Shale and San Emidio went dormant in 1976, and the track was finally removed in the first part of this century. The eastern-most section of track, out of Bakersfield, is still in use by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR), a subsidiary of RailAmerica.
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Sunbury Hazleton & Wilkesbarre Railway
Item: 96-S Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s. Pennsylvania coal hauler.
Attractive ring tapered barrel. 139 years young!
Superb serif lettering and patina.
Great serial #99!
History
The Danville-Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre Railroad began in April 1859 as the Wilkes-Barre & Pittston Railroad. Their plan was to build a railroad along the east side of the Susquehanna River from above Pittston to Danville or Sunbury. It was renamed the Danville-Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre Railroad in 1867. Railroad construction began in late 1867 or early 1868. Simon P. Kase was a critical force in the building of the railroad. In 1870 an anthracite-burning locomotive was built for the railroad. By 1870, the Danville-Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre Railroad linked Sunbury and Danville. By 1871, the railroad extended 43 miles from Sunbury to Tomhicken. In 1872, the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad started to operate the Danville-Hazleton & Wilkes-Barre tracks. In 1878, the railroad was sold under foreclosure and the name was changed to the Sunbury Hazleton & Wilkesbarre Railroad.
The Sunbury Line was once owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad connecting its core system with the other anthracite rail lines in and around Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It is presently owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway.
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Susquehanna & New York Railroad
SOLD Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Fraim forged?
Nice serif lettering and gold patina. This lines' iron
rails and rolling stock aided the war effort of WWll.
NY state short line. Nice oldie!
History
The Susquehanna and New York Railroad (reporting mark S&NY) was a short-line railroad connecting the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Towanda, Pennsylvania with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Marsh Hill Junction. The railroad carried freight and passengers between Williamsport and Towanda by rail rather than using the Susquehanna River or the Pennsylvania Canal.
The railroad, 45 miles in length in Northeastern Pennsylvania was originally built to carry timber and coal out of the Barclay Mountain (also called the South Mountain range of the Alleghenies to Towanda where these products could then be shipped by river or rail.
As with many railroads, the S&NY formed from an earlier company, absorbed companies during its heyday, and was later itself absorbed before being torn up to help with the war effort during World War II. On May 23, 1942 the S&NY made its last scheduled run. The rails between Monroeton and Ralston were taken up shortly afterward to run tracks throughout a large munitions plant at White Deer (near Williamsport). That is, the rails were used within the plant to move materials through the manufacturing process. So the S&NY ended its life to support World War II (WWII). The rails between Towanda and Monroeton were bought by the Lehigh Valley Railroad
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Sumpter Valley Railroad
Item: 98-S Price: $125.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s. Oregon logging short line.
Nice block lettering and dark patina. Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
History
The railway was incorporated in 1890 by David Eccles. The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway's purpose was to haul logs to the Oregon Lumber Company sawmill in South Baker City. The sawmill and railroad remained separate corporations of the same owners for the life of the railroad. The builders of the railway also owned the Grande Ronde Lumber Company in Perry, Oregon, and the railway was financed by Mormons in Utah. The line was built over terrain originally considered as part of a railway from Denver, Colorado to the Pacific coast; but the Union Pacific Railroad opted for a different route to avoid bypassing growing communities which might provide an attractive opportunity for competition by the rapidly growing Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company.
Built on a right-of-way used by the original railway of the same name, it carries excursion trains on a roughly 5-mile route between McEwen and Sumpter.
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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 06/10/2021
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