Talbotton Railroad
Item: 3-T Georgia short line Price: $115.00 $100.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Nice serif stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Talbotton Railroad Company, was once owned and operated by the Persons family in Talbotton, Georgia. This short line owned several steam engines and ran from Talbotton to Paschal. The line had close ties to the Central of Georgia Railroad and would sometimes lease their engines. This Georgia short line was most likely absorbed by the CofG and whatever assests were left are now part of the CSX Transportation Co.
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Texas and Northern Railroad
Item: 6-T Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Texas and Northern Railway (reporting mark TN) is an eight-mile (13 km) railroad connecting Lone Star, Texas, to the former Louisiana and Arkansas Railway at Veals Switch between Daingerfield and Hughes Springs. Operations have been cut back, and since Lone Star was purchased by U.S. Steel, the railroad is managed under that company's railroad division, Transtar, Inc. Traffic consists of outbound pipe, and inbound scrap steel and alloy steel ingots. For years the railroad bought secondhand ALCO diesel locomotives and heavily modified them for their and the steel mill railroad operations.
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Tennessee Coal-Iron & Railroad
Item: 8-T Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn lettering.
Great yellow-gold patina.
History
The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations.
At one time the second largest steel producer in the USA, TCI was listed on the first Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. However, in 1907, the company was merged with its principal rival, the United States Steel Corporation. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company was subsequently operated as a subsidiary of U. S. Steel for 45 years until it became a division of its parent company in 1952.
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Tennessee Central Railway
Item: 12-T New Listing Price: $245.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
Given the moniker,"The Route of Personal Service"
100 year+ centenarian and rare one to find.
History
The Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service which many businessmen felt was not being adequately provided by the existing railroad companies. They also wanted to ship coal and iron ore to the Northeastern US over the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which was leased to the Southern and operated as the Cincinnati-New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway (CNOTP), through their Cincinnati gateway. The N&K was only completed between Lebanon, where it connected to a Nashville-Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway branch from Nashville, and Standing Stone (now Monterey).
Wartime traffic in the early 1940s brightened the financial picture, but after that hard times returned. Unable to repay the RFC loans and fell into its third and final receivership in 1968. On 14 December 1967, the TC's petition for bankruptcy was approved and service ceased on 31 August 1968.
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Tennessee Railway
Item: 14-T Price: $65.00
Remarks: ca. post 1973
Nice serif stamp marks and caramel patina.
Same style cut as key below.
History
The Tennessee Railroad (reporting mark TENN) was a short line standard gauge (4 ft 81/2in) common carrier railroad running from Oneida, Tennessee to Fork Mountain, Tennessee. Reorganized in 1973 by the Southern Railway as the Tennessee Railway, it remains a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern.
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Tennessee Railway
Item: 15-T Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
Same style cut as key above.
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Tennessee Southern Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. post 1988
Keyline forged.
Shellac on barrell peeling.
History
The Tennessee Southern Railroad (reporting mark TSRR) began operations in 1988 and currently operates in middle Tennessee and northwestern Alabama. The main line consists of 118 miles (190 km) and the total track has 149 miles. TSRR is owned by Patriot Rail Corporation. Commodities the TSRR handles include scrap iron, coal, coke, woodpulp, pulpboard, sand, chemicals, steel, aluminum, and fertilizer raw materials. In 2007, in response to increasing traffic, the TSRR purchased eight diesel locomotives with greater power and fuel efficiency than its existing fleet of ten.
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Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railroad
Item: 20-T New Listing Price: $150.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Excellent stamp marks and gold patina.
Given the moniker,"the TAG Route"
History
The Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railroad was created through a reorganization of the Chattanooga Southern Railway in 1911. A few years later, in 1922, the line's name was changed to the Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railway (TAG) and was also known as the TAG Route. The TAG ran from Chattanooga, Tennessee, through northwest Georgia, and into Gadsden, Alabama.
During the 1960s the railroad was owned by Mose and Garrison Siskin who owned the Siskin Steel Company in Chattanooga. They used the railroad to move steel products between Siskin Steel and Republic Steel in Gadsden. This made the TAG the only profitable short line railroad in the US during that period. The TAG was purchased by the Southern Railway in 1971. The northernmost 23 miles ending at Kensington, Georgia were operated by the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway until the Dow Chemical plant in Kensington closed in September 2009. Norfolk Southern began dismantling sections of the segment in March 2010.
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Tennessee Valley Authority Railroad
Item: 22-T Price: $75.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Nice serif stamp marks and copper patina.
History
The Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A.) is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. The enterprise was a result of the efforts of Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska. TVA was envisioned not only as a provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and electricity to rapidly modernize the region's economy and society.
This government sponsered line basically hauled coal out of the Tennessee mines that powered the dams. Established in the 1930's it's exsistence as a railroad and when it came to end is unclear.
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Texas & Pacific Railroad
Item: 24-T MoPac cut Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and caramel patina.
History
The Texas & Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871, with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. Construction difficulties delayed westward progress, until American financier Jay Gould acquired an interest in the railroad in 1879. The T&P never reached San Diego; instead it met the Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, in 1881.
The T&P had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid-1880s. The Missouri Pacific Railroad, also controlled by Gould, leased the T&P from 1881 to 1885 and continued a cooperative relationship with the T&P after the lease ended. Missouri Pacific gained majority ownership of the Texas & Pacific Railway's stock in 1928 but allowed it to continue operation as a separate entity until they were eventually merged on October 15, 1976.
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 25-T New Listing Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year+ centenarian beauty!
History - continued from above
On January 8, 1980, the Missouri Pacific Railroad was purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad. Because of lawsuits filed by competing railroads, the merger was not approved until September 13, 1982. However, due to outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific, the actual merger with the Union Pacific Railroad took place on January 1, 1997.
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 26-T New Listing Price: $150.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb serif stamp marks and silver patina.
Great find!
History - continued from above
The Texas & Pacific (T&P) Railway operated several notable passenger trains, including the Louisiana Eagle, the Westerner, and sections of the Texas Eagle and Sunshine Special. The T&P was closely associated with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and many of their passenger trains, including the Louisiana Eagle, ran in conjunction with Missouri Pacific routes.
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 27-T New Listing Price: $50.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and silver patina.
History - continued from above
The Texas & Pacific (T&P) Railway operated several notable passenger trains, including the Louisiana Eagle, the Westerner, and sections of the Texas Eagle and Sunshine Special. The T&P was closely associated with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and many of their passenger trains, including the Louisiana Eagle, ran in conjunction with Missouri Pacific routes.
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 28-T Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early/mid-1900s
Very nice serif stamp marks and dark patina.
Different style cut than T&P keys above.
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 29-T repair track key Price: $95.00
Remarks: ca. early-mid 1900s
Nice stamp marks and dark patina.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
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Texas & Pacific Railway
Item: 30-T Tex-Mex style bit Price: $100.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Slaymaker forged.
Superb serif stamp marks and dark patina.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Same cut as TM key below.
100 year+ centenarian!
History
The Texas Mexican Railway is a railroad that operates as a subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or TexMex Railway.
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Texas Mexican Railway
Item: 33-T New Listing Price: $150.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Same cut as T&P key above.
Great find for this 100 year+ centenarian!
History
The Texas Mexican Railway (reporting mark TM) was a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Texas operating between Corpus Christi and the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex Mex, or Tex Mex Railway.
The railroad traces its roots back to the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Gauge Railroad, a narrow-gauge railroad established in 1875. In 1883, the line was extended over the Rio Grande and the Mexico-United States border. The railroad was purchased by the Mexican government in 1900, which controlled the railroad until 1982 when it was sold to Transportation Maritima Mexicana (TMM). In 1996, Kansas City Southern (KCS) became a 49% owner of the railroad, as part of a larger business deal. KCS bought out TMM in 2005 and made Tex-Mex a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of its Kansas City Southern Railway.
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Texas South-Eastern Railroad
Item: 35-T Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Texas South-Eastern is one of three short line railroads remaining from the boom period of the East Texas lumber industry. This can be attributed to the policy of the parent organization, now Temple-Inland, Incorporated, which practiced sustained cutting of timber and to the development of ancillary industries at Diboll. In addition, the railroad also serves various industries at Lufkin.
Its principal traffic has always been lumber and forest products, but daily for more than forty years it also ran a mixed train known affectionately as either "Take it Slow and Easy" or "Tattered, Shattered, and Expired."
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Terminal Railroad Association
Item: 38-T Price: $85.00 $75.00
Remarks: ca. ca. early/mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The railroad's predecessor companies in St. Louis date to 1797 when St. Louis was still part of Spanish Upper Louisiana. James Piggott was granted a license to operate a ferry between St. Louis and Illinoistown (now East St. Louis). Piggott's heirs sold the ferry to Samuel Wiggins in 1819. Wiggins bought 800 acres in East St. Louis including Bloody Island. Wiggins used a team of eight horses to propel the ferries. In 1828 he began steam-power ferry service across the river. In 1832 Wiggins sold his company and the new owners called the new company the Wiggins Ferry Service which would develop the Wiggins property as a rail yard. In 1870 the ferry began porting rail cars across the river one car at a time until the construction of the Eads Bridge.
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Terminal Railroad Association
Item: 39-T Price: $70.00 $60.00
Remarks: ca. early/mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
The Association built Union Station. It owns the Merchants Bridge and MacArthur Bridge, the latter which it received in 1989 in a swap with the City of St. Louis in exchange of title for the Eads Bridge. In the early years the Association was at odds with the St. Louis Merchants Exchange. The Exchange built the Eads Bridge but lost control to the Terminal Railroad. The Exchange then built the Merchants Bridge to keep the Terminal Railroad from having a monopoly. The Exchange then lost control of that bridge also to the Terminal Railroad. The railroad's practice of charging a tariff to coal trains crossing the Mississippi River would result in several industries locating in Illinois rather than Missouri. The steelmaking town of Granite City, Illinois was founded to avoid the tariffs.
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Terminal Railroad
Association of St. Louis
Item: 40-T Price: $175.00 $160.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year+ centenarian!
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Terminal Railroad Association
Item: 41-T Price: $45.00
Remarks: ca. early/mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great stamp marks and caramel patina.
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Terminal Railroad Association
Item: 42-T Price: $205.00 $175.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
A&W hexagon stamp = 1st series.
Excellent stamp marks and gold patina.
Double digit serial number.
125 year+ centenarian!
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Timpson & Henderson Railway
Item: 44-T New Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. turn of the century
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Nice stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year+ centenarian!
History
The Timpson and Henderson Railway Company was chartered on February 16, 1901, as the Timpson and Northwestern Railway Company; its name was changed on June 29, 1909. At that time the company operated eight miles between Timpson in Shelby County and Ragley in Panola County. It purchased a line built by the Ragley Lumber Company extending 11-1/2 miles from Ragley to Pine Hill in Rusk County and on November 21, 1909, opened a fourteen-mile extension from Pine Hill to Henderson. In 1916 the line owned two locomotives and seven cars and reported passenger earnings of $8,000 and freight earnings of $40,000. The company had trouble keeping its Railroad Commission recognition as a common carrier, and the entire thirty-four miles was abandoned in 1923.
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Toledo, Walhonding Valley & Ohio Railway
Item: 46-T New Listing Price: $175.00
Remarks: ca. 1904-21
Forged by S. Slaymaker Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
Given the moniker,"The Wally"
History
The Toledo, Walhonding Valley & Ohio Railroad (TWV&O), was a 45-mile Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary running between Coshocton and Loudonville, Ohio. The line was built largely to transport coal from the Cambridge fields to markets in Northwest Ohio. Its construction caused controversy because it was built directly over the pathway of the dwindling Walhonding Canal, which it ultimately replaced.
After construction of the line began in 1892 (then as the Toledo, Walhonding Valley and Ohio Railway), it caused much of a stir, due to PRR's unauthorized (illegal) use of land; the line was completed in 1893. In 1894, the PRR reached an agreement with the State of Ohio over the use of land, including the state's right to order the PRR to raise bridges for canal boats. The canal eventually closed in 1896, however, the line was used until 1936, when the Mohawk Dam was built, cutting off the ROW.
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Toledo & Indiana Railroad
Item: 49-T interurban line Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by E.J. Brooks Co. of New Jersry
Superb stamp marks and caramel patina.
Low serial number and unique foundry name.
100 year+ centenarian!
Edward Brooks Company
Edward Brooks, fresh from his boyhood home in the Boston area set out to make his fortune in New York. In 1873, he became the successor to a small Pearl Street lead toy manufacturer and gave it a new name: E. J. Brooks and Company.
In 1875, Edward and investor Lewis Pierce reorganized the company. Lead soldiers gave way to railway supplies as E.J. Brooks and Company replaced toy production with railroad car seals, while beginning to function as a distributor for everything from conductor's punches to rail worker uniforms. The company prospered.
History
The Toledo & Indiana Railway Company was incorporated in 1901 to construct an electric interurban rail line westward from Toledo. The T&I was envisioned as part of an interurban network to connect Toledo-Indianapolis & Chicago. The Toledo & Indiana Railway's interurban cars were similar to trolleys, with their electric motors powered through an arm or "kite" extending from the top of the car to an overhead power line.
The Toledo & Indiana's route paralleled today's Norfolk Southern line between Toledo and Bryan, but the interurban cars provided more convenient schedules, more passenger stops, and were less expensive than passenger service on the "steam" railroad. These advantages, coupled with the fact that automobiles were still uncommon and roads unimproved, made the T&I an attractive option for travelers.
As highways and secondary roads improved, and automobiles and trucks became more common, interurban railways struggled financially. On October 15, 1939, Toledo & Indiana Railway car No.115 made the last trip over the rail line piloted by Lendall W. Vernier of Stryker, the company's most senior motorman.
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Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway
Item: 52-T Price: $195.00 $175.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
A&W hexagon stamp = 1st series.
Superb deep stamp marks and caramel patina.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
125 year+ centenarian!
History
The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a Class III shortline railroad that operates 247 miles of track from Mapleton (Kolbe), Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois and Indiana to Kokomo, Indiana. TPW also has trackage rights on the CSX Monon Sub between between Reynolds, Indiana, and Lafayette, Indiana and unused trackage rights on BNSF between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria. TPW has connections with UP, BNSF, NS, CSXT, CN, CP, CERA, IMRR, KBSR and TZPR. The railroad is now owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc..
The Toledo, Peoria and Western's earliest predecessor was the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, which was chartered in 1849, with the goal of providing a rail connection between the Illinois River in Peoria and the Mississippi River.
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Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway
Item: 53-T Price: $145.00 $135.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Excellent stamp marks and dark patina.
Given the moniker, the "Tip-Up"
100 year+ centenarian!
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Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway
Item: 54-T Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. early/mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Nice pocket worn lettering and gold patina.
Different style cut then TP&W keys above.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
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Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad
SOLD New Listing Price: $115.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Nice stamp marks and silver patina.
100 year centenarian!
History
The Toledo and Ohio Central Railway (T&OC) was a railway company in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1885 to 1952. In 1928 it was leased by the New York Central System, which purchased the line in 1938.
In 1885, the line was renamed Toldeo & Ohio Central. Carloadings were up, and the T&OC sought expansion once again. In 1892, the T&OC bought the Toldeo, Columbus & Cincinnati, giving the combined companies two routes between the Ohio River and Toledo. The former TC&C line ran between Toledo and Columbus via Kenton. The line enjoyed modest success, and by 1922 the T&OC was leased by the New York Central. In 1938, the T&OC was formally merged into the New York Central.
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Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad
Item: 56-T car key Price: $155.00 $145.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1927
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb stamp marks and patina.
100 year+ rare centenarian beauty!
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Toledo & St. Louis Railroad
Item: 59-T New Listing Price: $275.00
Remarks: ca. pre-1893
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City legacy cut
100 year+ centenarian!
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Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad
Item: 61-T Price: $55.00
Remarks: Operated 1881-1922
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Rustic two-tone patina.
History - continued from above
The TStL&W originated with the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, a company formed in February 1881 as a consolidation of several smaller, 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge lines connecting the Ohio cities of Toledo and Cincinnati with St. Louis, Missouri. Soon in financial difficulties, the company dropped its Cincinnati arm and reorganized in June 1886 as the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad and over the next two to three years converted its lines to 4 ft 8 1/2 in.
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Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad
Item: 62-T Price: $125.00 $100.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Keystone stamp = first issue.
Superb stamp serif marks and gold patina.
125 year+ centenarian!
History
The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the "Clover Leaf," was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thr line became part of the larger New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (the Nickel Plate), on December 28, 1922, which eventually became part of Norfolk Southern.
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Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad
Item: 63-T Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Keystone stamp = first issue.
Superb serif stamp marks and two-tone patina.
125 year+ centenarian!
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Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad
Item: 64-T Price: $150.00 $125.00
Remarks: ca. 1879-1917
Forged by the E.T. Fraim Co.
Keystone stamp = first issue.
Superb serif stamp marks
and caramel patina.
Different style bit than Clover Leaf keys above.
125 year+ rare centenarian!
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Toledo Terminal Railroad
Item: 66-T New Listing Price: $145.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
Forged by the Adams & Westlake Co.
Excellent stamp marks and gold patina.
Great serial #770 on this
100 year+ centenarian!
History
Toledo Terminal Railroad was a railway company in the U.S. state of Ohio. Primarily a switching railroad, it made a complete loop around the city of Toledo, crossing the Maumee River twice. Currently, Toledo is served by CSX Transportation Co., Norfolk Southern Railroad, the Ann Arbor Railroad and the Canadian National Railroad .In its heyday, the TTR was double-tracked all the way around the city of Toledo, except for the portion around the Upper Maumee Bridge.
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Toledo Terminal Railroad
Item: 67-T Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great stamp marks and gold patina.
History - continued from above
On March 17, 1982, a train derailed on the Upper Maumee Bridge, damaging it. The Toledo Terminal elected not to fix the bridge, instead abandoning it, stirring up much controversy. In January 2010, CSX Transportation petitioned to abandon the rest of the "Backside" of the Toledo Terminal (the portion on the west side of the Maumee River) from Temperance, on Toledo's north side, to a small portion just north of Norfolk Southern's Chicago Main, in Vulcan. All of the removal track has since been completed, and plans are underway to turn the right-of-way into a rail trail. This leaves only a small, inactive segment from the Vulcan to the ex-Wabash mainline near Gould on Toledo's south side.
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Toledo Terminal Railroad
Item: 68-T Price: $25.00
Remarks: ca. mid-1900s
Forged by the Adlake Co.
Great stamp marks and caramel patina.
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Tombigbee & Northern Railway
Item: 70-T New Listing Price: $250.00
Remarks: ca. late 1800s
AT&N predecessor.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
125 year+ Alabama short line centenarian!
History
The Tombigbee & Northern Railroad was formed in the late 1890s and stretched through Choctaw and Clarke counties in Alabama. It played a pivotal role in connecting timber-rich areas and rural Alabama communities to the Port of Mobile. By May 1913, the Tombigbee Valley Railroad consolidated with other regional rail interests to form the AT&N. This allowed for expanded connections with other major trunk lines. The original 36-inch trackage was largely dismantled or upgraded as the railroad was integrated into the broader network, which later became part of the Burlington Northern system in 1980.
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Trans-Mississippi Terminal Railroad
Item: 72-T New Listing Price: $250.00
Remarks: Operated 1914-24
Forged by the Wilson Bohannan Co.
Superb serif stamp marks and gold patina.
100 year+ centenarian!
History
The Trans-Mississippi Terminal Railroad was a subsidiary that operated in New Orleans and across the Mississippi River in Louisiana from 1914 to 1924. It was used to manage terminal operations, rail yards, wharves, and car-ferries for the Texas and Pacific Railway and Missouri Pacific Railroad before being reorganized into the Texas Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal Railroad.
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Trinity & Brazos Valley Railway
Item: 75-T Price: $175.00 $150.00
Remarks: Operated 1902-30
Forged by the S.R. Slaymaker Co.
Superb stamp marks and gold patina.
Key listed in the
"American Railway's Switch Key Directory."
Given the moniker, "Boll Weevil."
80 year+ octogenarian!
History
The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway (reporting mark TBV) of Texas came into existence on October 7, 1902, originally chartered to build a railroad from Johnson County to the Beaumont area near the Gulf coast. It took its name from the Trinity and Brazos rivers. The first line opened between Hillsboro and Mexia in October 1903. It was extended north to Cleburne in January 1904, making a total of 78 miles of track between Cleburne and Mexia.
Financial problems in the system led to its purchase by Colorado and Southern Railway (C&S) on August 1, 1905. Benjamin F. Yoakum, a railroad executive who was a director of the C&S, was contracted to build more track in Trinity and Brazos Valley system. As part of the construction deal, C&S sold one-half of the securities issued for the project to Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (CRIP), making the T&BV half-owned by both CRIP and C&S parent Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
As years passed so did the ownership of the T&BV.
In 1982 the railroad was officially merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad.
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Traverse City Railroad
Item: 77-T Price: $95.00 $75.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
History
The Traverse City Railroad was the owner of a branch railroad from Walton Junction, Michigan, to Traverse City. The line was built in 1872, and connected with the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway, to which it was sold in 1917.
In 1871, a group of enterprising businessmen in Traverse City led by Perry Hannah, co-owner of the largest company and logging operation in the area, led the group in forming the Traverse City Railroad Company and raising the necessary funds to begin constructing their vision. The line was completed the next year, stretching 26 miles from the heart of the developing business district to the existing Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad line. Passenger and freight service would begin on November 15th, 1872, and Traverse City was suddenly connected with the rest of the state - and by extension, country - like it never had been before. It was easier than ever to set up a business, given the quicker, more reliable transportation the railroad offered, and a good number of people began to make the move north. Just nine years after the establishment of rail service in Traverse City, in 1881, it had grown enough in population and significance to officially be incorporated into a village.
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Tucson, Cornelia & Gila Bend Railroad
Item: 79-T New car key Listing Price: $225.00
Remarks: ca. early 1900s
Superb deep stamp marks and gold patina.
History
The Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad went from the Southern Pacific's (now Union Pacific's) Gila Subdivision in Gila Bend, Arizona to Ajo, Arizona. The railroad was incorporated in 1915 for use by the New Cornelia mine at Ajo. Originally, the railroad was intended to connect to Tucson. The railroad was in operation from 1916 until the 1980s.
In 1969, six stations were listed in the timetable, but only Ajo and Gila Bend were agency stations. Black Gap and Rocky Point were short sidings used when passenger trains met. Childs and Midway were longer sidings. In 1972, it was mentioned that there were children living in Childs. In 1998, Phelps Dodge upgraded the railroad for proposed resumed mining at Ajo. The railroad passes through the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range.
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Switch Key Directory
American Railway's Switch Key Directory
Price: HC-$25.00 | CD-$35
Whether you're just starting out collecting switch key's or you have been a collector for many years, this 44-page switch key directory is a useful tool. Although, it does not list every railroad key there is, the directory has a 3-D diagram for the most common railroad keys in the collectors circle. With a CD, you can copy the directory to your hard drive and view and enlarge the pages on your computer screen. Price does not include shipping fees.
Upon request, I will "three ring" the pages for a book binder.
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Don Stewart's Railroad Switch Keys and Padlocks
Switch Keys and Locks Directory
Price: HC-$75.00 | CD-$55
One of the lesser known railroad directories is Don Stewart's Railroad Switch Keys and Padlocks Directory. The book includes 56 pages of switch key pictures, 12 pages of switch lock pictures, 12 supplemental pages including, 2 Canadian key picture pages and 32 pages of railroad names. It's another handy tool for beginners and even veteran collectors. The directory contains 117 pages in all and is an ink jet printed copy of the original book. As noted, the CD copy is less expensive than a hard copy. The reason; printer ink and paper prices. With a CD, you can copy the directory to your hard drive and view and enlarge the pages on your computer screen. Price does not include shipping fees.
Upon request, I will "three ring" the pages for a book binder.
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Dates quoted for keys are approximate dates. Railroad switch keys initials (reporting mark) are assumed to be correct and accurate.
Comments on any railroad initials origin, including (typos), are welcome. Last update 07/23/2026
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