I am looking for any information about a Saint Louis & San Francisco Railway (Frisco) key that I purchased many years ago at an antique shop in Flagstaff, Arizona.
I am assuming it is a switch padlock key(?) I would be interested to know anything at all about it, including the era (approximate age) and the meaning of the letter “S” stamped on the back.
I’ve searched the internet and been unable to find one like it, or any information about it.
~Rick
Don’t know the exact name of it, but a friend of mine goes to a site that I believe is called Key, Lock and Lantern. He has found out a lot through them. Give it a try, hope this helps.
Keep us posted when you discover what it is
It has been my experience that keys such as this which are marked ‘S’ are Switch Keys. Keys for other purposes, ie., Tool House, Signal, Motor Car were marked to so indicate in earlier years but those designations diminished after WW II. I believe you have an early (1900-1940) switch key.
Great info. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I will keep this updated as I find out the hard facts.
~Rick
I’ve posted the same request for information at the Frisco.org site, and received several great responses. I would like to share them…
Steve40cal[QUOTE]I think the “S” on the back means this key was a Signal department key. Most keys stamped in the '70s just said FRISCO with the STL & SF keys being older. I’d say as worn as that one is it was issued in the '60s or earlier. Hope this helps, Steve Signal Maintainer BNSF railway.[/QUOTE]
Bradley A. Scott[QUOTE]I am no antiques appraiser, but based on the name stamped on the key, I would guess it was considerably older than that. According to George Drury’s “Historical Guide to North American Railroads”, the St. Louis & San Francisco RailWAY (as opposed to “RailROAD”) was organized in 1875 to take over the Missouri trackage of the former Atlantic & Pacific. That corporate name lasted through various corporate troubles until 1916, when it was replaced with the new moniker St. Louis & San Francisco RailROAD.
They might have continued using old tooling or key blanks that still bore the “St L & S F Ry” lettering for a few years, but the “Ry” suggests to me a date between 1875 and 1916. Perhaps others, more knowledgeable, can clarify things further.
I’ve corrected a significant error in my original comment above. I typed in the wrong date for the change from StL&SF Ry to StL&SF RR… Thanks to Larry Shankle for getting it right.
However, the information he gives about the 1916-1947 corporate name does not match the sources I have (Drury’s Hist. Guide to North Am. RRs; reprints of the 1926 and 1945 Of