There were also different 'keyings' for Lines East & Lines West, partly due to
the B&MR influence way back when. BN keys were designed to also open CB&Q
locks as the transition began in spring of 1970.
Gerald
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: sholding@sbcglobal.net
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 05:22:47 -0700
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Switch Key Question
And an interesting note a CB&Q key would open a GM&O lock but a GM&O key would
not open a CB&Q lock. Quite often a switchman needed more then one key in
making transfer moves. The old locks if frozen in the winter could be thawed
out with a fusee. But do not try that with the "Modern" locks as it will fry
the insides
Retired and still got my original key
Steve in SC
________________________________
From: "Carroll, Ed" <ed.carroll@heartland.edu>
To: "CBQ@yahoogroups.com" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, April 7, 2011 12:56:22 AM
Subject: RE: [CBQ] Switch Key Question
Brass keys emerge from casting with little in the way of burrs that need hand
work, unlike steel which will have burrs that will need to be ground and filed.
The casting of a brass key with a standard keying and a throat will need almost
no de-burring and will simply be polished in a sand drum. It has the advantage
of mot rusting and thus will not add rust to he steel lock mechanism. While
brass keys are softer than steel keys they are strong enough to move the
mechanism and if bent or broken generally easy to remove from the lock by
shaking the brass key part out of the lock because repeated use polishes the
throat and will slide off a steel pin.
Galvanized steel switch keys in use on the CB&Q during the war, but according
to
my father the galvanized keys prove to be brittle, especially in the depths of
winter. This is almost everything I know about switch locks and keys. Explained
to me a few times before and after my father gave me his framed collection of
lock and keys and a check from CB&Q for 1 cent, a check he never cashed.
respectively submitted,
Ed
________________________________________
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com [CBQ@yahoogroups.com] on behalf of Michael Matalis
[mmatalis@sprynet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:38 PM
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Switch Key Question
Probably for the same reason that many of my house keys are brass,
they are easy to cut. And if they are made badly, like the idiot who
set up my original front door key with a deep notch at its base, easy
to break too.
Thank you kindly,
Michael Matalis
Downers Grove IL
You can see my railroad photography blog at
http://www.chasingheavymetal.com/blog/
You can see my photos and my ugly mug at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prairierailfan/collections/
On Apr 6, 2011, at 9:02 PM, qutlx1@aol.com<mailto:qutlx1%40aol.com> wrote:
> I handled the brass switch keys for years and never gave it a
> thought; why
> were the keys brass ? I understand why the locks were hardened steel
> but
> brass for the keys ?
>
> Like pennies were the keys made of steel during WWII ?
>
> The wear after decades of use on some is really significant.
>
> Leo Phillipp
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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