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Subway Keys
Posted:
Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:51 pmby Subway_Keys
Here are a few keys I have from the New York City Subway.
NYCT MDC Vapor key
NYCT HAFCO MDC key, same as the Vapor key but made by a cheaper provider
Old BRT cab key
IRT Gate key, used to unlock the gates between old subway cars
BMT cab key, the CTA in Chicago still uses a version of this key today without the cut out
I'll post more photos as I find them or if there is interest in them.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:53 pmby MBI
Nice assortment, thanks for sharing the pics.
Also, if you want you can upload pics directly into your forum post so you don't have to worry about keeping them in the same folder location in your external hosting account, to avoid the problem of broken links. That way if anything happens to any of the photo hosting sites, members here will still be able to enjoy the pictures.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:17 pmby railtech
Interested. Please post more pics and info.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Fri Sep 05, 2014 7:07 pmby railtech
I have some old brass keys that are marked ICRR (Illinois Central Railroad) that look very similar to that BMT cab key.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Fri Sep 05, 2014 11:10 pmby darksim905
Why does that first key have such an awkward bow? Make it goofy to carry or it's in a specific spot in a building key box?
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:45 pmby Riyame
NYCS key. Anybody know what it is for?
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:41 amby mercurial
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:59 pmby Riyame
Oh, nice find, thank you.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:06 pmby Papa Gleb
Hey sweet to see NY stuff. I personally own one of those BMT cab key but without the cut out. I dont know about Chicago but they are still used in NY trains but not the brand new Kawasaki train all most all older ones. The key opens the doors between the train cars and also into the conductors boot
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:52 pmby Revinous
Nice nyc keys. I my self live in NYC and looking for keys as well. Hopefully my collection can match or at least come close to what I've seen on here.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Thu Nov 13, 2014 8:08 pmby railtech
NYCS is New York Central System; the old freight and passenger railroad.
I believe "oiler key" may be accurate. I think it's describing a key to a lock that fits a flange lubricator. A flange lubricator puts oil on the rail/wheel interface to reduce friction (and wear) on the rail, usually on a very sharp curve or set of curves, where the rails would otherwise wear excessively.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Thu Nov 13, 2014 8:30 pmby mercurial
railtech wrote:NYCS is New York Central System; the old freight and passenger railroad.
I believe "oiler key" may be accurate. I think it's describing a key to a lock that fits a flange lubricator. A flange lubricator puts oil on the rail/wheel interface to reduce friction (and wear) on the rail, usually on a very sharp curve or set of curves, where the rails would otherwise wear excessively.
Thankyou for your insight, I know very little about railways, or the locks and keys associated with them. I have now seen a few instances of that key being for a padlock, do you think it's possible that it is both a padlock key & an oiler's key?
...Mark
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Tue Nov 18, 2014 1:49 pmby railtech
mercurial wrote:railtech wrote:NYCS is New York Central System; the old freight and passenger railroad.
I believe "oiler key" may be accurate. I think it's describing a key to a lock that fits a flange lubricator. A flange lubricator puts oil on the rail/wheel interface to reduce friction (and wear) on the rail, usually on a very sharp curve or set of curves, where the rails would otherwise wear excessively.
Thankyou for your insight, I know very little about railways, or the locks and keys associated with them. I have now seen a few instances of that key being for a padlock, do you think it's possible that it is both a padlock key & an oiler's key?
...Mark
Flange lubricators are usually secured with a padlock.
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:31 pmby PhoneMan
Railroad keys are cool, awesome info!
Re: Subway Keys
Posted:
Fri Nov 21, 2014 6:12 amby escher7
A hundred years ago when I was a bored little delinquent living in a small town, my co-conspirator and I found some railway keys in a junk store. Turned out they fit every lock in the local CPR yards' giving us access to the shacks full of flares and all kinds of other goodies. Back in the pre-computer days they used torpedoes to signal train engineers as they passed them. These things contained a very substantial charge of explosive that hooked onto the track and exploded when the train ran over them. Not being very smart back then, we decided to clip one on a rail and throw rocks at it until it exploded; which it did, blowing us both back about ten feet and deafening us for about a week.
Fortunately, my old man found the keys and confiscated them before we derailed a train.
