I came across this brass lock and key at an auction in northeast Kansas last week.

Key is stamped B N Y & P R R, lock was made by Union Brass Mfg. in Chicago. Looks like the lock was painted red at one point in its life. Key works the lock.

I am not having any luck figuring out what railroad the "BNY&PRR" was. Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks

Jason Midyette

Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia RR?

Reorganized in 1887 as the Western NY & Pennsylvania RR, and later became the Buffalo and Allegheny Valley Division of the PRR. See http://www.trainweb.org/wnyrhs/BNY&P1871.htm and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_New_York_and_Pennsylvania_Railway_(1895%E2%80%931955)

-Philip Marshall

Confirm, and that's just one of the many corporate names of that line of railroad.

There is a pretty good softcover book out on it by Pietrak, "Western NY and Pennsylvania Railroad" (not to be confused with the current one) that gets into all the detail, the rosters, lots of photos.

https://www.amazon.com/History-Western- ... B003LDI3B6

As to how that key ended up in Kansas....?

Interestingly, it appears the key was made by Wilson Bohannan, a padlock manufacturer in Brooklyn, NY. If Bohannan made padlocks, did they also supply just keys to other padlock manufacturers like Union Brass in Chicago or is this a mix and match set or an old replacement key? How interchangeable are keys and locks from different manufacturers of that era?

According to the internet:
"Wilson Bohannan & Company was a manufacturer of padlocks in Brooklyn, New York and is still in business today operating out of Marion, Ohio. It is a seventh generation family-owned and operated business.

Wilson Bohannan and his son Wilson Todd Bohannan set up a padlock business in their Brooklyn home. Wilson Bohannan's first patent was April 17, 1860. By 1869, the business had moved into a separate building on Kossuth Place and Broadway in Brooklyn. The first catalogue was published. Steam engines were used for power. In 1888, the company incorporated and set up a factory on Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn. It contained a foundry. Customers included the railroads.

Wilson Bohannan died on February 22, 1896, leaving the firm to his son. The son died in 1904 at the age of 44. The business was then under the leadership of Wilson Bohannan Tway.

In 1927, the firm relocated to Marion, Ohio."

Thank you guys for the replies and information. As my present location (northeast Kansas) is as far east as I have ever spent any significant amount of time I don't think I would have ever figured it out on my own.

Would be interesting to know how the lock and key ended up here.

Jason Midyette