How old is this lock?

[Pointman]

I found this over the weekend. It was about 9" deep. I was wondering the approximate age and what does the back mean by "section tool house 1"? The Union Pacific rail yard is approximately 4-5 miles from where I found the lock, so I suspect that it originally came from there.

Also, I was wondering what the best way is to clean and preserve it. The shank is steel while the case is brass.

Thanks for the help.

-John

 

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[tamrock]

Neat find. If I had to guess I'm going with 1st quarter of the 20th century. I can see it was at one time the tool crib lock that kept all the stuff a RR repair section crew would need. No doubt an interesting thing as far as old locks go. I did find a lock collectors forum online that may pinpoint exactly the time this lock was made. Maybe send them a note? The Antique Locks/COLTi Forum - Industrial Archeology of locks Could be rare?

 

[taz42o]

Thats a nice RR lock, never seen one like that.
I would think electrolysis would be the way to clean it.


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[doublet2a]

I like it!!!

Tim

 

[nhbenz]

There are a few very similar examples in pages ink below. They don't have dates, but at least identify who made them (Slaymaker in this case). I'd seen other examples online that we're said to be from the late 1920's, but I don't know if they were stamped as such or if they had a reference book to come up with their dates?
Railroad Padlocks - Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. - Antique Padlocks

 

[tamrock]

There are a few very similar examples in pages ink below. They don't have dates, but at least identify who made them (Slaymaker in this case). I'd seen other examples online that we're said to be from the late 1920's, but I don't know if they were stamped as such or if they had a reference book to come up with their dates?
Railroad Padlocks - Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. - Antique Padlocks

I'm finding these old locks to be an interesting subject. Some of the very early ones I looked at are so, beautifully made. I see allot of locks when I'm hunting the antique shops for lost and undiscovered treasures. I think I'll start taking a closer look at these old locks??.

 

[mick56]

Whe I want to clean something small like that, I've had good luck putting it in rock tumbler with aquarium gravel and soap, just like cleaning coins.