Posted 1 month ago
Emsien
(4 items)
Got this at an estate sale in a lot of railroad patches
I did Google and EBay searches but nothing comes up
It's made of brass by The Brassworks in San Francisco
Looking for info on what this is and what timeframe it would be from
Any info would be appreciated
Thanks
This is a ticket of D&S.N.G.R.R.CO
The (D&S.N.G.R.R.=)Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was originally built in 1881–82 as part of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway's effort to reach the rich mines of the San Juan Mountains. For decades, the line hauled ore from Silverton down to Durango, but after World War II its business shifted to tourism.
Thanks for info - but this is made of brass so it's not a real ticket is it??? If not what is it ???
possibly for someone who worked for the railroad? BTW, I rode on the train 3 years ago and would go again in a heartbeat if possible!! Great item, to me if it was fake it would be easy to find another, but I can`t find another one in my searches either, or I would have one!!
Hi, Emsien. :-)
I suspect that what you have is a souvenir (suitable for attachment to a keychain ring) of the Durango <-> Silverton (Colorado) narrow gauge railroad.
I've been on that excursion myself. It was very enjoyable; however, a glance at their website revealed some eye-watering prices. I can't remember how much it cost when I took the trip back in the early 1990s, but I can pretty much guarantee it was nowhere near as expensive as it is nowadays. };-)
Souvenir off a keychain seems to be the consensus on another train collector group but nobody can say for sure and the weird part is that I can't find one anywhere online - which is really weird when it comes to vintage souvenirs- you ALWAYS find them on EBay lol
Emsien, Yeah, it's a bit unusual not to find any twins of something like that.
I did find a brass token of a 1986 NFL schedule made by the same outfit:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256255507915
It definitely isn't a twin, but it's a brass key chain ring souvenir made by the same outfit with a date on it, so it provides a bit of a time frame reference.
As to The Brassworks in SF, this is all I could find:
https://www.thebrassworks.net/
The only thing souvenir-ish I found there is this:
https://www.thebrassworks.net/collections/other-parts-1/products/briscoe-mfg-data-plate
Yeah makes sense - someone in a railroad group pointed out that the name D&SNGRR is a modern name - research says the company was renamed in 1981 which makes sense - reading the Brassworks website kind of gives me the impression they do small batch things - so wondering if this was something that was done around when the company was renamed and only done in small numbers - definitely a mystery - I think I might write to the company and see if they can tell me what it is
Emsien, That's a good catch on the railroad name changing in 1981. It's one more thing that narrows down the time frame of that brass key ring fob.
I would have given you a contact link for The Brassworks before, but it wasn't a simple matter of an email address for them. It's like they want YOU to give them your email address. Hmmm. |:-|
Looks like they're in Paso Robles nowadays. There's a phone number:
805.239.2501
Hi keramikos - I wrote to the company in Paso Robles on Facebook and they are not the same company - they have no info on the other Brassworks company - wondering if they went out of business
Wrote to the railroad company and waiting to hear back from them
I still think you have an original item, judging by the wear, corner damage, and scarceness. Did the other items with it have any age to them?
The Brassworks existed between 1973(?) and 1991, I think.
So it looks like your brass keychain ring was made in those years.
I'm afraid it is therefore no longer possible to request information from them.
https://www.trademarkia.com/the-brassworks-san-francisco-since-1973-made-in-u-s-a-73474391
mp.kunst, What an excellent find. :-)
So the SF foundry had been in business since 1973, and among the items they made were metal tags and metal key rings.
The trademark was canceled in 1991, suggesting that they went out of business aound then.
That short window of time suggests a reason why we haven't been able to find any twins of the item in this post: possibly they didn't make that many of them.
Also, there's a somewhat ghoulish reason. A lot of times, things end up on eBay, etc. because the original owner died.
However, in the case of a small item like this, the descendant(s)/estate executor(s) might simply put it on their own key ring.
Or, overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of items in the estate, they might have donated a lot of it to a thrift shop.
Well I wrote directly to Durango & Silverton railroad on both their Facebook page and their website but never got a reply. I also wrote to the Colorado Railroad Museum and a couple historical preservation societies to but but haven't heard back from any of them yet
Not finding anything online is just weird - no matter how small the quantity would have been - I'm really stumped about this- hopefully one of the places I wrote too will get back to me over the next couple days
Ok last update I guess, unless someone new answers me with definitive information. Only heard back from one of the places I wrote too - the Animas Museum in La Plata County - that is where Durango is. They once again said it LOOKS like part of a keychain from the 80s - once again not a definitive answer - like "yes it's a keychain I have one" lol or "yes it's a keychain I use to have one" or "I've seen one before" - closes I've gotten is it looks like a keychain lol
So at this point just gonna put it on Ebay tonight and see what happens lol
Thanks for all the help - wish I could have come up with a definitive answer for everyone
Emsien,
"Ok last update I guess, unless someone new answers me with definitive information."
You never know; I recently have been bowled over by new information on an old obsession of mine. };-)
I do think it's a souvenir key ring fob, although I suppose it could be worn as a pendant on a necklace chain.
Well, I took a chance and bought this, if it is a souvenir it`s hard to believe there is not another one is any searches. I also think the random ticket number seems odd--why that number? Oh well, It`ll be my souvenir from my ride 3 years ago!!! Rob