railroad tags what are they for

[fatsmahoney]

These two tags were dug at a site along the railroad in michigan the tags both have C&WM across the top and d35 on one and b35 on the other these look like they were hand stamped with a mold and are made out of lead they also look like the may have had a wire tassle on the top and bottom were these luggage tags,freight tags or passenger seating tags or could they have been employee tags from the railroad this was a company town for the west michigan lumber company im thinking that C&MW on the tags may stand for Chicago & West Michigan any ideas will be greatly appreciated

 

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[diggummup]

Those were used to seal the doors on freight cars or containers inside.Yes, C&WM stands for Chicago & Western Michigan R.R..Here is a link with a little more info.-http://www.railroadiana.org/hw/pgSealers.php. The "tassles you are referring to are the ends of the wire that was used to run through hasp of the door. Here is a photo of some uncrimped seals and a spool of wire that would have been used in conjunction with the lead seals.


And here is the sealing tool that would be used -

 

[fatsmahoney]

bingo your the man thanx alot now i can sleep better lol