A buddy found this, railroad related, no idea.

[ryaan21]

A buddy found this today. It says SOO LINE on the front and has the number 17 on the back. It is lead and about the size of a dime.

The SOO LINE part is easy. That was the name of the railroad that runs through this town until they changed to CN, Canadian National.

I know the picture is blurry, he only has a cell phone camera right now.

 

[Troyounce]

You might want to try a railroad forum and one of the guys in the "know might be able to tell you what it is!


Good luck!

 

[Mitch1FL]

Box car seal.

 

[ryaan21]

Sealing a boxcar? I believe you but it seems a little small for a boxcar.

 

[ncsilverspider]

Box car seal.

I agree with Mitch1FL. 9 out of 10 it's a lead boxcar seal. I am not sure when they started using lead seals (not much on the internet, either. ) but I believe most railroads used them until the 30's-40's when they changed to iron or steel strips. Years passed, and they began using the hard plastic strips that are used today. As for the railroad, obvously it was used on the SOO line, which was founded in 1949 and ran from North Dakota to Michigan via Chicago. Hope this helps!

-ncsilverspider

 

[michaelorange]

These lead seals where used by railroads pre Civil war and into the1920's maybe later. The number on the back was to Identify the station that sealed the lock. The Car locks used with these seals had a small hole in the body and hasp that the wire went though.
If you would like to learn about the EH&N visit this link http://www.railroadkeys.com/history/EHNRR.html