The Reading Railroad Checklace™
A necklace assembled in my New England workshop using an original brass tool check from the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and chains made by the oldest ballchain manufacturer in the US.
I was able to obtain a limited number of these tags in PA. Thaey came directly from a former P&R Railroad employee’s family.
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P&R) was one of the first railroads in the United States. This was the name for the famous Reading Railroad (of Monopoly lore) from 1833-1893, which dates these tags to that period. They would have been used to check out tools and equipment for the engineers on the locomotives as well as workers at the box car shops and other departments.
