Railroadiana

Many people are facinated by old railroads - they were part of the fabric of our lives, connecting our communities in a by-gone era. Collecting railroadiana is one way to remember the romance and glory of the great age of railroads.

Rare Rock Island Railroad Bouillon Cup

Old railroad china is only one small aspect of railroadiana. Sturdy but beautiful, it was commercial grade quality in order to withstand lots of heavy use and to stay in place on rocking dining car tables. Patterns and colors vary by railroad line - many experimented with several patterns and not all were exclusive to a specific company. Some railroads used stock patterns while others had exclusive patterns developed for use in their dining cars alone. Some patterns and pieces are quite difficult to locate which makes them somewhat pricey.

Scarce C & O Railroad Water Can

Tinware is yet another type of railroad collectible, encompassing the many containers and other metal objects used by the railroad companies. Albeit, not all made of tin, these items tended to be rather battered by years of hard use. Because of this, these pieces are typically not as pricey as some railroad collectibles unless a rare item is located or a hard to find logo is found.

Wherever your interest leads you, you can most likely find something of interest since the collectibles range for railroadiana is quite large - paper, lanterns, uniforms, buttons, keys, locks, bells, badges, photos, spittoons, postcards - the list goes on and on. For sure there is something here for everyone and would at the very least make a good His and Hers collectible hobby!