Railroad Passes

Railroad passes can be highly collectible, especially early passes (late 1800s/early 1900s) from rare railroads, those featuring attractive vignettes, or those signed by a notable or famous person. In the early days of rail travel, passes could be purchased, but were mainly given out to railroad executives, employees, family members and special guests. Generally printed on thick colored card stock paper, they could also take the form of ornate keychain-like tokens. Paper railroad passes generally featured the name of the holder, the date of issue, and the name of the railroad in an ornate type.