Brass Tool and Time checks

Brass railroad tool checks and time checks are neat little items that are often overlooked by collectors. The key to any railroad operation large or small, are people. When a tool is taken off the rack, an employee would leave one of these checks to show that he or she was using it. When an employee went to work, they would move their time check from "out" to "in". At the end of the day they would put it back to "out" column and go home. These are personal items that were once connected to workers that gave their hearts and soul to the railroad. Also, as the Wabash demonstrates, they were not always round.