« Back to Jennings Rock Springs & Bear Junction Railroad
In the 1960s and 70s, when my dad was actively "working on the railroad," model railroaders had not only trains and layouts, but passes and even stock certificates for their private railway lines. They would exchange passes and "sell" stock to each other, as if the lines were real. People would write and request a pass from another collector, which would be issued for a certain period, say five years, or, rarely, lifetime. Dad had a three-ring binder with plastic pages in which he kept all of his fellow model-railroaders' passes, which were often very elaborate, usually in a Victorian style, and lovingly detailed.
Here are two links to stories about pass collecting:
http://www.geocities.com/fundynorthern/Passes.html
http://www.nutmegdivision.com/PassTrade1.htm