Master key questions.

[IamTrainsYT]

Would anyone know what the 3 letters on railway master/driver keys mean, specifically RPT please?

Maker I guess. None of mine say RPT, but they have Crewkit written on them.

RPT is possibly and abbreviation for 'RailPart'

Master keys have had various things stamped on them over the years but RPT is the manufacturer Unipart/Railpart. Newer keys seem to have Crewkit stamped on them, I have both RPT and Crewkit keys plus an old key which is stamped with a number.

I bought my master key and T key at the same time from HOPS. (You need to provide proof of legitimate use by the way so there is no point going and trying your luck to get one spotters...)

My T key is engraved with “HOPS” - so would make sense on the manufacturer stamp theory right…

Well i’m not sure what exactly is engraved on my master key

 

[skyhigh]

And strangely the 195 external cab doors are locked/unlocked using the drivers master key!

Good luck trying to open the door using a standard driving key!

 

[ExRes]

I bought my master key and T key at the same time from HOPS. (You need to provide proof of legitimate use by the way so there is no point going and trying your luck to get one spotters...)

My T key is engraved with “HOPS” - so would make sense on the manufacturer stamp theory right…
View attachment 113554
Well i’m not sure what exactly is engraved on my master key
View attachment 113555

Your master key has exactly the same marks as one of mine, I can't make out if it's a stylized dog? a rhino? letters? or has my eyesight just given up?

 

[railwaytrack]

I bought my master key and T key at the same time from HOPS. (You need to provide proof of legitimate use by the way so there is no point going and trying your luck to get one spotters...)

My T key is engraved with “HOPS” - so would make sense on the manufacturer stamp theory right…
View attachment 113554
Well i’m not sure what exactly is engraved on my master key
View attachment 113555

That website sensibly checks. But unfortunately many others do not. I know of four websites that sell Master Keys and T Keys and BR1 keys and various other railway keys without any checks at all. Anyone can just order some. Additionally these keys turn up on sites like Ebay every week. It is quite worrying how easy it is to get hold of railway keys.

That is a very interesting T Key you posted a photo of with a hole in it so it can go on a keychain! I have never seen one with a hole in it! Did you buy it like that? Or did you have to drill the hole in it yourself?

 

[driver9000]

Your master key has exactly the same marks as one of mine, I can't make out if it's a stylized dog? a rhino? letters? or has my eyesight just given up?

I have one with that stamp and it looks like DJM.

 

[tiptoptaff]

I have one with that stamp and it looks like DJM.

I assume DJM are a manufacturer - it was often stamped on loco brake blocks in my heritage days

 

[IamTrainsYT]

That is a very interesting T Key you posted a photo of with a hole in it so it can go on a keychain! I have never seen one with a hole in it! Did you buy it like that? Or did you have to drill the hole in it yourself?

It took forever to figure it out (I started with a normal drill ), but yeah it was me that drilled the hole in it! ended up having to use a titanium stepped drill bit on a pillar drill and secure the key in a vice, that I then clamped down. Just used as much pressure as I could after that…

I don’t recommend doing it though, as I can imagine the motor getting damaged on less industrial drills. Also my key hangs off my lanyard, and when wearing it in the snow one day the area I drilled through ended up rusting.

 

[DaveTM]

It took forever to figure it out (I started with a normal drill ), but yeah it was me that drilled the hole in it! ended up having to use a titanium stepped drill bit on a pillar drill and secure the key in a vice, that I then clamped down. Just used as much pressure as I could after that…

I don’t recommend doing it though, as I can imagine the motor getting damaged on less industrial drills. Also my key hangs off my lanyard, and when wearing it in the snow one day the area I drilled through ended up rusting.

Here is my alternative method to attach a T key to a key ring, with no drilling needed!

 

[Ashley Hill]

Here’s my handy carriage key,ideal for door control panels and does not rip one’s pocket.

 

[railwaytrack]

It took forever to figure it out (I started with a normal drill ), but yeah it was me that drilled the hole in it! ended up having to use a titanium stepped drill bit on a pillar drill and secure the key in a vice, that I then clamped down. Just used as much pressure as I could after that…

I don’t recommend doing it though, as I can imagine the motor getting damaged on less industrial drills. Also my key hangs off my lanyard, and when wearing it in the snow one day the area I drilled through ended up rusting.

Here is my alternative method to attach a T key to a key ring, with no drilling needed!

Here’s my handy carriage key,ideal for door control panels and does not rip one’s pocket.

I think that back in BR days there was a T key that just contained the bottom square part and had a hole in it on top so that it could be put on to a keychain. It looked like the one that Ashley Hill posted a photo of except it had a small handle on top with the hole. I use to see lots of staff with them but i have not seen any staff with these for a long time. I do not know why they stopped them as they seemed very useful as they were nice and small and could easily fit on a keychain.

Are the other two ends of the T key actually used for anything these days? I know the bottom square part is commonly used to open and activate door control panels on many trains (such as all Siemens Desiro and Siemens Desiro City trains and most ex BR stock) and for a few other things but i have never seen the other two ends of the T key be used? Are they actually still used for anything? If not why do they still use this T key instead of a simplified one that just contains the bottom square part like the one i mentioned above?

 

[Sheridan]

The square part is used for the lock on gangway doors on sprinters. The round part with the notch operates the staff door control (equivalent of a butterfly on 150/158) on 153s. I’m sure there are other uses too!

 

[Ashley Hill]

The round end with the lug is also used to turn the individual ETH supply on and off on Mk3 stock. The tapered end for locking slam doors.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 May 2022 ==

I think that back in BR days there was a T key that just contained the bottom square part and had a hole in it on top so that it could be put on to a keychain.

Yes that is a Southern region style key.
The key pictured earlier I made from a standard key.

 

[43096]

The round end with the lug is also used to turn the individual ETH supply on and off on Mk3 stock. The tapered end for locking slam doors.

Technically it doesn't turn the ETH supply on and off. It will turn the vehicle controls from 'off' to 'aux only' and 'aux and ac (aircon)' - the ETH supply is live regardless* and the vehicle should be treated as being live electrically.

* unless of course the emergency isolator is turned to off

 

[Ashley Hill]

Technically it doesn't turn the ETH supply on and off. It will turn the vehicle controls from 'off' to 'aux only' and 'aux and ac (aircon)' - the ETH supply is live regardless* and the vehicle should be treated as being live electrically.

* unless of course the emergency isolator is turned to off

Yes but I didn’t want to get too technical.

 

[TEW]

The square part is used for the lock on gangway doors on sprinters. The round part with the notch operates the staff door control (equivalent of a butterfly on 150/158) on 153s. I’m sure there are other uses too!

The round part is also used to isolate internal doors on Desiros.

 

[L401CJF]

That website sensibly checks. But unfortunately many others do not. I know of four websites that sell Master Keys and T Keys and BR1 keys and various other railway keys without any checks at all. Anyone can just order some. Additionally these keys turn up on sites like Ebay every week. It is quite worrying how easy it is to get hold of railway keys.

That is a very interesting T Key you posted a photo of with a hole in it so it can go on a keychain! I have never seen one with a hole in it! Did you buy it like that? Or did you have to drill the hole in it yourself?

I would agree there. I started training as a conductor last year and a BR16 key isn't part of our issue, however it makes life easier to have one as there are a few staff only gates on our network which use BR16s and saves going the long way round (all authorised before anybody asks!)

I ordered one online - the website I used did state rail staff only but not once did they check! Pretty worrying.

 

[jupiter]

The round part with an insert is also used on various internal train fittings, for example light diffusers to give access to change the bulb, on some 100-series DMUs.

 

[NealFitz]

Out of interest does anyone know what do Translink Northern Ireland Railways trains and Irish Rail trains use? Do their trains have the same master keys that we use? Or have they got their own keys over there?

Standard UK Master key on the CAFs, the engines for the 201s and GM111s have a brass key. i'm not passed for the GMs so do not have the key to show you

 

[RPM]

Some of ours have "URL" stamped on them, which I guess is Unipart Rail?

 

[Juniper Driver]

Here’s my handy carriage key,ideal for door control panels and does not rip one’s pocket.

I've got one like that from a broken one.Without the hole, though.

 

[Efini92]

Good luck trying to open the door using a standard driving key!

Apparently one driver managed it once. Must have had his spinach

 

[XAM2175]

So out of interest what do the 59/66/67/68/70/88 use instead if they do not use the master key? Do they use a BR1/BR1A/BR1B/BR1C key or a T key or is it some type of specialised key just for these classes? Also why did they decide not to use the master key on these classes when it is used on pretty much every other class of train (every DMU and every EMU and every other locomotive other than these) in the country?

Classes 59, 66, 67, 69, and 70 all use the AAR-style* reverser handle. It's 'specialised' in the sense that it's unconventional in Britain, but it's been the standard in North America since the early '60s and I can only presume that EMD and GE weren't asked to - and didn't see a reason to - do it differently here. It's the same also with EMD and GE locomotives in Ireland and Australia, and probably a heap of other places as well.

Classes 68 and 88 use ordinary keys (like you might get with a large-ish padlock), which has been the standard practice for European manufacturers for a while now. You can see one inserted in the lock nearest the camera in this photograph of a Class 68 cab.

* = Association of American Railroads