Old Brass YALE padlock

[Charley boy]

I have a 80+ yr old, Yale lock,has YALE on one side,"NYCTA IND" on other,any info on this lock???

[BBE]

A rekeyable lock, probably model 850 which was first made around 1890 and is still made today. Yours have a cast logo that indicates they were made for the New York City Transit System. I am guessing that each has a different key that won't open the others and the IND might mean individual so transit guys would know their master wouldn't work. The cast logo's were last made in the 1970's when the foundry was closed and they moved that factory from new england to elsewhere. Interesting that you can probably date them base upon when they changes the name from System to Authority, as all locks produced for them today are marked NYCTA and not NYCTS.
BBE.

[Charley boy]

Hi,All four YALE locks are keyed alike,Marked on bottom of cylinder "1616",two keys,numbered "1616" work all 4 locks.The "IND" stands for Independent division.The NYCTA has 3 lines,The "BMT","IRT","IND".I know about the history of the locks,I was only asking if they were common or rare.Thanks though,for your answer,Its nice to know other quys look at this site.

[Halflock]

The padlock is common. The CAST NAME is not. So those padlocks are rarer than most common padlocks.