reproduction locks beware

[James Meatherall]

I bought a Union Pacific CS-21 railway lock online and its a very good copy. High quality, good craftmanship and to the untrained eye may not be caught. I paid almost $70 US to my door for the lock, so needless to say, not too impressed. I can post pictures if anyone wants to see it for reference incase they run into one.

[wylk]

It would be most helpful, if you can, to describe/photograph the points where the reproduction can be distinguished from the real thing.

[oldbiscuit]

James, Sorry for your bad luck. Here's a picture of my CS-21 UP lock. This one I know is an origional. Please post the pics of your fake so we can compare.

[James Meatherall]

Here 2 pictures I took with my cell phone, hope they are clear enough

[oldbiscuit]

Yup, definately a fake I buy a lot of locks off of Ebay,and if I have any doubts,I always ask for more pictures,(close ups,back sides,side views) and I try to look up the lock in various books and web sites. If I feel it's a fake,the deal is off.. For the untrained eye, the major differences in the two locks are,
1. shape
2. lettering size and spacing
3. grind marks on face
4. fit and finish
5. rivets( fake has large rivets)
6. hole cover(origional has Adlake stamped in it)

[James Meatherall]

Well now I still need a real one lol Still a nice lock though for a repo....