New York Central Railroad Employee Payroll Punch Card Safety Always Pays
Cream
$19.99
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What the item actually is:
-This is better described as an employee payroll earnings/deductions statement or pay stub with machine-punched data, rather than simply a generic “punch card.”
-The printed heading visible on your example reads “The New York Central Railroad Company” and “Employee’s Gross Earnings and Deduction Information.” The front records payroll figures and deductions, while the reverse preserves the actual punched data. That makes it more interesting than an unused blank form.
A genuine piece of behind-the-scenes New York Central Railroad working history. Rather than a passenger timetable or promotional brochure, this is an actual employee payroll document—an artifact from the administrative machinery that kept one of America’s great railroads operating.
Printed across the top is “The New York Central Railroad Company” followed by “Employee’s Gross Earnings and Deduction Information.” The card records an employee’s earnings and payroll deductions and retains numerous machine-punched entries, providing a great visual example of the data-processing methods used before modern computerized payroll systems.
One of the best details is the prominent “SAFETY ALWAYS PAYS” slogan printed alongside the New York Central emblem. Railroad safety campaigns were an important part of employee operations, and its appearance on an ordinary payroll document gives the piece much more character than a generic accounting form.
The reverse is particularly interesting, showing the pattern of punched holes associated with the information recorded on the front. New York Central had a long history of using punched-card/tabulating technology in its business operations; the Smithsonian notes that the railroad was using tabulating equipment as early as 1895. This particular card should not be assumed to date that early, but it represents that broader tradition of machine-processed railroad recordkeeping.
This was working railroad paperwork, not an item originally produced for collectors. That is part of the appeal: it offers a small glimpse into an individual employee’s relationship with the railroad through wages, deductions and internal administrative records rather than the more commonly collected public-facing material.
Pre-owned vintage condition with expected age-related toning, staining, handling wear, punched openings and other evidence of actual use. Please review both front and back photographs closely for exact condition.
A particularly interesting piece for collectors of New York Central Railroad memorabilia, railroad employee artifacts, railroadiana, vintage payroll documents, early data-processing history, industrial ephemera, or occupational-history material.
New York Central Railroad Employee Payroll Punch Card Safety Always Pays
$19.99
-This is better described as an employee payroll earnings/deductions statement or pay stub with machine-punched data, rather than simply a generic “punch card.”
-The printed heading visible on your example reads “The New York Central Railroad Company” and “Employee’s Gross Earnings and Deduction Information.” The front records payroll figures and deductions, while the reverse preserves the actual punched data. That makes it more interesting than an unused blank form.
A genuine piece of behind-the-scenes New York Central Railroad working history. Rather than a passenger timetable or promotional brochure, this is an actual employee payroll document—an artifact from the administrative machinery that kept one of America’s great railroads operating.
Printed across the top is “The New York Central Railroad Company” followed by “Employee’s Gross Earnings and Deduction Information.” The card records an employee’s earnings and payroll deductions and retains numerous machine-punched entries, providing a great visual example of the data-processing methods used before modern computerized payroll systems.
One of the best details is the prominent “SAFETY ALWAYS PAYS” slogan printed alongside the New York Central emblem. Railroad safety campaigns were an important part of employee operations, and its appearance on an ordinary payroll document gives the piece much more character than a generic accounting form.
The reverse is particularly interesting, showing the pattern of punched holes associated with the information recorded on the front. New York Central had a long history of using punched-card/tabulating technology in its business operations; the Smithsonian notes that the railroad was using tabulating equipment as early as 1895. This particular card should not be assumed to date that early, but it represents that broader tradition of machine-processed railroad recordkeeping.
This was working railroad paperwork, not an item originally produced for collectors. That is part of the appeal: it offers a small glimpse into an individual employee’s relationship with the railroad through wages, deductions and internal administrative records rather than the more commonly collected public-facing material.
Pre-owned vintage condition with expected age-related toning, staining, handling wear, punched openings and other evidence of actual use. Please review both front and back photographs closely for exact condition.
A particularly interesting piece for collectors of New York Central Railroad memorabilia, railroad employee artifacts, railroadiana, vintage payroll documents, early data-processing history, industrial ephemera, or occupational-history material.