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Promotional keychain, Ferrocarriles de Cuba — División Occidente
Object/Artifact
A rectangular cast-metal keychain fob with rounded corners on a link chain (the split ring is now missing, leaving the chain's end loop open). The front is die-cast in low relief: a stylized monogram of interlocked letters reading "FC" (for Ferrocarriles) formed as two facing locomotive/rolling-stock shapes on wheels, with a small decorative scroll above, over the lettering "MÁQUINAS / FERROCARRILES DE CUBA / DIVISIÓN OCCIDENTE" ("Locomotives / Railways of Cuba / Western Division"). The reverse is plain but for raised lettering: "VIAJE MÁS CONFORTABLE POR FERROCARRIL" ("Travel more comfortably by rail"). The metal is worn with greenish surface corrosion.
2025.1.66
Kept by Leopoldo Arús Caraballo
The Cabrera Arús family collection
2025.1
MAKER: Issued by/for Ferrocarriles de Cuba (the Cuban national railways), División Occidente (Western Division), as a promotional item. The keychain's actual manufacturer (a medal/badge maker) is not marked. DATE / PERIOD: Not dated on the object; 20th century, Cuban. "Ferrocarriles de Cuba" as a unified national railway framing and the "División Occidente" administrative naming point to the post-1959 nationalized railway era; a date from roughly the 1960s–1980s is a reasonable estimate, hedged.
MITRANS. Ferrocarriles de Cuba. Divisiones Occidente. Viaje más confortable por ferrocarril.
Front (Spanish): "MÁQUINAS / FERROCARRILES DE CUBA / DIVISIÓN OCCIDENTE" ("Locomotives / Railways of Cuba / Western Division"), with an interlocked "FC" locomotive monogram. Reverse (Spanish): "VIAJE MÁS CONFORTABLE POR FERROCARRIL" ("Travel more comfortably by rail"). Languages: Spanish.
Metal
MATERIALS: Cast metal (a pewter/white-metal or zinc alloy) fob; metal link chain. Greenish corrosion suggests a copper-bearing alloy or surface contamination. TECHNIQUES: Die-cast or die-struck metal fob with relief lettering and monogram on the front and raised slogan on the reverse; integral loop attached to a link chain.
Fair
Leopoldo Arús Caraballo
owner
Havana
Cuba
Caribbean
Central America
use, issuance
This is an institutional advertising keychain for the Cuban national railways, Ferrocarriles de Cuba, specifically its División Occidente (Western Division, the Havana-centered network of the western part of the island). It pairs a corporate identity element — the "MÁQUINAS" (locomotives) heading and an interlocked "FC" monogram styled as facing engines — with a customer-facing promotional slogan on the back, "Viaje más confortable por ferrocarril" ("Travel more comfortably by rail"), encouraging rail travel. The unified "Ferrocarriles de Cuba" branding and divisional administrative naming are consistent with the nationalized railway of the post-1959 period, which is the basis for the suggested 1960s–1980s date.