N&W Builders plates

[NW Mailing List]

I have one Y6a builder's plate from no. 2130 which is iron, not brass.  
I bought it at the scrapper in Cincinnati in 1959 or 1960 and he cut  
it off the engine and handed it to me. The price was $ 5.00. The  
builder's number is 286 and the date is May, 1938. Does anyone know  
why this plate is cast iron instead of brass?

-Jim Herron