I just was wondering what this was really used for. I also thought that a museum might want it, I’ve never seen one before. https://www.proxibid.com//asp/LotDetail ... ved_search

If I were to take a lucky guess, I'd say it was either a lunchbox for one of the head end crew or a tool box

It only has the railroad name stenciled.
The suspicious side of me immediately realized that anyone with some old stencils, old stock lead-based paint and basic weathering skills could turn any old item into a "railroad" one like this...

The entire auction is loaded with dozens of examples of Rock Island relics, memorabilia and detritus, so I'm doubtful that this collector got hoodwinked by some unscrupulous dealer passing of a random metal box as a CRI&P item.

However, "Rock Island Lines" was seldom used as an official moniker on such property, it seems. I wouldn't touch this with the proverbial ten-foot pole without an extensive explanation about how this was used, by whom, in what era.

OTOH I do happen to see one bit of chicanery later in Day 2's listings when someone claims an E.A. Gill bellows boat whistle was used in a Harvey House to summon staff before a train's arrival....... yeah, my skeptical meter just red-lined........

The handle make me question it's authenticity/utility. The diameter is so small that it would bend if there was more than a few pounds in the box - and it's not bent. It would also be very uncomfortable to carry if the total weight of the box and contents was more than about five or ten pounds.