Metal dangers

[jeff of pa]

The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.), 29 April 1911.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1





I Used to have One I dug.
Not sure if I still have part of it or Not.
I messed with it, with a Lighter, Pocket Knife Etc
before and after finding out what it was.
ended up breaking it in half. it was so old and delicate..


But Hey ! Don't do as I Do.
I never Learned the meaning of Fear & Common Sense
over Curiosity .


==========

New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), 15 May 1914.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1




The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.), 19 June 1902.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

 

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[jeff of pa]

I wonder if they had Coins in their Pockets .

"Playing" ?

The Lamar register. (Lamar, Colo.), 22 Oct. 1892.



https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...ext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

 

[Gare]

Thanks Jeff this is GREAT TO KNOW !!! Safety FIRST ALL !!!!

 

[Megalodon]

Before the scourge of drugs, this used to be publicized in the elementary schools. I remember the posters.

 

[jeff of pa]

Before the scourge of drugs, this used to be publicized in the elementary schools. I remember the posters.

Yep, Living in a Mining Area They used to Verbally warn us and
point out the Posters at least once a Year, on the Blasting Caps

also about entering old abandoned Mining sites.
Which I Practically Lived at when ever I was Bored & took a Walk alone.

Though there were many more Railroads Here then there are now,
I never Heard of Railroad Torpedoes till a Few years ago. on TreasureNet
I think. Here or W&E Treasures.

 

[Gare]

So if i read this correctly Jeff . If we find one of these devices we should wear ear plugs when disarming LOL JUST KIDDING . I do thionk this is a great thread letting people know there are things out there that can harm and even kill people.

 

[jeff of pa]

I Think the dangers are Over stated.

As I said, I dug a Blasting Cap once.
Didn't know what it was, Mark Parker on W&E Treasures said it was
a Civil war Cannon Friction Primer

Looked most like the Center one Here



it did have a Hole like the top 2,
Except it didn't have the attachment, It was already Broken there.
So I can't rule it out 100%.

at the time after I was told Blasting Cap, I messed with it and when it Broke in half, saw it Had a Green Packing.
(I'm Guessing Spoiled Gun Powder)

I Placed it in my Sink and Held My Lighter to it.
Nothing happened except I Burned My finger when the Lighter got Hot



Reading the Stories I Suppose I was Lucky.

Or the Warnings now are overstated, Due to Age

I Have dug allot of wire too .
Of course Wire could have been for allot of things.

But best Be careful If your Not Me

 

[lairmo]

Didn't you "Ask MARK PARKER"...lol

 

[Gare]

Well I had never considered finding a blasting cap. I am sure there are places near me that used them so I thank you for the heads up! But in the mean time there are so many dangers to watch out for. Maybe a section of dangerous thing to be aware of. Military ordnance, Even a discarded needle and many more . I once found a live grenade top while in Va. The bottom part was missing and at the time with out thinking I pulled the pin. There was a small bang.I am sure there are a lot of things out there that am not aware of can hurt us

 

[Joe-Dirt]

What were railroad torpedoes used for?

 

[jeff of pa]

What were railroad torpedoes used for?

My understanding They were Wired to the Track, To warn of Danger ahead.
So the train had Time to Slow & Stop.

 

[creskol]

Damn the torpedoes .. full speed ahead! Interesting post, Jeff..Thanks for the share!

 

[tamrock]

Your post reminds me of a time I came home to Iowa from Colorado on my long change days off and this happened. I immediately knew where it happened as, I've known the location of that storage magazine for some time.

On November 20, 1983, an explosion of an explosives storage bunker just south of Pleasant Hill occurred. Reports were that two teenagers were hunting around the area. One of the teenagers may have shot a bullet from a hill which penetrated the bunker ceiling, which is the probable cause of the explosion. The two teenagers were killed in the explosion leaving only small pieces of shirts. The explosion was felt 45 miles away from the site. At least 25 homes within a mile radius of the explosion suffered damage, doors and windows were blown out, ceilings fell and housed were knocked off their foundations, police said. One house, 300 yards directly up the valley from the shack, suffered a 1-inch-wide crack the entire width of its basement wall

 

[tamrock]

My understanding They were Wired to the Track, To warn of Danger ahead.
So the train had Time to Slow & Stop.

View attachment 1662607

I was told by an other kid those were in fact called torpedo's. We got in a caboose one time and this one kid took one. He went home and got an axe and then put it on the track and we all watched him as he hit it with the flat end of the axe. That thing went KA-BOOM!!!. That was it, a big ass boom and he was complaining he couldn't hear anything after that. No one was hurt, but Lord did that thing make a loud boom. I remember the device being covered in a red wax paper of sort back then, much like the one in the video.

 

[sandchip]

So, curiosity kills more than just cats.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Thanks Jeff!!!!!

 

[Red James Cash]

Blasting caps are nothing compared to what I came across as a kid one time.A strip mall was being built behind our house.we lived on a cliff which was behind our house.we used to climb it as a short cut.taking the short cut one day I came across a good size stick of jellied nitro.Touch it, no,I went home and called the cops.they were nervous as he'll carrying that thing away.LMAO

 

[Rogerv]

When I was a kid I lived near the tracks and a control house we found a whole box of railroad torpedoes on the side of the tracks. we used to put them on the tracks just to hear them go off. luckily we never thought of hitting them with anything nor did we know the danger. We spent many of hours walking the tracks looking for coke bottles that was our allowance and candy money. Also knew an old black woman that was a decedent of the slaves from the Calvert family that lived in a huge 1800's house that had no electricity or running water next to the tracks. In my 40's I tried to hunt the location with my detector but due to the large number of homeless vagabonds I was scared off (I didn't feel safe)

 

[dirtlooter]

my grandfather and great grandfather did a lot of blasting so there was a lot of everything at his house. He kept it put up and had a safe building for it but it was there. I even used a few caps myself on some stump projects but we understood the safety aspect. Farmers could get anything back then. Also used carbide lamps, had cans of the stuff and now it is a controlled substance. like using those lamps and still have several very old brass ones

 

[jeff of pa]

my grandfather and great grandfather did a lot of blasting so there was a lot of everything at his house. He kept it put up and had a safe building for it but it was there. I even used a few caps myself on some stump projects but we understood the safety aspect. Farmers could get anything back then. Also used carbide lamps, had cans of the stuff and now it is a controlled substance. like using those lamps and still have several very old brass ones

When I was a Kid, there was a Gas Station that Sold Blasting Caps, Fuse .
& Perhaps dynamite.
We would stop at the station, Dad would go in & come out with the caps, & fuse
which he would put in the back of the truck. I Remember Knowing what he Bought, But I Don't remember ever seeing them..
He would then drive to a dirt road & drive back to a Bunker,
Get a couple Sticks of dynamite. Rap them in Rags and Put them in the Back.
From there we would go to another Dirt road and Go back to a Deep Mine,
where he would occasionally work an extra shift at night. I take it to
prep for the Morning Shift, & Get us some Winter coal for us right away.

There was a Heist made from an Old Car there.
Dad would hop in the buggy & mom would Drop him Down.

He'd fill the Buggy with Coal & fill his Personal buckets .
Set the Dynamite,
then Ring for Mom to Heist him back up.
& we'd Leave.

By the time Morning Shift come in, There was Fresh Stuff to work,
And the Dust had settled