HANDY!--->Abandoned Rails~ Website = MAPS, historic info & photos

Vegasphotoman · Sep 23, 2014

Hi everyone!, my 1rst post on treasurenet....anyways...I'm sure this link has prolly been posted before.... but...just in case...here it is....
Abandoned Rails website website---->>> Abandoned Rails: Home
has each state and shows where the old torn up or abandoned rails used to lay...MAPS with rail routes.historic info and dates etc...location photos even on many...good stuff ...one more thing to help you find that treasure trove!

I ran across this website while doing research on some old railroad ties... I found a pile of R&R ties at an abandoned farm (farm dates back to the late 30's) about 400 yards from my house.........., they had date nails from 1918 to 1932 range.........that fits right in with the old Tonopah and Tidewater Rail Road that was abandoned in 1940s about 25 miles form my house....
only other close by rails are in Vegas ....about 60 miles away.... I'm giving it a 50/50 chance on odds that they are from the T&T line... they are now used as steps in the yard...leading up the hill to my garage...see pics of some of the date nails and the ties as they are now. the ties are 8feet long, some are 12" wide and about 7-8 inches thick, pretty serious sized wood..the gauge looks standard a little less than 5 feet..

happy hunting! Paul C Vegasphotoman :headbang:

as much as it is fun to find stuff, research is 1/2 the fun......... :icon_thumright:

prospect007 · Sep 23, 2014

welcome, and thanks for the link.

roadrunner · Sep 25, 2014

Thanks for the link.
Did not know that one.
And welcome to tnet.

davin · Sep 27, 2014

thanks for sharing the good info. appreciate it.

Vegasphotoman · Sep 28, 2014

your welcome fellas! ya ...some times too much information is a good thing! :-)

and a little update on the top post about the railroad ties ini my yard possibly being from the Tonopah and Tidewater RR line that was tore up in 1940.....on Friday this past week (Sept 26th 2014) we took a little break and drove to Tecopa Hot Springs to soak in the healing springs...anyways....we stopped by Shoshone Calif, its about 25 miles from Pahrump NV on the way back to the house....

the T&T line ran straight through town in Shoshone, so we found the grade and did some walking, found a RR tie from the orig RR....it appeared to measure a bit smaller in measurement width wise than the ones in my yard.... the track gauge and such was the same, little less than 5 ft.... not sure if they always used same same sized ties the length of the railroad or if sometimes bigger thicker ties were used as I'm not a RR expert....any..hoot, either way Ive got antique ties in the yard for sure...just not sure of the origin. :-( the Union Pacific has heavy rails in Vegas, so prob from thereabouts...most likely.

found some telegraph lines and someone had sawed one down in the past some time...they must've wanted to nab the glass insulators (clear ones are on every pole in this area near Shoshone Calif)....
see pics.....shows grade looking north ...my kids being nut jobs... some pics from inside the Shoshone Museum as well...