Any luck MDing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Pennsylvania is chock full of 'em.

And they're plentiful elsewhere too.

Anyone hunt old train stations (or in so many cases....where stations once stood)? Many in my area date back into the 1800's (though most stations are now gone - the land is still very rural & undeveloped). I also know where some of the 'rail-saide businesses' once stood in my area.

I'm gonna hunt some anyway cuz I'm stubborn like that <grin!>........but has anyone else been lucky hunting the railroad?

Thanks!



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[Lowbatts]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Yes, there are plenty of those sites around but you would prefer that there be some sort of excavation in process there to turn that iron infested place into a something with a few hospitable spots.

Found a bottle dump beside one long gone station that made it look like more of a way stop for the passengers to take a break at, bottles 6 feet deep and who knows how far back into the wall of a wash.

 

[Massbaycolonist]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Hi Gary. Those old depots look so tempting to find old coins, etc. But I haven't found anything good around them yet. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[homefires]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

There are tones of web sights on this stuff!

http://www.abandonedrails.com/gallery.asp?t=1&id=38

 

[The Buzzard King]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

I've had some pretty good luck at a few "former train station" sites.
Places that were active from the 1880's to the 1930's & 40's.
Nothing left there now, except a few cellar holes and foundations.
The place was loaded with Injuns, Mercs, Barbers, and even a Large Cent or 2.
TONS of iron, but lots of "old coin potential".
The immediate area of the station, and the trackbed area will probably be LOADED with iron.
Most of my good finds were from the surrounding hillsides, that overlooked the place.
Maybe the workers used to go up on the hills, where there was a view, to eat lunch or something.

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

There are tones of web sights on this stuff!

http://www.abandonedrails.com/gallery.asp?t=1&id=38

Thanks!

I see the ones in my area are missing from thatr site.

That's OK - I know where they lie along with their stations (now GONE!) <grin!>


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[Monty]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

My wife retired from a short line railway and I tried hunting along the tracks. There was so much iron it was almost impossible. I thought about getting a wheelbarrow and just picking up iron to scrap. The thing is, the railway serviced mostly a local steel mill and what they hauled was scrap metal! So, the price of scrap metal is practically nothing here. The railway hauls in thousands of tons of scrap and a lot falls off of the cars. Monty

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

My wife retired from a short line railway and I tried hunting along the tracks. There was so much iron it was almost impossible. The railway hauls in thousands of tons of scrap and a lot falls off of the cars. Monty

True - the rails I'm looking at are also considered short lines. I'd not be hunting the rails so much as the the locations where stations (about the size of 1 room schoolhouses) were located. I also know where a mix of hotels, grist mills, saw mills, etc.. were located (now gone). That is where I'd like to try hunting.

Hopefully, my soon-to-be MXT will help discriminate some of that junk.

I'll let y'all know.

 

[Hosensack]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Hey Gary, Where is moscowiashahshahs located sounds alot like my area, you replied about rock property walls, ice houses, once was railstations,etc. I'm in the lehigh,berks,montgomery county region, if you are close let me know we seem to like the same kinda spots.

 

[eathabs]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Look for the trash/bottle dump sites near them. When I was a young'n I found a sterling silver baby spoon at a dump site near Reading, PA that had a ton of old ceramic bottle tops. Of course I also remember a bunch of other metallic junque entwined with them.

Hal

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Hey Gary, Where is moscowiashahshahs located sounds alot like my area, you replied about rock property walls, ice houses, once was railstations,etc. I'm in the lehigh,berks,montgomery county region, if you are close let me know we seem to like the same kinda spots.

My 'easy reach' stompin' ground is a 10-mile radius of this Google Map pinpoint:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=18444...9545&spn=0.227377,0.53009&t=h&z=11&iwloc=addr

But even beyond that, there's also a TON of history in the Scranton area and the other 'metro' communities up & down the line. And it HASN'T been 100% paved/built over.

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[Hosensack]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

We have a perminent campsite(camper) at Spruce Lake Retreat in Canadensis we go up for a week or so everynow and then during the summer, I'll have to keep you posted it seems a good portion of the Keystone staters on here are from your area more so than mine, maybe a small group hunt.

 

[Goodyguy]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Be sure and do not overlook getting all the old date nails you can find. Easy to pull and worth $$

Just pull um out of the end of old RR cross ties.

http://fantasticprices.com/DateNail/Railroad.htm


Goodyguy~

 

[mlayers]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

No I haven't try them yet....Matt

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

Be sure and do not overlook getting all the old date nails you can find. Easy to pull and worth $$

Just pull um out of the end of old RR cross ties.

http://fantasticprices.com/DateNail/Railroad.htm

Thanks for the tip Goodguy!

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

I did a lot of research once, and located two different old rail road stations. One posted "No trespassing" and the other one was fenced in and was converted to a staging area for some kind of road works project. Lots of machinery and lumber and the whole place was black topped over.

Sheesh. Evidentally, it was not meant to be. Back to the parks and camp grounds again..... LOL



Ray S

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

I did a lot of research once, and located two different old rail road stations. One posted "No trespassing" and the other one was fenced in and was converted to a staging area for some kind of road works project. Lots of machinery and lumber and the whole place was black topped over.

Sheesh. Evidently, it was not meant to be.

My sites are wide open available.
In fact........four of the locations (train stations) don't even have the structures standing any more.....but I know exactly where they stood.
And two of those sites are buried DEEP in the woods long forgotten (need the quad to get there)

I'm hittin' em!

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[lafatlife]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

I have an old one in the town I live in but unfortunately it was built right next to a brass mill. There is so much junk my detector dings non-stop. Another bad thing is that they built the highway right next to it. There used to be a hotel where the highway now is. They had to build up the land by about oh I don't know say 40 or 50 feet. I don't know of any detector that will go that deep!!

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Re: Any luck MD'ing the railroad (stations, depots, etc...)

I did a lot of research once, and located two different old rail road stations. One posted "No trespassing" and the other one was fenced in and was converted to a staging area for some kind of road works project. Lots of machinery and lumber and the whole place was black topped over.

Sheesh. Evidently, it was not meant to be.

My sites are wide open available.
In fact........four of the locations (train stations) don't even have the structures standing any more.....but I know exactly where they stood.
And two of those sites are buried DEEP in the woods long forgotten (need the quad to get there)

I'm hittin' em!

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Pleas keep up informed as to any finds you may discover at the RR stations...

Ray S