Are these Marbles?

[Old California]

At first, When I found these broken pieces of clear near circular glass looking pieces back in 2004, I assumed they were off a switch board or pertaining to some type of late 1900 century gizmo for a Train switch panel? You know fixed with a light behind telling which tracks have been switched or something of that mater, So I never pursued them any further.

Now, After yesterdays eye ball finds from the same area (Cross Creek train station & a later community) replacing the train depot maybe these are clear marbles as yesterdays find is completely round.

The (The Owls Drug Co.) bottle is no earlier than 1892 since this is when the Owls Co started so this community at Cross Creek surely may have been there the entire 1890's maybe even early 20th century, I'm not a Marble expert but yesterdays find sure appears to be a large clear marble?

Appreciate any info here, Thanks and good hunting.
Paul (Ca)

 

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[El]

Don't know about the possible marbles, neat bottle and how deep was the quarter . Thanks for the story.

El

 

[Old California]

Hi El,

El, The quarter is for sizing purposes I'm starting to think these are larger older clear marbles, I mean what else can they be?

Plus, I've met Battery once a few years ago or maybe 6-7 years ago? I'll be good to see him again, How time flies

Thanks amigo!
Paul

 

[bigfish31]

I think I lost my marbles, are those mine?

 

[Boxtopp]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for calling me today. Your large looking marble is for making fiber glass. When I was four years old my dad use to bring them home. He would find them next to the train tracks. Is their any factories around were you found them?

Looking forward toward a serious hunt bud, keep me in mind..

Eric

 

[flyspekau]

Dem look like marbles to me clearys or something like that we used to call them

 

[Old California]

Thanks gang,

Hey BoxTopp! Good talking to you yesterday, And glad to hear you and your family are well.

Thanks for sharing what your father said about these clear marble objects are, I guess they must have fell off the train up and down the entire railway including the ones I found at the old train depot. And yes we do have factories near here but most likely since this is the Southern Pacific rail way the fiber glass companies can be anywhere through-out California. I think San Jose has a couple of fiber glass companies and even Corcoran which is near my area has a fiber glass company as well.

Plus, Sure thing let's keep in touch and go detecting soon

Thanks so much for shaing this, There goes the marble mystery

Thanks again gang!
Paul (Ca)

 

[johnnycat]

Hmmm...The marbles my brother and I used to find in Calif. were not transparent but rather a biege looking, solid color.

 

[packerbacker]

Around here (Northern Calif.) those clear balls are also found along the railroad tracks. A long time ago I was told they were hauled by the traincar load to the cement plants and used in the kilns to break up the gypsum and other materials used to make cement. I won't swear to it but sounded good. No other reason to have so many lying on the ground along the tracks to the cement plants. Don't have time to research it right now.

 

[ianSF]

Hi Paul-

A little googling came up with these two possibilities:

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Have you ever been walking along a railroad right-of-way and found some glass balls? Through a combination of some newsgroup reading and firsthand experience of one of our members who's gone on to work for BNSF, we can tell you this: These balls are the raw materials used in the making of fiberglass. They are sometimes carried in open gondolas, so they tend to bounce out. When the freight car reaches the plant, the balls are unloaded then melted.

John Klemin offers the following opinion: "It is my understanding the RR's used the glass balls as casters under heavy freight that needed to be moved in the late 1800s. They would put 2 rows of 2, 1 "inch laths close together, fill the gaps with the marbles and push the freight up unto the marbles and then where ever they wanted them to go."

 

[Ant]

I say they are industrial marbles used as rollers to assist in moving heavy items that are loaded inside boxcars. Look up vintage industrial marbles.

 

[johnnycat]

I remember when we were kids, (early 1950's) we used to take a coke bottle, lay it on it's side. Then we would take our B-B gun, place the muzzle right up against the bottom and shoot it. If you did it just right you would get a perfect, "half-marble" that would fragment off. Ahhh...the good old days.