Question about Railroad tracks?

[FarmerChick]

absolutely Ivan

respect of what I am searching is key to any detecting....I sure learned that fast lol

 

[Burnt Chimney]

http://www.ncghostguide.byethost12.com/bostian.htm

Here is a site by the tracks just east of you on Buffalo Shoals Rd .
I ve been trying to find that fellas gold watch with no luck. lol
Site of a big train wreck back in 1891.
Be Safe.

 

[FarmerChick]

very cool Burnt

I live about 1/4 mile from Buffalo Shoals Rd----uh, the one in Maiden

hahaha I read that and thought, wow where is there train tracks on Buff Shoals Rd?? til I read Statesville very wild

that is cool history and I sure enjoyed reading it and yup, it is in my back of my mind for a possible hunt...I bookmarked those directions.

thanks for a great read!

 

[batcap]

Lots of good comments in this thread! An acquaintance told me his brother went hunting along some OLD tracks and found several pieces of silverware. It seems it was not uncommon for dissatisfied passengers to literally toss their dinners out the window. Take this with as many grains of salt as your doctor will allow.

 

[FarmerChick]

LOL tossing their dinners out the window with the silverware.....cool


I think this was a coal or supply route...not people route on these tracks.
I will be checking further on that one! Gotta look up the history on those local tracks.

 

[Monty]

My wife retired from a shortline railroad a few years ago. I hunted along the tracks and along side an old scale house. There was tons of metal in the ground on both sides of the tracks, so much that my detector was almost always nulled out! If I was in the market for scrap iron I'd find plenty, but it was too much trouble to dig up and tote it back to the truck. There was a walking/bike path along side the RR tracks and I did find a silver earring. Oh, one of the railway's biggest customers was a steel mill and they hauled heaped over scrap cars to the steel mill so that's where all the iron came from. Monty

 

[zerojinx]

I've found many a nice glass insulator along the tracks, and even a couple of nice "Thomas Edison Electric Battery Oil" early bottles. But beware, as others have said, it's tresspassing. I did this when younger, and was interrogated once or twice.

I was walking this morning down the tracks by my house and found 2 "Thomas Edison Electric Battery Oil" bottles. I also found a cache of glass insulators. Are the insulators worth anything?

 

[Burnt Chimney]

I've found many a nice glass insulator along the tracks, and even a couple of nice "Thomas Edison Electric Battery Oil" early bottles. But beware, as others have said, it's tresspassing. I did this when younger, and was interrogated once or twice.

I was walking this morning down the tracks by my house and found 2 "Thomas Edison Electric Battery Oil" bottles. I also found a cache of glass insulators. Are the insulators worth anything?

The blue ones will bring 5 or 6 bucks , The clear not as much.

 

[menotomymaps]

Yes, stay away from the live tracks.
You can get nailed for tresspassing.

If you're looking for ABANDONED tracks, have a look at the old rail maps on my site, all from the late 1800s:

http://menotomymaps.com/rail_maps.asp

 

[nvradar]

I read a short story of a nugget hunter who would detect some old rails that were used to transport placer gravels to a mill and he did find gold that had slid off the pile when being transported. I would think it could work for hardrock as well if they had to transport the ore any distance. Makes sense to me. NVRADAR

 

[jimcor]

Cool somebody else knew about date nails. (NHBandit) We used to walk the Rock Island Line in Oklahoma and see them, and take a few. Found a lot, mostly from the 30's. He's right, they aren't worth much, but people think they are, so you won't find many now. Same as the glass insulators on the lines along the tracks. Tracks are mostly still there, but the Rock Island doesn't run there any more.

Oh, the Rock Island line is a mighty good road
The Rock Island Line is the road to ride
The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road
If you want to ride it got to ride it like you find it
Get your ticket at the station on the Rock Island Line

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Yes, stay away from the live tracks.
You can get nailed for tresspassing.

If you're looking for ABANDONED tracks, have a look at the old rail maps on my site, all from the late 1800s:

http://menotomymaps.com/rail_maps.asp

Nice site!

 

[Bum Luck]

If you're new to the sport, I would learn on parks and tot lots first.

As a surveyor, I have a professional immunity from trespass laws, more than law enforcement and even game wardens.

I hunt along RR ROWs for property irons, and it's tough - lots of junk, fence staples, beer cans, rotten ties, you name it. No one EVER cleans this area up.

Apart from that is the issue of RR trespassing; You don't belong there and they don't like it, and now days there is the threat of terrorism to rail infrastructure. Gets everyone on edge. There's lots of $ at stake, and no benefit for allowing detectorists.

My last conversation with a RR guy was an interesting one, and I learned a lot from him. Especially stay away from the 10 foot zone of the tracks.

I'd move on.

 

[zerojinx]

Apart from that is the issue of RR trespassing; You don't belong there and they don't like it, and now days there is the threat of terrorism to rail infrastructure. Gets everyone on edge. There's lots of $ at stake, and no benefit for allowing detectorists.

My last conversation with a RR guy was an interesting one, and I learned a lot from him. Especially stay away from the 10 foot zone of the tracks.

Really. I had a interesting conversation with a RR guy, and got a different response. Of course it didn't have anything to do with MD. They didn't seem to care i was messin around the tracks, so long as i wasn't damaging anything or defacing any RR property. Maybe its because i'm from a different region of the country. Not so much of a terrorist threat down here in rural Texas.

I have a part time immunity from treaspassing, not so much as surveyors. As an archaeologist i can get away with alot.

 

[RRich]

I have a son who works for a railroad out west. From his storys, you might want to keep an eye out for snakes around the tracks. He's had some close calls with rattlers that like to snug up against the rails.

 

[Bum Luck]

Really. I had a interesting conversation with a RR guy, and got a different response. Of course it didn't have anything to do with MD. They didn't seem to care i was messin around the tracks, so long as i wasn't damaging anything or defacing any RR property. Maybe its because i'm from a different region of the country. Not so much of a terrorist threat down here in rural Texas.

Really. This guy was an experienced, well reasoning senior employee that didn't try to pull any BS on me. This leads to mutual respect. I don't make this stuff up. Really.

We didn't say anything about metal detecting. Why would I when I was working?

He said this: Please stay away from the 25' foot track zone (10' each way). Modern trains are very fast and very quiet when they run on welded rail, can surprise you, and can have part of the load protruding or come off like a projectile. Maybe he had to deal with a fatality like that. It changes your life, if you're not an idiot.

If you're metal detecting, you're using headphones and won't hear the train. You will walk on the tracks, because that's the easiest place to walk - I guarantee it. You could trip and turn an ankle of knock yourself out.
Here's a thread you should read; of interest is post a little way down the page of a guy named foxtrot_xray, a railroad employee:
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=249672

It's a geocaching forum. Some of the postings are downright scary in their ignorance.

Here's another one, from Operation Lifesaver, the national, non-profit rail safety education group:
http://www.maineol.org/

I'm not saying that you don't have local knowledge and experience in your neck of the country, but that may have nothing to do with the original poster, who seems to be inexperienced and shows wisdom by asking for information. I think we have a responsibility to give her safe information.

I have a part time immunity from treaspassing, not so much as surveyors. As an archaeologist i can get away with alot.

I NEVER abuse my trespass immunity. I don't look at it as getting away with something. It is a professional necessity, since I am a caretaker of the cadastral system, the framework of private property ownership. I do this for the benefit of the property owners.

 

[zerojinx]

Really. This guy was an experienced, well reasoning senior employee that didn't try to pull any BS on me. This leads to mutual respect. I don't make this stuff up. Really.

We didn't say anything about metal detecting. Why would I when I was working?

I'm not saying that you don't have local knowledge and experience in your neck of the country, but that may have nothing to do with the original poster, who seems to be inexperienced and shows wisdom by asking for information. I think we have a responsibility to give her safe information.

First of all, i only related a difference in conversation that i had. Second read the first post in the thread, in it the poster asks about the fessability of MDing along the RR. Hence my comment about not talking about MDing with the RR man i talked to, does relate to this forum. Third, your definately not worth talking to further as you seem to be only interested in insulting people. Really! you are now on the ignore list. Really

 

[sniffer]

hey Zero, how big is that chip on your shoulder? I didn't read any kind of insult in his reply. JMO