Railroad Reflector?

[deep6]

I dug this a few weeks ago at the river near wooden pilings that were dragged ashore several hundred feet and stacked up neatly in the woods. There is a steel RR bridge across the river a few hundred yards downstream. The item is covered in dimples and had only one glass jewel that popped out while field cleaning. I stuck it in the bottom of my Zippo for safekeeping. The metal is soft but so corroded and crunchy I nearly broke the tip off while checking it out. It feels too light for lead but too heavy for aluminum. The back side has a shiny spot where it was broken or soldered to something near the bottom. My guess is that it's some type of reflector from the RR or a really goofy cake server. The "jewel" is cut like a brilliant cut and not a bead. Any thoughts?

deep6

 

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[Montana Jim]

Very interesting... I have no idea, but I bet someone can help... I'll be watching to see if it is a reflector! Cool digs!

 

[Angelo]

Seems to me that the item would be labor intensive to produce in the quantities required by the Rail Roads and very easy for vandals to remove.

I'm leaning towards Jewelry item. Or a piece that goes on the end of a belt. Or perhaps, a RR LAMP reflector.

But then again, I'm no John Brown.

Tony