Railroad spikes and tie plates.

[NJ Marty]

I was wondering what are the different grades of steel and what grade would railroad spikes and the flat railroad plates be? When I walk my dog down the tracks I see so many of the plates that the ties were spiked to. These plates must weigh at least 10 to 12lbs each. I walk by so many just laying there (hundreds) and was wondering if it would be worth bringing them home to scrap. The spikes are laying around all over also. These have been laying there since they took out two rails in the mid 1980's. What is the price per lb of this grade steel?
Thanks
Marty

 

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[RJGMC]

Guess what? The tie plates still belong to the railroad, the spikes too. I work in a steel foundry and we Ger alot of used plates and spikes from the railroad itself. If you were to load a couple hundred of each up and head to the scrap yard, I am sure you would have a visit. They would not be there for a social call. The scrap yard would most likely call the railroad. They would already have you name and address.

As much as I love to scrap and get paid for what other people throw away, railroad debris is not the way to go.

Just my two cents.

Bob

 

[Gobpile]

Possibly Jail!

 

[truckinbutch]

Don't mess around railroads . Those folks have 0 sense of humor . Will prosecute the smallest thing to the max .
Jim

 

[NJ Marty]

Guess what? The tie plates still belong to the railroad, the spikes too. I work in a steel foundry and we Ger alot of used plates and spikes from the railroad itself. If you were to load a couple hundred of each up and head to the scrap yard, I am sure you would have a visit. They would not be there for a social call. The scrap yard would most likely call the railroad. They would already have you name and address.

As much as I love to scrap and get paid for what other people throw away, railroad debris is not the way to go.

Just my two cents.

Bob

Thanks for the info Bob. Its too bad that alot of this is allready being lost to time. Alot of the plates were thrown up on the sides and are covered with 20+ years of leaves The others are still in plain sight on the rocks. I know of one area I kick a little of the leaves away every once in a while and there is a pile of old rails at least 15 rails that were cut into approx 5-6ft lengths, very heavy prob 400lbs each I would guess.

 

[DemonWolfe]

yeah its to bad that they leave all that laying around to decay and rot away, but prosecute someone who is recycleing it when they themselves obviously have so much money already that they dont care. a few here and there mixed in some other stuff i dont think they would worry about, but as many as your talking, they would notice very easy.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Here in Texas most recycling yards have signs out stating it is illegal to try and scrap railroad equipment. No gray area here, all in black and white.

 

[WAres]

I buy for a large scrapyard and I do call the police weekly about railroad materials being brought in

 

[silversaddle1]

Funny, as I have been scrapping railroad materials for 20 years now. Yes, most yards will not buy railroad scrap. But keep in mind that not all railroad track is owned by the railroad. There are thousands of miles of spurs, sidings, and house tracks all over the country that are privately owned. I know, that's how we make a living. I'm not saying you can go pick the stuff up, just know that as long as you can prove where you obtain the material, they will buy it from you.

 

[boogeyman]

UPRR used to prosecute for theft. Would make the value of parts the same as new on the report, trying to drive the charges up to felony value. They usually threw trespassing in with the rest of the charges also. By the time they got done, they had tresspassing, possession of stolen property with intent, transporting stolen property, etc. etc.

Never made sense to me, going after someone that hard for picking stuff that possibly could end up being a safety issue.

 

[allen]

put them in the trunk of a car you are
junking and weigh it down a little more.

 

[poorhunter78]

They would work well for a throw away boat anchor....Or to tie to the end of a trot line, To weigh it down.....My 3 cents...

 

[boogeyman]

They would work well for a throw away boat anchor....Or to tie to the end of a trot line, To weigh it down.....My 3 cents...

We used to use sash weights from old windows. Worked great & didn't snag.

 

[poorhunter78]

They would work well for a throw away boat anchor....Or to tie to the end of a trot line, To weigh it down.....My 3 cents...

We used to use sash weights from old windows. Worked great & didn't snag.

We sometimes use the long lines with multiple hooks. Tie off from shore or a snag, then stretch it out and sink other end...If a rail plate were to be used on the end...I imagine the weight of it would be tough to pull up....

 

[clovis97]

I've gotten quite a few spikes and plates from junk I buy at auctions, and have never had a problem scrapping them.

Then again, I've never had more than 3 plates or 5 spikes at a time, and it has always been mixed in with other stuff.

I'm sure if you showed up with a wheel barrow full or more at your scrap yard, you would have a visit or two from serious people carrying badges.

 

[aa battery]

Possibly Jail!

10-4

 

[mlchrt4]

Last summer, I dug up an old railroad spike while out detecting in my neighbor's yard. When I came in and researched it, I found a web site or page that had a chart of different spikes, with dimensions and descriptions, etc to help date them. Of course, I didn't book mark the page. I know the spike dates to the late 1800's or early 1900's, but I can't find the page again. Has anyone ever researched or seen this page and or chart? Thanks.

 

[mlchrt4]

Eureka!!! Kept googling different things and found it....
track spikes

 

[NHBandit]

Some very cool stuff being made from old RR spikes.. The blacksmith shop at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge TN has several that they make for sale. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...12.0....0...1ac.1.32.img..6.8.896.wRNfHi44I0E

 

[augoldminer]

I wish the scrap yards that would not take mine rail or spikes.
I have had to replace rail in two mine because of scrap thieves