Railroads

[wormswithearrings]

ohio has alot of railroads, so i decided to try them out! most of them are all rock and some soil. my question is this, is it possible for some of the rock and stuff could contain metal? reason i ask is cause when i was getting hits(at some spots) i dug up nothing, really nothing. so i wasnt sure what all they use to fill in next to railroads. also, does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to detect them?

im pleased to report i have found a 1936 wheatie and a 1946 wheatie over the weekend. we have a great place near my home. its a rest stop that was put there in the 1930s so the farmers had a place to rest while going from farm to farm.lol anyway, i detected there and found some fun stuff. i plan on going back and searching some more.

thanks in advance for all advice!

 

[jonnyrebel00]

Did you find any iron near where you were digging? being so close to a rr iron is very likely to be there somewhere. you could have been chasing a halo. if you were diggin where you got a good signal, then usually somewhere around the sides you will find the iron that was causing it to be good. i have never hunted around the rr up here in nodak; just usually the rr towns where there is next to nothing left. good luck.

 

[warsawdaddy]

The old ties have a flathead nail driven in the ends.Some of them are collectable.The code on the nail tells when that tie was laid and who made it/what RR.There's a site but I no longer have it.Maybe someone else on here has it.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Found this site you can start with;

http://facstaff.uindy.edu/~oaks/DateNailInfo.htm

There is usually some tie nails and spikes on ebay.Spikes need to be dated(numbered),but some have gone for $20.The nails,which look like roofing nails only slightly larger can go from $1 to $3 ea.

 

[flyinguy]

hi, wormy, how ya doin'? i am dieing to go strip the old telegraph copper lines along the tracks near me but i might end up in jail. they are falling down all over and copper is at a premium. make sure you get permission on this property. if it is abandoned you are probably safe. i have done those, with perm. lots of iron and spikes. they are cool and some are valuable. the GOLDEN SPIKE! grats on your finds! Bill

 

[cam9457]

Hey Wormy, could be alot of things, but I would agree with everybody else about a probable halo from a spike or something. I've been a conductor on a freight train for a good number of years now, you may also be getting a signal from pieces of iron ore mixed in with the ballast spilled from an ore car. Could be any number of things that were metal that spilled or fell off the train. I know I used to lose all kinds of stuff from my pockets(change, my switch keys, tools...) climbing up and down the ladders of the cars all day. Also if you see camp cars along the tracks anywhere you might do well mding the area where the camp cars were "parked over night. The track gangs that sleep in those cars(guys that repair and maintain the tracks) work very hard during the day and are known "kick back more than a few" at night. I've seen them drop all kinds of stuff after they have moved on. Another common place for train crews to drop things would be around hand thrown switches. Just PLEASE be very careful and leave one ear out of the headphones at all times. Many people are supprised by just how quiet a modern freight train can be, more so when they are operating on welded rail, you won't hear the normal click-clack as the train moves from one piece of rail to the next. And of course remember that railroad property is private property, most modern freight rails don't tolerate tresspassers but most train and engine crews won't bother you as long as you stay out of there way. But on the off chance someone does decide to give you a hard time if your on railroad property it will be federal railroad police that show up. Just be careful and use common sense and you should find some cool stuff. Look, listen, live

 

[flyinguy]

Hey Wormy, could be alot of things, but I would agree with everybody else about a probable halo from a spike or something. I've been a conductor on a freight train for a good number of years now, you may also be getting a signal from pieces of iron ore mixed in with the ballast spilled from an ore car. Could be any number of things that were metal that spilled or fell off the train. I know I used to lose all kinds of stuff from my pockets(change, my switch keys, tools...) climbing up and down the ladders of the cars all day. Also if you see camp cars along the tracks anywhere you might do well mding the area where the camp cars were "parked over night. The track gangs that sleep in those cars(guys that repair and maintain the tracks) work very hard during the day and are known "kick back more than a few" at night. I've seen them drop all kinds of stuff after they have moved on. Another common place for train crews to drop things would be around hand thrown switches. Just PLEASE be very careful and leave one ear out of the headphones at all times. Many people are supprised by just how quiet a modern freight train can be, more so when they are operating on welded rail, you won't hear the normal click-clack as the train moves from one piece of rail to the next. And of course remember that railroad property is private property, most modern freight rails don't tolerate tresspassers but most train and engine crews won't bother you as long as you stay out of there way. But on the off chance someone does decide to give you a hard time if your on railroad property it will be federal railroad police that show up. Just be careful and use common sense and you should find some cool stuff. Look, listen, live

yeah, those amtrak trains are quiet! years ago i was huntin' bunnies, sorry ladies, along the tracks at little falls. a big freighter came that i could here for a mile. then i was crossing the tracks and all the sudden a whistle blast! OMG! new shorts. lucky i was fast. and wormy, it could be coal too. i dig it a lot. most has metal in it.

 

[wormswithearrings]

awesome, awesome, awesome info guys! thank you.
the railroads i will be walking are old and still in use. maybe once or twice a month one comes thru. we still have the depots too which are great. in fact one of the rails had Lincolns funeral train come thru. i thought that was neat. the little city i live in has some great history. we also had the northwest army stationed here back in the 1800's. lots of factorys and farms but good finds hopefully!

"wormy" lol