Beautiful but what planet is this from?!?!?

[Pinginmom]

My father gave my daughter a rock today for her collection. His father gave it to him about 50 years ago when he was about ten years old. My dad had a rock collection as a child and my grandfather would pick up interesting rocks periodically.

One day, while working a train derailment with an overturned boxcar (he was an engineer) there were these rock type objects spilled all over the ground. When my grandfather saw the contents of the boxcar, he picked a couple up to look at (thinking of my dad's rock collection) when a representative from the Railroad came over and very aggressively instructed him to "drop it and leave it alone". My grandfather returned it to the pile and walked away. However, at a later time he did grab one for his son's rock collection and slid it into his pocket. My dad has kept it with him for more than 50 years now because it's so sentimental. My grandfather passed unexpectedly a few years later. It has always had a special place in our family.

I was just curious to find out what type of rock or ore it is. It is VERY heavy. It is quite beautiful and so sentimental that I would just like to know a little more about it. Thank you for your time and efforts.

 

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[jewelerguy]

looks like iron pyrite

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

[h=2]"Beautiful but what planet is this from?!?!?"[/h]
It is from the third Planet from the sun.......... Like jewelerguy said looks like iron pyrite...

 

[DCMatt]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'm curious...

Why would a load of this stuff be in a railcar? What value does it have or what is it used for?

DCMatt

 

[ironhorse]

I can't imagine boxcars full of anything came from other planets in the sixties

 

[stefen]

MIGHT CHECK IT FOR RADIOACTIVITY...

Yur nuts, but I wouldn't keep it in my pants pocket...

 

[DCMatt]

I can't imagine boxcars full of anything came from other planets in the sixties

You never know...

 

[austin]

Google "pitchblende" . Highly radioactive. Good call Stefen. I may be wrong, but I have seen this stuff before.

 

[Itsmine]

Any type of conglomerate would be pretty heavy. I'm curious as to what those blue specks are in the stone.....If you have a university nearby you might ask, to have someone look at it from the Geology Dept. Putting a Geiger counter on it might not be a bad idea. the "secrecy" surrounding it, might be the reason why he was told to put it down to begin with..................Uh check that.....If it is pitchblende, you might be opening up a whole can of worms....Especially in today's world. There might be a whole bunch of people from our "Government" wanting to know how you came to be, in possession of Uranium.......

 

[Pinginmom]

Thanks for your replies! I definitely look into it.

The "blue specs" you are referring to is from my camera. It's completely one solid silverish color throughout. There's even a small whole type blemish on side of it but its the same consistent color inside as well.

Checking with a University's Geology department is a great idea. However, I am a little concerned with "getting into trouble" for having it. My grandfather told my dad the entire train car was loaded with them and some pieces were as big as he was. He had no idea where the train was coming from. He was just assigned to work the derailment that day.

Lord I hope it's not radioactive. I even said that jokingly to my husband the day we got it. Ha Ha

Thank you for all your tips!!!

 

[Pinginmom]

So I checked out "pitchblende" and Iron Pyrite but nothing I saw looks like this.

In my pictures it looks like a different color (kinda goldish) but to see it in person it is actually a brilliant and shiny silver. It is heavy and although it is solid, the texture is like small fragments that looks like flakes. It does not flake off, it just looks like a ball of silver fish food. That is the best way I can describe it. I hope this helps. TIA

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I understand Iron Pyrite is being used in making solar cells. Maybe this was a trainload for that purpose? It's called "fool's gold" but is used as a gold ore (and also for extracting sulfur).

Pyrite Mineral | Uses and Properties - GEOLOGY.COM

 

[tamrock]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'm curious...

Why would a load of this stuff be in a railcar? What value does it have or what is it used for?

DCMatt

I believe pyrite is used to color glass brown, such as beer bottles. I was told the pyrite that came from the mine I worked at sold the pyrite to Coors brewery in Golden, Colorado.

 

[odancoiler]

I think it could be Galena. A silver lead ore.

 

[DCMatt]

I think it could be Galena. A silver lead ore.

A rail car load of that stuff would make sense...

From Wikipedia:

Galena is the primary ore of lead, which is mainly used in making lead–acid batteries; however, significant amounts are also used to make lead sheets and shot. Galena is often mined for its silver content, e.g., at theGalena Mine in northern Idaho.

Do you know where the train derailed? That might offer a clue.

DCMatt

 

[Pinginmom]

A rail car load of that stuff would make sense...

From Wikipedia:



Do you know where the train derailed? That might offer a clue.

DCMatt

The train derailment was in or near Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960's