found on RR tracks, not metal, coal brick????

[chong2]

hello every one, i found this strange brick thingy (actually found a few) while walking on the RR tracks. it weighs around8 pounds and is fragile if dropped, the tracks it was found on came through here in the late 1800's. my opinion is that back then the trains used coal, when the coal was used up the train discarded the black bricks on the track, as if it went potty the same place i found these i found some of the original track holders. in the pic the small one is the original, the large one is the moder on, about a 25 pound difference. does anyone know the origin of these bricks? and if so what are they called?
thanx
Brandon

 

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[chong2]

here of the track holders

 

[GabbyGEP]

The brick thingy is a fire brick that lined the walls of the firebox of a coal or wood fired steam engine. Great find. They are a specially fired brick that does not disintegrate at high temps. The track keepers are great too. Hope this helps a little bit.

GabbyGEP(Gaylord)

 

[chong2]

wow thanks so much, i had no clue and was way off!!! thanks again

 

[T Vernon]

Gotta love trains. Looks like you have 2 kinds of track keepers too. The railroad used 2 different track widths for quite some time until the "standard" size we see today became the most popular. In many areas both widths of track were used so both types of trains could use them. Also, you mentioned the burnt up coal...if you are finding the fire bricks then you should also find the spent coal, called slag by my grandparents. It looks like bulbous rusted rocks, with pits and gaps.
Do some research on the trains!!! Where were the camps, towns etc... One train built near my home town had a good sized town that even had it's own "China town". I plan on hunting there soon.
Travis

 

[traindispatcher]

the bottom picture are "tie plates"