Old Train track on my property

[Roadquest]

I wrote a little about this before, then got busy. and had to leave it alone
for a while. There is a train track that runs tru my land, this thing is very
old, most of the rail has been removed. I'm finding the rail spikes at reg.
intervols, and i am marking off the direction the tracks ran. the tracks split
and go in two direction, I have found brakes and small parts of rail. In one
area there is lot's of coal, and all kinds of iron parts, from small to maybe
50 or 60 lbs. I found an iron "hook" pitcure a 2 foot fish hook, it's maybe 20
lbs. I know I'm missing a lot with my Garrett 350, and hope to get a Fisher1266X
sometime this summer. I found a few bettons, small about the size of a dime.
Pine trees have grown up in the area, and there are lots of small bushes.
Its slow working the tracks, but with getting an alignment on the tracks,
finding the direction it keeps going, is not to hard. I'm hoping to find some
personal things the men working the tracks may have lost, likes coins, knife
gun, but so far no luck. I know this is not a lost treasure story, but i though
it may be interesting to some of you.
Clayton.......Roadquest

 

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[hollowpointred]

interesting indeed! good luck with it.

 

[j.d. in the usa]

good luck you have the right idea... try to find where they camped to build the tracks... they were tent villages usually lasted about 3-4 days sometimes up t o 2 weeks long , about every 11 miles along the track... you usually can find good stuff if you come acrooss one of those sites. hh bud jd

 

[Roadquest]

Thanks Hollowpointred I can use all the luck I can get.

j.d. I'm looking for an area I think a camp site may have been,
from the way the track is headed, I think it will have crossed
a small creek, could be a camp site here, I hope.

 

[southbound]

Good luck with the search. I found a set of keys near a train track years agoe. Still have them. Vern

 

[Nana40]

That is interesting Clay!

And you don't have to go very far to get to it! That's a bonus!

Good Luck to ya!

Nana

 

[BOB VALDEZ]

I wish I could see a (few ?) picture(s) of this track. Seems great. Keep posting please...

BOB VALDEZ, Belgium (plenty of train tracks here, but NOT on my property )

 

[The Seeker]

That sound interesting...What would be another option is ask your neighbors if you can look on their property and follow the area where the tracks were and the direction....Might run into something Big....good Luck

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Very interesting, and that is nice that you own it...good luck Roadquest on your Trackquest. 8)

HH!
TBGO

 

[Burdie]

Keep us posted on the track quest. No pun intended. HH Burdie

 

[treasures4me2find]

Clayton sounds like you might have a pretty cool place to hunt. Have seen a lot of cool finds that come from around train rails. Good luck on future hunts.

Ken

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice area to detect considering it's close, you might back off of the discrimination enough to find the date nails. The date nails should be able to date the site as well. You might know this but, they put the date on the nail head and I understand they drove the nails into the railroad ties, have only read about them. They are worth some $$$. If you research the railroad, you might be able to figure out which railroad built the track. Good luck and HH, Mike

 

[Southcacalaky]

Great Job, Some date nails do bring a premium, HH Art...

 

[Monty]

Without a picture it's hard to say, but my wife retired from a shortline railway. They used a large hook like device to move heavy ties about. By spiking the tie on one end and barely raising it off the ground, one man could drag it about easily. I borrowed it one time to build a landscaping wall out of old ties.Also, if the track forks off there should have been a switch there. Look in the area where it forks and see if you can find a switch lock. When they take a switch out they often just discard the old lock. They are a great collectables. Monty

 

[Roadquest]

Thanks all, seeing what everyone has to say just gets me more fired up to get back out there. I found two blocks of iron about 4"Sq. they seem to have a small handle on them? Nice find with the keys Vern, Nana I like those blue eyes..smile.. You are right, not far, in my back yard so to speak. I'm not able to post photo's sorry. I have about 14 acres, and the tracks appear to run tru the center more or less. There is about 100 acres of land around me. And I know the people that own it so I should be able to search there.. Really like the date nail idea, and will check it out, and will also check where the track forks, and try to find a switch lock.
I'm thinking I have found maybe 100 plus spikes, and have marked them, and left them there. Some of the spikes are not at regular intervals. I'm wondering if they may have been running short on supplies and were trying to stretch things a bit?

Clayton.....Roadquest

 

[trk5capt]

CLAYTON, Old RR's Can Be Very Interesting, Most Were Very Well Documented, Check With Your Local Library Or Historical Society. Rail Road Relics are Very Collectable. trk5capt...

 

[jgpreston]

Roadquest, What an opportunity you have, "treasure" hunting on your own land! good luck with it. The other comments indicate a variety of possibilities. So keep us posted and Happy Hunting!

 

[Roadquest]

Up to today, all of the rail road spikes had a lot of build up rust on them, after searching
today I have come to an area where they are in fairly good shape, an one has an
RH or RB printed on it. Anyone have any idea what that stand for? I am also find buttons
in the area, 11 so far, they are small about the size of a dime. I think I can see SB
printed on one. Some are single buttons, some are bubble with a small round link between
each side. (in the center holding them together) They maybe made of lead, they are
gray, and are heavy for their size. Can anyone tell me how to clean the spike, buttons
and other things i have found, I want to try to keep the damage down while cleaning

Clayton....Roadquest

 

[Monty]

The spikes are pretty tough and you should be able to clean them with electrolysis. Check out floater's home made machine here on the forum. The buttons would get eaten up, probably best to just use soap, water and a soft brush. Monty

 

[Prairie Searcher]

Roadquest

Nice find and as someone indicated are worth $$$ based on current scrap iron prices which have been driven up by the Chinese or at least the last time I checked. Mike F.