Railroad Tie Nails ...who knew !

How lucky!  I've yet to find any but then I'm not sure whether they were hammered into the ends of the ties or somewhere else.

Enjoy them.  Do you know what line they all came from?

Tomlinson Run RR

Came across this a few years ago http://pages.uindy.edu/~oaks/Resources.htm  & http://pages.uindy.edu/~oaks/DateNailInfo.htm    As you said - who knew

Brendan

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

How lucky!  I've yet to find any but then I'm not sure whether they were hammered into the ends of the ties or somewhere else.

Enjoy them.  Do you know what line they all came from?

Tomlinson Run RR

In Exeter NH....probably the B&M

I have several I picked up at a resale antique shop in Amarillo, and have looked for, purchased more.  Yes, they are nailed into the end of cross ties to record the year of installation for maintenance purposes.  As for what rail road they may be from, I have never witnessed any marked for the line used on, not necessary for what they are designated for.  And yes, very interesting items to collect as rail road memorabilia.

Jesse    TCA

When I was a kid, a friend's  father had us walk the Erie Wyoming Division in Elmhurst PA to collect tie nails so that we could build a club house; pretty stout and short for carpentry work.  The nails in my area, both Erie and DL&W, were found in the middle of the ties. I have a few tucked away somewhere dating from the early 19teens.

I found some back in the 90s on older lines.    They were always in the more or less in the middle of the ties on the top side between the rails.      Generally they seemed to be 8-10 ties apart.    They were not in every tie.

The one I have that is the most fun is a smaller one from the EBT, at least I was told that it came from the EBT.

Thanks for the tips on where you found them in the wild. There's a rail trail being built near me that's going "gang busters" even in a New England winter, and I think there's one tiny bit of track still left.  I walked it before with no luck but maybe I'll get lucky?

PRRJim, I had to look up EBT. The East Broad Top narrow gauge photos I found all looked great.  I hope it runs again someday.

TRRR

The Date Nails were used to track the longevity of various species of wood and treatment methods. They came into use in the early 1900's. They started to be phased out in the 1950's by some roads and most by the late 1960's. The Maine Central was one of the long time users and had them in to the mid 1970's. They were done in by the cost of record keeping being more than the benefit derived by the knowledge. Most were steel, some brass. The shanks can be round or square. The heads round or square. The numbers can be raised or indented. Length  is usually 2-1/2".  During the WWII era, a lot of roads used short nails (about 1-1/2") because of the steel shortage.

Some were installed between the rails, some to a specified end. Most always on the top of the tie.

When they were in use, all the ties had them. If you see some ties without them, it is because those ties were replaced after the date nails were discontinued. A good place to look for them is on embankments, where the ties rolled or slid or were thrown down after being replaced. Depending on the rottenness of the ties the nail may be missing. Sometimes they were inserted into a knot and they are TOUGH to pull out.

I used to find a lot of them in ties here and there. They never really interested me, but, I might have one or two hiding somewhere in the house. If they are your thing, keep a watch on ebay and you will find complete sets for sale every so often.

When I was kid in the '70's the local Penn Central branch closed and my dad and sister and I walked about a mile of the line near my grandparents' house one day. We got a gallon paint can full of the date nails. Got a can or two of spikes and rail bolts and nuts too that day. I have no idea where they are now. 

A friend gave a bunch of them when he came back from a trip to Canada. Don't remember if he got them in Canada or on the drive there. Don