# Its that time of digging season RAILROAD DUMPS



## madpaddla (Jul 25, 2006)

Railroads:

 Looking for information on digging around railroad tracks.  I know that they dumped garbage before they reached a town, look for all discarded items all around the tracks, etc.  Please all.  Your ideas and input is appreciated.  Do we just look down the embankments....would they haul the trash out ....etc....   
 Your ideas: (would they put the trash car like this one here and empty it??)


----------



## welddigger (Jul 25, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

Hey! MP, Ive haven't had much luck on the tracks. I have been able tlocate were they quarried stone out for the old RR bridges and they usaully dumped in the holes where the stone was takin from. The trick is finding old bridges and finding were they got the stones from. The quarries Ive discovered were usually within a 1/2 mile to a mile from the bridge. I don't know about up there were your at but I know there has to be some old bridges up that way. Also try to find were the icehouses were they are always along the railroad and full of activity in the day and if you can find there trash you should hit some good stuff!


----------



## madpaddla (Jul 25, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

Found a site of tons of local maps for free.  From the 1700 - present.  Paying special attention to local railroads and location of homestead etc.  Comparing to current maps.  I have found 4 relatives of mine locally in the 1840's.  Gonna dig those sites soon.  Nothing like bottles your relatives were sippin on.  So some help with railroads folks or ideas.  Thanks Welddigger.


----------



## DiggerBryan (Jul 26, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

I have always wondered about this too. I used to know a guy who worked for a railroad company in Ohio and he knew about a ton of R.R. dumps. He would remember where they were at when he saw them during work and come back on his own time and dig. Sadly, he died in a motorcycle accident here a couple years ago and they sold off all his bottles. I mushroom hunt along R.R. tracks and on a couple occasions I have found milk bottles poking out of the gravel. I'm guessing the passengers pitched them out the window when they were done with them.


----------



## madman (Jul 26, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

ok gang, i guess the dump i dig is a railroad dump, right near the tracks, on a steep hillside,id check all hillsides  there is also a major river below, the tracks have been there since 1858 the shore is littered with broken blobs, now the dump seems to be very compacted, lots of clay layers, found bim layers only 1ft thick with bottles intact, yo df i need yer help, ive always wondered whats at 8ft? its very hard digging lots of ash with no bottles mike


----------



## madpaddla (Jul 26, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

Really interested in your thoughts.  You dirt people with your shovels, gloves, insect repellant, pulling up all sorts of glass.  Alittle help on how to dig railroad dumps.  I thought there were RR all over this here U S.  Should be dumps near em.  Any ideas or strategies ? ?


----------



## FIGGINS DIGGINS (Jul 27, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

Just an Idea I have been working on about railroads: I don't know how much civil war fighting your area saw, but down hear in West Tennessee all the major railroad intersections and many of the bridges were very heavily guarded for long periods of time against confederate demolition teams. They were apparently also large staging areas for the troops and supplies from which they could be moved by rail in whatever direction  most needed. I have already found some civil war era scetches of my area, one that shows a very extensive union camp at a major RR intersection and one that shows a destroyed bridge where there was a permanent structure which I assumed was a guard shack. Could be wrong on that one of course but it was some kind of permanent dwelling right at the bridge.

 At least at the big encampments I would think there were numerous bottles discarded somewhere close. Still researching and doing the homework, hope to follow through soon. Of course the location of the biggest camp is now in the part of town which is a little rough to say the least.  Just some thoughts I have had on the RR idea. I have learned a lot from just the old civil war pictures of my area. Now just need to get some permission to dig over there. Simple right??? Good luck to ya!!!


----------



## FIGGINS DIGGINS (Jul 27, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

another quick thought on RR's is that they also sometimes will lead to the site of old resorts. These places were pretty much reserved to the upper-class who were able to get out of town in the summer to escape the stifling heat out in the hills or mountains where it was somewhat cooler or where springs were present. A friend of mine purchased a coca-cola hutch that was dug behind the site of one of these old resorts in Alabama. You know the folks that were frequenting these places were drinking only top of the line stuff and eating pretty high on the hog. Just another thought on where Railroads have the potential to take you sometime.


----------



## cobaltbot (Jul 27, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

I have had some luck with railroad dumps and I'm sure there is lots of potential out there.  I would get a probe and look for railroad cuts that are behind and downhill from old house sites.  We own part of an abandoned rail line through our property (The Ma & Pa Railroad) and one of our house (1883) dumps I've dug was over this kind of dump.  Course a lot of it was broken since it's a long way down.  I've also had lots of luck walking besides some tracks finding insulators, bottles, and pieces of railroad china. ( B& O plates).  There are many ghost towns along abandoned railroads that used to be stations or whistle stops, small towns with post offices ,etc. I keep looking for those sodas, etc. thrown from the train on my property, I'm sure some had a soft landing and are out there somewhere.  I'm also looking for where the workers camped when they made the line back in1876 but I'm sure they all drank out of a dipper and there's not much these poor workers would have discarded.  Would love to dig a success to the railroad flask like Scott Colf? of Scott's Privy Pages.  Watch out for homeless camps along working railroads though, I've seen lots of old camps but only ever ran into one modern day hobo!


----------



## wvhillbilly (Jul 27, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

So madpaddla that site with free maps is it just New England or would it happen to have maps from WV too[&:]


----------



## ehkahk (Jul 30, 2006)

*RE: Its that time of digging season*

Couple areas i came across walking railroads.

 1. Best dump I ever found so far was between a railroad and the slope down to the river below it. I found 2 other dumps like that as well.

 2. Look for old road beds, laneways, farmers dirt ways which went up to the railroad or crossed it and explore each corner.

 3. Definitely  around any tunnel where a creek goes under the trackbed.

 4. Any grouping of trees  beside the rail that give any hint to a farm once... check that out for sure.

 5. Theres this one track bed around here  that is along a swamp on one side for about 300 meters. There was a water pumping station/tower back in late 18??'s with the concrete part of its structure remaining. But all along this 300 meter stretch theres these little and big mounds and theres all kinds of dumps along there. I have not had the chance to explore it much this summer... i'll get eaten alive if I even try right now.

 Theres 3 regular railroad beds leading out of my city, several spur lines and 3 radials    all without tracks (long abandoned).   they are the place to look, epecially if you research the history on them.


----------

