# ok to walk unused railroad?



## carobran (Jun 28, 2011)

i was wondering if its ok to walk an old unused railroad that runs through my town,the last time i remember a train on it was 5 or 6 years ago,i think it was built in the 1870s ,so theres no telling what kind of old bottles and other stuff we might find,also,who would own it now[8|]


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## cowseatmaize (Jun 28, 2011)

You have my permission.[]
 Seriously though, I doubt anyone will complain. I've walked miles and miles of old and still used tracks for no reason at all. I wouldn't expect any trouble unless you get to an area where the so called "undesirables" are living. I met a few of them too and just talked a bit. It was cool but you never know.
 Getting off the RR is another story. Homeowner property is different altogether.


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## carobran (Jun 29, 2011)

did you find anything and did a train ever come down them while you were walking them


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## andy volkerts (Jul 1, 2011)

[] I dont know about anyone else, but mosta the stuff I found was off to the sides and broken up from being thrown from the train[][][]. The only time I found anything good, was when I found an old railroad workers camp, not far off these old tracks in the hills. was some pretty good whiskey bottles there[][][].Andy


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## cyberdigger (Jul 1, 2011)

Walking tracks is a unique experience.. definitely have lots of great memories, especially as a 10-13 year old.. I got mugged one time on the tracks in Red Bank.. 1980.. the two rapscallions took from me my digital watch and the 25 nickels in my pocket, which I was gonna buy lunch with at Burger King. I was otherwise unharmed. Hungry, shaken, and kinda PO'd, but unharmed.. some weeks later 2 detectives visited our home and had me leaf through a collection of mug shots.. I could not find them in there. I found one of them years later, at high school. That was uncomfortable the first year.. that year someone broke into my HS locker and stole a blue & white wind breaker, like you'd see in 1983, and a sailor's hat, like the one Gilligan wears.. I bet it was the same rapscallion that took my watch and nickels. The rapscallion that turned me into a curmudgeon...


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## slag pile digger (Jul 1, 2011)

I too was raised near the tracks and have many fond memories of walking for miles on the rails without faalling off. I now too live right on the tracks..a train just went by a few minutes ago. Shook the windows. i have had a few encounters with the railroad, they always ask what I am doing and when I say exploring & enjoying the outdoors they say be careful and have a nice day.


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## LC (Jul 1, 2011)

I grew up in a railroad town . The tracks passed about 200 feet or so from our house . I remember walking the tracks , or at least trying to . I think I had a balance problem back then ! Wasn't good for long distances though . Also would put pennies on the track for the trains to run over , thought that was a big deal for a while . I also remember hobos coming to the house and asking for hand outs , Mother would always feed them . I would meet them at times walking the tracks to go to town as well , never did have a problem with any of them . Once there was a woman , seen her a couple of times , then did not see her anymore . She would never speak to me when I would say hello , but the men always would . When my Mother fed them , I would sit out in the yard with them and they would always tell me stories . Some good memories from the past .


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## Gunsmoke47 (Jul 2, 2011)

Took these shots from my back yard. These tracks were laid in the 20's and later for a short time used as a spur to our Haliburton facility. Hasn't been a train on them in many moons. I have walked them a few times but the only thing I ever found were the dated nails they used to drive into the cross ties. Still....... long about sunset, walking that ole tressel gives one a nostalgic feeling.


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## Gunsmoke47 (Jul 2, 2011)

*


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## carobran (Jul 4, 2011)

gonna walk them this friday,hope i find something,speaking of railroads,iwent to the flea market and they wanted 5$ a piece for 2 RR spikes


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## LC (Jul 4, 2011)

There used to be a knife maker here that used to take a railroad spike and make a knife out of it . He would heat it in a kiln , twist the end of the spike at the head end to make the handle , He would then reheat it and flatten the rest of it down and form it into a sharp looking blade . He would polish it out and etch railraod names or related things on the blade . You would have to see one of them to really appreciate what they look like . I think they sold them for like sixty five dollars each . He passed away a few years back , but I believe his Son still makes them and sometimes sells them on ebay . 

 Just went to eBay and did a searh on them , there are quite a few people now making them , there were several different varieties of them on there , none of them looked as good as the ones the local maker here made .


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## carobran (Jul 5, 2011)

amazing what people make out of worthless junk,did you ever buy one


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## epackage (Jul 5, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Gunsmoke47
> 
> Took these shots from my back yard. These tracks were laid in the 20's and later for a short time used as a spur to our Haliburton facility. Hasn't been a train on them in many moons. I have walked them a few times but the only thing I ever found were the dated nails they used to drive into the cross ties. Still....... long about sunset, walking that ole tressel gives one a nostalgic feeling.


 Haliburton huh Kelley, if you get caught walking those they make you go hunting with Dick "Trick Shot" Cheney.....[8D]


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## epackage (Jul 5, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  L C
> 
> There used to be a knife maker here that used to take a railroad spike and make a knife out of it . He would heat it in a kiln , twist the end of the spike at the head end to make the handle , He would then reheat it and flatten the rest of it down and form it into a sharp looking blade . He would polish it out and etch railraod names or related things on the blade . You would have to see one of them to really appreciate what they look like . I think they sold them for like sixty five dollarsÂ each .Â He passed away a few years back , but I believe his Son still makes them and sometimes sells them on ebay .
> 
> Just went to eBay and did a searh on them , there are quite a few people now making them , there were several different varieties of them on there , none of them looked as good as the ones the local maker here made .


 My buddy makes them when work is slow, he's a farrier and we make all kinds of stuff out of old horseshoes, nails and things like railroad spikes...It's amazing how good they sell at times...Jim


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## Gunsmoke47 (Jul 5, 2011)

[][][][]


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## Picklejar (Jul 13, 2011)

The old west trenton line of the PRR runs right thru the neighborhood i grew up in. I have traversed those tracks for miles. Just keep in mind they might still be train property even if unused currently. Only twice have I run into trouble, once was because my brother and i were walking a bit thats near the road. Somebody called the local police who were of course thrilled to yell at us for trespassing. Basically, lay low if your gonna be near adjacent homes or roads. i have found some neat stuff, look for large embankments over the tracks where people might have pulled up and dumped a load downhill. I dug a 1911 Franklin Caro candy jar lid and a 1930's porcelain donald duck figure with xtra long bill. A lot of busted stuff though too, unfortunately. Good luck.- Joe


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## cobaltbot (Jul 14, 2011)

Definitely worth walking, just be safe and watch out if the line is active.  Also steer clear of campsites, watch out for rail company trucks (since 911 some of them really don't want you there) and getting off through private land can be a problem as mentioned.  Potential is there for finding stuff thrown from the train and property that backs up to the tracks was sometimes used to dump in as well as workers camps as mentioned.  Look for battery jars and insulators, especially look for insulators around the cut off bases of old poles and in any tiny creek that parallels the tracks.


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## carobran (Jul 14, 2011)

what does a battery jar look like,i walked them yhe other day and found a bunch of busted jars with a diamond pattern on them,also found a 1950-60s surface dump behind a house,gonna go back in the fall and dig (quietly) ,hopefully it gets older,i also found a very thick piece of amber glass,to me it looks like an insulator more than anything else,did they make them in this color?[8|][]


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 18, 2011)

We lived in front of a lumber yard.the train tracks ran behind the lumber yard.The trains shook the house as the went by we were so close.we used to live on the tracks as kids,I had some good times as a juvenile delinquent  [8D]    
     These were commuter and freight lines.These  tracks  were being used daily and I never got arrested, so my guess is that you will be all alone out there looking for bottles.


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## epackage (Jul 18, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  carobran
> 
> what does a battery jar look like,i walked them yhe other day and found a bunch of busted jars with a diamond pattern on them,also found a 1950-60s surface dump behind a house,gonna go back in the fall and dig (quietly) ,hopefully it gets older,i also found a very thick piece of amber glass,to me it looks like an insulator more than anything else,did they make them in this color?[8|][]


 Here's a bunch Branden...

 http://collectibles.shop.ebay.com/Bottles-Insulators-/29797/i.html?_nkw=battery+jar&_catref=1&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282


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## carobran (Jul 19, 2011)

thanx,not what i thought theyd look like,i was thinking more mason jarish,what were they used for?[8|]


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## cobaltbot (Jul 19, 2011)

The amber glass could be part of an insulator.  Root beer colored ones can be good.


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## BillinMo (Jul 20, 2011)

Root beer amber is certainly collectible and worth saving.  The really high-dollar ambers are usually lighter, prettier and pass light easily, like a honey amber or yellow amber.  

 Can you post a photo of your amber piece?  It's not always possible with a shard, but sometimes there's enough to identify what sort of insulator it may have come from.


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## carobran (Jul 20, 2011)

sorry,everybody asks if i can post pics,which i cant,(i think thats surfaceone's pet peeve),how old would the amber ones be?i found the shard in a hole with a bunch of screw top jars,i may walk the tracks again monday,hopefully i can find a whole one,or at least some more of those shards[sm=lol.gif]


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## carobran (Jul 25, 2011)

we walked the tracks again to day,got down into an old creek bed that runs under the tracks,there was glass everywhere,found a embossed NEHI,half the neck was broken off and it had a crack that runs from the bottom to the beginning of the neck,i wasnt too happy about that,[][&o]the interesting thing was that it was from GRAND ISLAND,NEB,i expected it too be from somewhere here in MS,gonna take a garden rake there an see if i can find anything beneath the surface []


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## carobran (Jul 25, 2011)

and for some reason theres a bunch of soldier boys along the tracks,you dont see that many around here,just one every now and then,but ive seen 2 or 3 every time we were on the tracks[8|][]


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## GuntherHess (Jul 25, 2011)

We used to dig around the old Beanpole and Cornstalk bridge over Potomac Creek in VA.
 The stone supports are still there , the rest is gone.
 Must have scared the hell out of the train drivers...


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## carobran (Jul 25, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: GuntherHess
> 
> We used to dig around the old Beanpole and Cornstalk bridge over Potomac Creek in VA.
> The stone supports are still there , the rest is gone.
> Must have scared the hell out of the train drivers...


 _YIKES!!!!!!!![]i_ bet it wasnt too fun building that thing.......did tou find anything?[8|]


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## GuntherHess (Jul 25, 2011)

> did tou find anything?


 
 Civil War relics...what I was seeking at the time...


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## carobran (Jul 25, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: GuntherHess
> 
> 
> tou[&:][&:]


 WHAT KIND OF RELICS??[8|]


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## GuntherHess (Jul 25, 2011)

> WHAT KIND OF RELICS??


 
 buttons bullets buckles bombs...typical Civil War junk.


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## BillinMo (Jul 26, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: carobran
> 
> sorry,everybody asks if i can post pics,which i cant,(i think thats surfaceone's pet peeve),how old would the amber ones be?i found the shard in a hole with a bunch of screw top jars,i may walk the tracks again monday,hopefully i can find a whole one,or at least some more of those shards[sm=lol.gif]


 
 Amber insulators were made from the beginning (telegraph began in the 1840s) up through the 1950s, so color alone isn't a good indicator of date.


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## carobran (Jul 26, 2011)

ok,thanx[8|][sm=lol.gif]


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## carobran (Aug 14, 2011)

heres the shard i think id an insulator


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## carobran (Aug 14, 2011)

another


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## carobran (Aug 14, 2011)

one more


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## BillinMo (Aug 15, 2011)

It's tough to identify when there isn't much of the piece and I don't see any really distinguishing qualities there.  Just based on the flare of the skirt, maybe it's a CD 232 Hemingray?  Mind you, it's a wild guess on my part.  But it's promising and I'd certainly encourage you to keep looking!   

http://www.insulatorstore.com/proddetail.asp?prod=4162%2D04


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## carobran (Aug 15, 2011)

ok,im definitely gonna keep looking[sm=lol.gif].................as soon as fall gets here............i sure wish it would hurry up[8|][8|]


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