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NEVER MIND!!! STEALING STUFF FROM TRAIN TRACKS IS ILLEGAL!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!
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NEVER MIND!!! STEALING STUFF FROM TRAIN TRACKS IS ILLEGAL!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!
Taking that metal is illegal. Don't do it!
I second that motion. The scrap yards know what type of steel the rail roads have, there is even a poster with pictures of different steel items on it from the rail roads. It says if anything that comes in, other than from the railway itself, then it is stolen... even the local railway police keep regular contact with my scrap yard
Yeah, I didn't take it because I didn't know the rules about taking it and I hoped someone on here would clarify whether it was legal or not. Sucks to waste it though. It looks pretty old like it's been there a long time.
I was offered some pieces of track that had been abandoned and were on private property. It was part of a track that had gone to a warehouse. I called the scrap yard about what I needed to do. I was told that the name of the original owner would be stamped on each piece, somewhere. I'd need a signed release from them. Even if the company was defunct, I'd still need the release so, in effect, the track of a defunct company cannot be moved unless its equipment was legally taken over by another company. Then, you'd need that court order plus a release from the second company. The track is still sitting there.
That's interesting.
Over the years, I've done a lot of digging on old industrial sites, and consequently, have dug up a lot of old railroad related iron. Now, I've never taken in more than a couple hundred pounds at any one time, (because that's all I ever had at any one time), but I've never been questioned about it. As a matter of fact, the one time I took in maybe about ten feet of actual rail, I was told that if I got any great quantity of it, to keep it separate, because it was worth a little more than just the price of the #2 iron it was mixed in with...
Here in TX most scrap yards have a sign posted that they will not take any railroad related metal as it is illegal to scrap. I just wonder what railroads do with their bent rails and spikes (and etc) that are no longer any good. I assume they probably send their stuff directly to a foundry (or wherever the metal is melted).
Our scrap yard has a sign posted on that as well. When I was a kid, they tore up a set of tracks that were no longer in use. They made a walking trail where it used to run and we would walk it and think of how much we could get to scrap them. Then we happened to take cans in and seen a posting about the tracks in that scrap yard and we asked why. After we got told the answer, we decided that we better not. All those spikes, I bet we piled up a few hundred pounds in just a short section and had to walk away.
i have a freind who is an experienced scrapper and he said someone from csx told him that he is allowed to take anything more then 4ft off the tracks,he has turned in stuff from from tracks has recieved grief from local law enforcement once when trying to pick up... he also said that it is common to find old dump sites along the tracks he rides his dirtbike up and down them in our area to look for junk. one spot we split was on a farm where people had been dumping for years it was about 500 feet long 40 wide full of junk, appliances, old cars, soda machines....... theres also an old train wreck we want to clean up and some old abandoned rail cars in the area but we cant seem to find anyone that will give us a yes or no on cleaning it up
Hey Everyone, I'm new here but not new to scrapping. I am also NEW to the railroad industry as I just started working on the railroad for last two months... Guys.. it is a SCRAPPERS PARADISE!!! And I'm NOT talkng about stealing ANYTHING. I'm working in the Philly area so keep that in mind. We've been riding the rails (right of way) aka on the side of the tracks.. You cannot believe what people dump down there. For me its great for society it sucks because people are disgusting pigs.
That being said it is "technichally" illegal to trespass on railroad property however if you are close, wander down and happen to see whats down there its amazing. Just the aluminum cans alone will be a chunk of money. I found a still certified, aluminum Oxygen tank that I collected. I've been with a training partner so he thinks I'm a little goofy. People dump everything along the tracks in areas closer to the cities. How any homeless bum cant make some money is beyond me. Oh and collecting the metal spray paint cans the taggers use... metal equals money!! Shopping carts, rims, appliances, its all there. Just don't take the railroads stuff. Good luck with it and PM me with any questions on the railroad laws. All the best.
Curious then about piles of disgarded, rusted spikes and small parts that have been tossed aside after replaced? Found large piles along track lines in my area, and need to know if these are cleaned up by the railroad company, or can they be taken to scrap yard for money?
http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/showt...ned-Rail-Lines
you might want to read this, i think your answer is there.
ever heard of the Harrimans, Rockafellers, or the Carnagies, they were the rail road and steel tycoons back in the late 1800, they ran the government then just as they do today, so thus the laws agains taking any thing railroad.
Just purchased some land from RR about 6 months ago. It's a railroad graveyard! My yard told me all I needed was signed document from RR stating I own the scrap. I'll let yall know how it goes........
Thats lame! I have a few pieces myself and this blows I cannot take it in. Might as well just throw it down a rabbit hole I find.
I think its kind of a matter of scale. If you have a few pieces (<100#) per ton, I think MOST yards around here (Southeast Minnesota) would just let it through. I also heard many years ago that some RR's hire contractors to pick up their scrap.
It is also possible that the exact laws regarding railroad iron is different in each state.
Mix it in with your regular scrap. Doubt anyone will say boo. Now if you were to start hauling in tons of rail, some eyebrows will be raised. Or even A piece of rail I imagine they will ask questions.
My grandpa had a short piece that he used for an anvil. I wonder where he acquired it from.
My grandpa had a piece about 16" long that was left over from a area rebuild. With the curves and such, there will be places where a rail needs to be shortened to fit. He used his as a boat anchor and anvil. Heavy sucker for a 10 year old on anchor duty!
Cut it up in 6" sections. Tac 3 RR spikes. Makes good door stops/bookends/ Anvil ! They are pretty hot sellers on Ebay & for me on CL. I can get anywhere from $35.00 - $50.00!
The thing I end up with all the time is the fish plates. Seems like they are lying all over the place. I try to mix a couple in under my other loads and so far no one has said anything. I'd sell rail on Craigslist or something as people want it for anvils. I have a couple of pieces that I use for that.
i was told in maryland anything within 25' of tracks is property of railroad company even junk thats been dumped..... someone dumped a big ass fiberglass boat near tracks in our area. me and partner were considering tearing out what we could for scrap( 2 motors, electrical components, some aluminum and steel) but it looked like it was most likely stolen and for some reason dumped we decided it was best to keep our greedy palms off it....
this is my dumb railroad experience. alongside a certain track there is a wooded area. i noticed some spikes and stuff laying in the weeds. I went to the track office and asked if I could take them, pointing out that it would be time consuming for rail personel to go out into the woods looking for them. By the time my request worked it's way through the chain of command it had started raining, but I got permission.
I parked the car at one end of the track. I went through the woods gathering junk such as batteries and fire extinguishers along with the spikes and a couple plates, leaving everything more or less in a row so I could make a trip back through and pick everything up.
I was eyeing a small bashed in electric motor when a man in uniform materialized out of nowhere and demanded to know what I was doing. "Looking for scrap metal", I said. "You are trying to steal our property", he said. I looked at him a little more closely. His uniform said "Railroad Police." "This is a vacuum cleaner motor", I said. "You are trespassing!" he replied.
He called the real police on me to see if I had a record and marched me back to my car which was not actually my car. He peered into the windows. I was entertaining fantasies of incarceration. Then he said, "What's in the trunk", I said "I don't know, it's my daughter's car" so then I opened the trunk for him and it was empty. He told me to get lost and stay away from the railroad, what if there was a de-rail and I was there, blah, blah, blah I will always wonder if the office guy that gave me permission set me up.
I've heard of rail police but have never seen them. I always wonder about them and how someone can elaborately paint an entire boxcar without getting busted by the rail police. Some of the grafitti on those cars must take all night to paint.
I have never had any problems. Mix spikes, plates, nuts and bolts in with regular steel to get the weight. The scrap companies REALLY REALLY REALLY don't care. If you haul in a rail, yeah they are going to say something to cover their ass, but they won't look to hard at a load of steel. At my yard, they look out the window and assume it's steel if your going across the scale (CU,AL the rest goes out back to another building), I always throw my big stuff then dump my buckets at the bottom of the pile. Hell, I brought them a Lincoln Continental in pieces. As I threw the pieces off, the immediately buried them. THEY WANT THE METAL AS BAD AS YOU DO.
When I get bored, I walk some rails and pick up spikes, bolts and other iron on either side of the ballast. When asked what I was doing by a local police officer, I told him I was collecting scrap iron and showed him the bucket. He said it was ok as long as I wasn't pulling the spikes out of the ties. It was very hard not to chuckle....
it's a real shame cause there is just something about walking down an old rail road with nobody around.....just me and nature picking up #1 every couple of feet..; /
Mix it in with the regular load and no one will care. This has been said. YMMV.
I can understand the legalities to scrapping this material, however, where might a guy find a 12"-18" section to rail to use as a beginners blacksmith anvil. Can't dump $2000 into an anvil, and I've been told rail sections work wonderfully.
Good question Mike. I have a 6" section of track that was left to me along with other tools from my Grandfather. The thing is great! Yea a 12" or even 16" would be killer.
Welcome to the forum please take a moment to introduce yourself in said section so we can get to know a bit about you. I can guess you like to bang on steel all day!
Keep in mind you want high rail if making an anvil should be five inches across the bottom and seven inches tall and weigh 132 lbs per three foot section anything smaller might crack or break.
On my shop property, while doing the cleanup after we moved in, we found about a 16 or 20 foot section of railroad. We loaded it up on the forklift, (barely) and moved it in. Cut it in half with a torch. Have 1 good anvil, and not enough time to cut up the rest. I have 2 heavy ass pieces now. Called the yard, told them where i found it, and the situation. They told me to bring it in, so long as this is the only pieces i have.
I called the railroad, and told them about it. I am close to the railroad. Because of prying eyes here, wont say how close. Anyway. Railroad said i can do what i please with it. Told them i was scrapping it, and jokingly asked "Can i share the profits?" Lady laughed and said she had too go.
Over all pleasant situation. This thing must weigh over 1000 pounds. Crazy.
Down by my garage, with a big pile of other stuff. :) Which, if I hadn't blown a brake line on my truck this morning, would now be in an even bigger pile at the scrap yard.Quote:
where might a guy find a 12"-18" section to rail to use as a beginners blacksmith anvil.
Which, of course, suggests that you might be able to go to your local yard and buy a piece...
If i had a torch that could cut through it in less than an hour i totally would. The little torch we have now was just WAY too slow.
Fair enough.
Bandsaw???Quote:
If i had a torch that could cut through it in less than an hour i totally would. The little torch we have now was just WAY too slow.