Train tracks - Page 2

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.

Originally Posted by amanda

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 would have requested the permission in writing, then taken a copy with me to the site just in case.

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..; /

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.

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.

where might a guy find a 12"-18" section to rail to use as a beginners blacksmith anvil.

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.

Which, of course, suggests that you might be able to go to your local yard and buy a piece...

Originally Posted by TheHoss

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.

Might get more cutting them down and selling as anvils?

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.