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Rail road Rail

| A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
  1. #1
    Copper Head started this thread.
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    Rail road Rail

    At a garage sail I found a George Foreman waffle maker I also think it has a skittle for meat and such Never saw one like this and for $3 the AL made it a no risk deal. Picked up a few other items and the the home owner help me to the truck with the goodies . It was obvious what I did to make money with this truck, so we started talking and he said he had a rail road Rail in his yard that years ago he took to a local yard but they did not want it from him - The the yard man said he could get in trouble having it in his yard . So I took a look at the contraband & and he said when i got my house 22 years ago it came with the house
    I told him it feels like 70 pounds and I offed him $5 bucks.
    I figure it will make a nice anvil and it sure did as I busted up some Cast AL from a sewing machine just now .I like it cause since it is so long when you hit it it's not to loud , Some anvils sound like your ringing a bell.



    SO the question ?
    I did buy it at a garage sale and now I have it sitting with pride for all to see ,I guess it is stupid to ask now but is it illegal to have can a spiteful person cause me trouble with this item
    I figure it to be 50 years old or older . and about 6 feet long , I can see from modern rails this one is an oldie.


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    Mick's Avatar
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    In this case it's not likely, but it COULD be considered theft of RR property, It is a federal felony and can result in life in prison.
    People may laugh at me, but that's ok. I laugh all the way to the bank.

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    Copper Head started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick View Post
    In this case it's not likely, but it COULD be considered theft of RR property, It is a federal felony and can result in life in prison.
    Well isn't that just wonderful for me - and i paid 5 bucks for it - that was a good deal - well there are no pics of me at the yard stealing
    Last edited by Copper Head; 08-03-2013 at 05:06 PM.

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    Someone with the authority to get you in trouble for that would have to be extreeeeemely bored....
    If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...

    GC Metal Recycling & Recovery
    Barrie, Ontario.

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  6. #5
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    Actually I had a similar situation come up when we cleaned my grandfathers property when he passed away. No yard would even look at it. Someone apparently had some rail spikes and they tagged him with a $10k fine. I know that seems silly for some okd spikes but those railroad guys seem to just have a vendetta out...just watch where you have it or cut it up and use part.

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    Copper Head started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by webuyselltradestuff View Post
    Actually I had a similar situation come up when we cleaned my grandfathers property when he passed away. No yard would even look at it. Someone apparently had some rail spikes and they tagged him with a $10k fine. I know that seems silly for some okd spikes but those railroad guys seem to just have a vendetta out...just watch where you have it or cut it up and use part.
    Thing you gotta wonder about is on ebay people sell rail road spikes ,
    There is no record of me selling RR stuff to any yard , But i better see what the rules are here . I got the hot potato
    I would think selling RR stuff to the yard thats taken a chance.
    Just figures I am careful to get permission, nice on the road & now I own it - But what a nice anvil !!

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    I have a nice chunk that someone made into an anvil. It is a little short of 2 feet long, but they cut a point at one end and blasted some holes in the base in order to mount it to a bench. Pretty crude, but it serves it's purpose. I will try and get a picture of it tomorrow to show you.
    "64K should be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates 1981
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    Years ago, when I was clearing off my late uncle's farm, I ran across a rotting stump inside of an old wood shed. I thought it was a strange place for a stump to be stored. The much older (and wiser) gentleman that was with me said to look around for an anvil, as it was common practice to mount anvils atop stumps on dirt floors. We dug around in the dirt, and sure enough, there was the tip of an old anvil sticking up. It was one of those old railroad based anvils and looks to have been made using a cutting torch. I still use it to this day.

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  11. #9
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    My dad has a piece from HIS dad from way back when. There were two, I took one piece on my very first scrap drop off and got yelled at.

    You cant get in trouble for owning it (what are they gonna do? arrest you for your father or grandfather for taking it in the first place??) but you can get in trouble trying to scrap it.
    Scrapper, Scrap Yard Worker, Horse farm worker, Cooler Puller and just plain ''tired''

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  13. #10
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    Folks beat me to the punch...I was going to say..cut that sucker up with a torch or whathaveyou and make anvils out of it. Yard won't take it cause its part of the forbidden fruit they won't buy, but other folks who work with metal sure will. We have a couple blacksmiths down here on my sandbar, they'd love something like that, maybe there is something similar out your way.

    Just goes to show you, you can find all kinds of cool stuff at yard/garage sales.

    Sirscrapalot - Alll aaaabboooard!

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    Copper Head started this thread.
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    This one I am keeping, not for sale .It's real grungy looking .I had two Cast Al sewing machines and I opted to just bust em up to separate Al and bits of Short.
    some of the hard pieces were no match for the rail.
    Next --
    I have a customer I am painting for he has a piece of steel 1/2 inch thick 4 1/2 tall by 2 foot wide that was hard to pick up . I'm gonna inquire.
    Just collecting dust ??

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    Before I knew any better and before I got involved in scrapping, I sold a 4 foot piece of rail on eBay. eBay didn't object at that time, although I wouldn't be surprised if they do by now. Put it in my store for $300 or best offer and got $250 for it. While I was happy with the result of my garage sale freebie, I did this in all innocence and would not recommend you doing it today.
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  17. #13
    Copper Head started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by BurlyGuys View Post
    Before I knew any better and before I got involved in scrapping, I sold a 4 foot piece of rail on eBay. eBay didn't object at that time, although I wouldn't be surprised if they do by now. Put it in my store for $300 or best offer and got $250 for it. While I was happy with the result of my garage sale freebie, I did this in all innocence and would not recommend you doing it today.
    4 years ago when the scrap fever hit me , things could be sold out of innocence & the yards might even turn and look away .But the more you sell to them and build up records of receipts that will need a large box to hold those receipts . The scrap yards hold you way more accountable on your products as they expect you to know what to sell them , last thing they need is a customer of 4 years getting investigated for selling stolen items to them, nobody looks good.
    Last edited by Copper Head; 08-04-2013 at 08:28 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick View Post
    In this case it's not likely, but it COULD be considered theft of RR property, It is a federal felony and can result in life in prison.
    I am involved in prison ministry. should I go ahead and send letters, in advance, so I can be on your mailing and visitation list?

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    Mick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BroJer View Post
    I am involved in prison ministry. should I go ahead and send letters, in advance, so I can be on your mailing and visitation list?
    No, I'll leave that up to you.

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  21. #16
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    was actually directing that at the OP, Mick, since he is the one in possession of said contraband ;-)

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    If he tried selling to a yard I could see a case made of.."Recieving stolen property" but law is not my forte, but seriously that's the only charge I could see, an someone would have be a real douche bag to go that route. From Copperhead's description it shows its age, an he could just tell who he got it from. I wouldn't do ebay, or the yard. Ebay has gone all mommy on certain items, they don't want sold. That's cool, it's their right and their company to do as they please. I would hope the law would have better things to do then come after someone for a piece of rail road rail that is over 40 years old..maybe a statue of limitations on something like that..I dunno, I ain't a lawyer or a cop. LOL.

    Bigger things in this world to worry over then someone who bought/given a piece of rail at a yard/garage sale.

    Just how I see it, an Copperhead I agree, put it to use for yourself, an don't worry about selling it or anything. An if anyone does ask you about, make sure you keep the guy who you got it from's name an address. If anyone was guilty of stealing it was him or his family, etc.

    Dot them i's and cross them t's, an CYA.

    Sirscrapalot - Always enjoyed taking a trip by train.

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    I agree, it's not likely. That's why I emphasized the "could". I had a woman call me and offered a lot of rail from an abandoned line on her property that ran to some building of hers. That's when I researched it. There is no Statute of Limitations. The RR retains Right of Way forever unless released by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). For a scrap yard to accept rail, you need a letter from the RR company stamped on it. Which can't be done if the RR is defunct. Then you would need a letter from the company who bought its stuff. The RR has some really strange laws - including being Trespassing for walking along a track: Being illegal to take pictures along a track; illegal to put salt on tracks and it goes on and on.

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  25. #19
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    I have a piece myself about 4 foot long that came with a bunch of scrap I bought at an estate auction. Reminded me of when my grandfather in the Texas panhandle had one mounted on 4x4 posts as an anvil. Only thing I am trying to figure out now is where to mount mine.

  26. #20
    Copper Head started this thread.
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    I never would of thought about salt on tracks
    Best rule stay away from rail road tracks. ( go to garage sails ) any scrapper that frequents a scrap yard will be guilty on sight , no possible excuse.
    But to be truthful if I was just a guy with no affiliation with scrap I would not give it a thought. Regardless where it sits is where it stays .
    In hind sight - I was pulled over - for 8 pounds fiber optic wire - like it was the theft of the century (never became a problem by the way) No doubt about if I had that rail in my truck they would have reamed me absolutely that would of been juicy , Garage sale Ha two people would of had a lot of explaining. & I would of lost the rail to the police as evidence.
    Last edited by Copper Head; 08-04-2013 at 01:30 PM.

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