47 replies to this topic

[Winston]

Where can I buy legal railroad spikes? in the Southeast preferably? In Alabama even more preferably?

I have looked all over the internet. I have called some RR reclamation companies, but either I could not get the time of day or they said they did not think there was any place to buy them legally? I have checked with some scrap dealers in the area and none of them knew where to go.

I found one place:
http://www.adamscole...and_Parts-.html
but they want $960/ton. That is way more than scrap. Scrap is $0.08/lb here, meaning $160/ton. I am definately willing to pay more than scrap but not that much more. Plus I would have to drive across states or have it shipped.

I even found a place in Birmingham, Alabama (right close to me) that makes new spikes, and would sell them to me for $175/200# keg or $1750/ton. If anyone ever needs to buy new spikes or other RR parts they will sell to the public. http://www.bhamrail.com/track.asp Either way it was more than I wanted to spend. Plus I need them rusted and pitted for character.

[Dave Hammer]

If you think you are going to buy railroad spikes for "just over scrap price".... What are you smoking? Spikes are sold at hammer-ins for as much as two bucks (+) apiece. Probably average over a buck apiece. Next you'll say you want them delivered for ten cents each. Sheeeeeshhhh!

Look on eBay. You probably won't find them any cheaper.

[nuge]

I think there should be a law requiring RR companies to hand deliver and place at the feet of any working or aspiring smith the sum of 100 spikes (used) per month. Said smith would then take 10 spikes and craft a utilitarian item and put it up for sale with 100 percent of the proceeds supporting clean-up of many decades of ecological disasters perpetrated by the railways.

Which probably wont happen.

It would be cool if they would let the little guy have a crack at their scrap though. If there was some way abana or another group could leverage some smaller lines or their scrappers to have a few stockpiles throughout the country...get some of that good steel in the hands of the craftsmen before it gets cycled again and again.

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

Do you have RR tracks near where you live? We have tracks near us and know people who works for the RR company that gets us our spikes. Plus you can call the company and tell them what you are doing and ask if you can clean up along the tracks, all they can do is tell you no.

[Cavala]

I got a bunch the old fashioned way walking tracks, Ive heard this is a no no, so not recommended. Call the chicken xxxx express (CSX) im sure they could rustle up a couple dozen for you, just ask nicely.
If that dosent work out I like the 2 bucks a piece price mentioned in another post ,I'll get you a couple hundred right now.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

$2 a piece! Didn't know they were getting that much for them. I will be a bit more careful with the 5 gallon bucket of them that I have. When I moved I gave a friend the other 5 gallon bucket I had.

I believe McMaster Carr sells new spikes.

[jimbob]

here is a link to Mcmaster-Carr railroad spikes http://www.mcmaster....-spikes/=66nqhf

[ArtWerkz]

Usually if there are crews out working on the track system you can usually get what you are looking for with a 6 pack. I have found this technique to work in these situations.

[Dave Hammer]

I don't know if he was actually selling any, but I did see someone with a display of new spikes at Quad States last year for well over $2 each. I had a bucket of HC spikes for sale, priced at 75 cents each, or $10 for 15... Sold just a few...

Maybe they are just worth a bit over scrap. Of course, who would bother selling them, if that were true. It wouldn't be worth transporting them.

[Winston]

The reason I am asking is that I have a product that I make with railroad spikes that I want to market in stores. Therefore I need to be able to verify they are legal. I have asked earlier about worrying just selling little things here and there. If that was it I would not worry. I am not looking to get RR spikes, I am looking to get legal ones, and I need about 500 at first.

I want them for a little more than scrap because that is what they reclaim them fore. There are several companies that contract with the RR to reclaim the metal, I just cannot find where it ends up. I am looking for a scrap yard with a pile of spike they are recycling. Then I could get them cheap.

I know they are sitting around somewhere.

[Gerald Boggs]

Have you contacted the railroad companies directly. I did, and it worked fine. I wasn't after spikes but used ties. I had seen a big pile by the side of the tracks. The railroad sold them for $1 a piece. They sent me a form to fill out and return with payment. Told me to make a copy and to carry it with me, in case I was stopped while on railroad property. Now this is a small railroad and maybe a bit friendly then most.

[shortdog]

Dress like a hobo, complete with the sack on a stick. Take a walk on the tracks. Get more spikes than you want to carry.

Railroad companies seem to owm not only hte land their tracks are on, but everything to the center of the earth and the limits of the atmosphere as well. Try boring under some tracks to put a cable through sometime. There's more permits and red tape than you can shake a stick at. That being said, maybe they aren't as stringent about trespassing as it sounds like. Off and on, since I was a child, I've been on railroad trcks many times. When the train went by, the guys onboard just waved at me. No rail police showed up to send me away.
My situation may be different than yours. I live in a rural area where the tracks get used once or twice daily. Walking down and picking up some spikes has never been a problem, though you may need more spikes than you can reasonably pick up in a days time. I guess I'd second the thought of approaching the railroad company directly, or one of their contractors who repair the line. If you were to go by the nearest rail yard and approach someone out in the shop, you'd probably get farther than if you look them up in the phone book and speak with someone there. In this day of worries over liability, you'll probably end up tangled in the aforementioned red tape.

Good luck

[Winston]

I found someone who had a contact at a rail company. I was told they did not permit scrap metal. They bid lump sum large quantities. I then found a friend who worked on a park railroad project and set me in contact with a local rail road contractor. He was friends with the owner.I was told me to come buy and pick up a couple kegs full of spikes. He said he had a ton.

It has been a good day!

[billp]

Where I live I just get out with a heavy canvas bag and walk the tracks. If a train is coming I just get off to the side and wait till it goes buy and wave at the guys in the engine. No one has ever stopped me and I pick up all the spikes I can carry that way. Here when they chance out the cross ties they change the spikes and the old ones or left where they fall. Sometimes I find other things as well that were discarded the same way and at times come in real handy in one way or the other. I did come across a couple of kegs of spikes once but left them alone I do know better then that.
BillP

[Larzz]

If there are any scrap yards, steel recyclers or smelters in your area you could try checking with them. They will buy scrap in BIG lots and may let you but/have some. You might bring in a couple of railroad spike business card holders to show them some of the things you are going to make and just "happen" to leave them there.

[Winston]

I found one scrap yard around here who had some, but he said they were buried and he would charge me a convenience fee (for inconveniencing him) to dig them out. This made the price not practical, and I was looking for a continuous source not a one time buy. But it is a good idea about leaving a goodwill gift wherever I get them.



Again for those reading this, researching in the future, this is about the LEGAL ACQUISITION of railroad spikes. I can get them all day long of the side of the tracks. And this would be fine if I was selling 1 or 2 here and there.

I have some products that I make out of several spikes. Not forging but welding and bending. This requires a large number of spikes, which would mean more scrutiny buy the RR police than I am comfortable with. Also, I am selling to several stores and hoping to find as many as possible. At this level I feel the need to be as legitimate as possible. This is why I need a LEGAL source for RR spikes.

I will compile a list of places and ways to possibly get them legally, and post it in my original post when I have more time. It might be useful in the future for someone else.

[Phil Krankowski]

Talk to landscapers who use recycled rr ties, they often have some spikes from the ties that were not removed. For some trinkets they may be convinced to collect them too.

Talk to the RR about where they dump said ties after removing them, and check out the pile. There will be plenty there, but they may be buried under other ties, and a tie may not have more than 1 or 2 in it.

Phil

[KYBOY]

We have a scrap yard near us that contracts with the RR for their scrap. We get ours there. I know the owner so their pretty cheap

[ThomasPowers]

Note that railroads carry quite hazardous cargoes right through the center of many large cities and so things have been a bit tighter on security since 9-11. I know of at least two smithing friends who have been hassled by the RR police who have quite an interesting *lack* of limits on their activities dating way back to the old monopoly days and only strengthened during the world wars and recent Homeland Security times.

Of course where I live you are more likely to see the border control folks show up than the RR police.

[ksb]

You think $2 a spike is a lot ? I was in an antique shop in Lake Park , Ga. about 3 weeks ago. They had a couple of spikes - very rusty - for $8 each.
KSB