S.Hollowood Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 So i did a lighting gig in D.C. the other day, up off of Wacomb to be specific. Anyways at the end of the gig as we were loading the truck i noticed a rail road spike lying in the grass. So i grabbed it being the blacksmith opportunist that i am, didn't really pay attention to it until i got home. Which is about the time i noticed its only about 4.5"s long, coated in some sort of anti corrosion coating, and has a k emboosed on the top. What i want to know is what in the world would a mini spike be doing in D.C. does anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMH Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 crucifiction for tax payers?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Lobbying for a Rail Road bill ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieforge Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Your 4 1/2" spike is probably from a 2' gauge industrial or mine railway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrow_gauge_railway As to how it got to DC, it is anybody's guess. I'm sure that state has its share of heavy industry and/or mining, just like any other. Maybe it fell out of some other blacksmith's pocket! Regards, Markus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 RR spikes range in size from about 7-8" for heavy traffic main lines down to a couple inches for gardern railways. It sounds like yours may be for a sidetrack or branch line. Also, 19th century RRs generally used smaller spikes than modern roads. They didn't need anything larger because engines and trains were not as heavy and didn't move as fast. Spikily, George M. PS Oddly enough, when folk come up to my booth and see RR spike knives they often say, "railroad tie." Even if they know the difference (and a surprising number do not) the word that automatically follows "railroad" is "tie." Odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 well in oz we call them a dog, and they are driven into the sleepers. we use small ones on the 2ft cane railways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 These caught my eye at a local scrap yard the other day. There's millions of these scattered around Colorado mines. I like seeing the grain on wrought iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george m. Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Dear Woody, I knew that ties were sleepers in British/Australian usage but I didn't know that a spike is a dog. Other RR terms that I am aware of are: switch = points engineer = driver fireman = driver's mate caboose = van boxcar = truck (?) ties = sleepers spike = dog Are there any others? Divergently, George M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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