revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
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Post by revco on Mar 24, 2010 15:34:38 GMT -5
I found this on my recent trip to Lake Como here in Montana. It appears to be a railroad spike, but there's no railroads for many, many miles from the area and it made little sense how it could have gotten there. I thought it might have also been used in some mining efforts as there are some mines up a ways from the lake. It's about six inches long. I found it amongst the rock where the lake usually is...but this time of year, the water level is very low. From the looks of it, it appears handcrafted...but it could have just been beat up something fierce from a trip down Rock Creek. Anyone have any ideas or thoughts on it?
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Post by Toad on Mar 24, 2010 17:19:22 GMT -5
Looks like one to me. Made from an old line or spur that has been torn up and recycled?
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Post by rockmanken on Mar 24, 2010 17:47:28 GMT -5
Mines had narrrow gage tracks into them to haul out the overburden and ore. May be where it came from. Looks like normal age wear to me. Iron rusts in spots and not always even, that's why the dips in it. Ken
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 24, 2010 18:29:35 GMT -5
Any guesses, based on wear and tear, how old it might be? Not sure if this is 20 years of rust/wear or 100? Not looking for a specific date or anything...jiust a balpark...
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blessed
spending too much on rocks
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Post by blessed on Mar 24, 2010 20:51:43 GMT -5
I am no expert on railroad spikes, but I would say it is closer to 100 years. Nice find. BLESSED
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 25, 2010 6:56:25 GMT -5
60 to 100 years,thats a give.............
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SteveHolmes
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Post by SteveHolmes on Mar 25, 2010 7:11:09 GMT -5
I would also guesstimate around 100 years. It's supriseing how much History gets lost over time. Maybe there was once a railroad spur that serviced some of the mines you mentioned. Flooding will suprisingly wash lots of artifacts downstream. I've found things in certain canyons a long ways down where I'd expect to find them. The rust is about right for 100 years or so. I found an old axe head last year that came from a mining area from about 1900s and it's rusted almost exactly as your spike. Definitely not a mining rail spike...they would be considerably smaller. Still a neat find and especially where you found it. Steve
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chromenut
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Post by chromenut on Mar 26, 2010 21:07:47 GMT -5
Tumble that sucker!
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Post by NatureNut on Mar 26, 2010 21:42:36 GMT -5
Couldn't it have held down a tent or tarp? Doesn't have to have been for a railroad, does it?
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Post by Bikerrandy on Mar 27, 2010 16:47:23 GMT -5
That's most definitely a spike for holding down track, be it mining or RR. I'd say that's gotta be at least 100 years of aging. You need to find out what was being mined, where, and find out what else was left behind!!
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Post by rockrookie on Mar 27, 2010 18:58:44 GMT -5
i have dozens of those from the old tracks near my house . they are all around in the river underneith old RR bridge . were i like to fish . they look similar in wear to yours . i know that this bridge has not been in use for over 40years . so i am assuming it was used for many years before . mine are just laying ammungst my garden rocks in flower beds . -----paul
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SteveHolmes
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Post by SteveHolmes on Mar 28, 2010 20:30:29 GMT -5
here's just a quick pic comparison... Standard RR spike, the smallest are found in the mines in the old wood that held the rails on...and the medium were found on the exterior of the mine where the ore cars were dumped on the talings pile. An axe head I found last year. This has been weathering the elements since the late 1890's. Comparison for age and rust. Jo...I would have hated to haul those heavy spikes for tents. ;D steve
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snowdog
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RIP David Fildes, aka: snowdog
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Post by snowdog on Mar 29, 2010 22:38:07 GMT -5
it does look fairly old but you have to also consider the amount of acid in the ground that it was in -- sometimes it will eat them up in a hurry ---------but still takes many years it could of easily been used to hang a lantern on -- drive it in a crack in the wall of the mine --- it's kinked enough that the wire bail wouldn't slip off but is long enough that the lantern would hang straight --------- it could of also just been used as a wedge to "peel" off layers in the mine ( like a chisel) -------- it isn't a " golden" spike is it ? ;D
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
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Post by revco on Mar 30, 2010 0:07:42 GMT -5
Steve - yep, they definitely look similar...and the age comparison to your axe head is very close. I'd almost say this is worse in spots...but it probably has endured more torture. Thanks for posting the pics!
Snowdog - I concur that a myriad of factors could cause rapid aging. Given what I know about the history of the area, 100 years sounds just about right. I wish it was a "golden" spike! Or at least a dated spike!
What I know about the area is that there isn't a railroad for a quite a number of miles, and they're all down hill from the location. The Montana gold rush started in about 1862. Just to the southeast is active mining, and according to what I've read, the Bitterroot mountains (where this was found) were explored for gold, although it hasn't been nearly as productive. The Lake Como dam was built in the area around 1905. My newly educated guess is that it might have been from a temporary railroad used to transport materials for the dam...but I've yet to confirm that. I found some old pictures during the dam's construction...and while I couldn't pinpoint a railroad, there was some serious dam engineering going on. I think it's probably a leftover from that effort...it's the most logical guess, in my opinion.
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carloscinco
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Post by carloscinco on Apr 4, 2010 19:31:03 GMT -5
You'll find the most corrosion in iron along the interface of water and air. It's worse than being submerged 100% of the time. It would be hard to say how long it took for that to corrode like that.
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 30, 2010 21:23:01 GMT -5
There is another possibility. That could have been a climbing spike in an old power or telegraph pole. Modern climbing spikes are round and galvanized. In the early days they were hand forged square spikes with a head on them, so the linemans feet wouldn't slip off. Don
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joemojave
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by joemojave on Jul 4, 2010 15:23:15 GMT -5
Yeah, under the right conditions, like in a surf zone, that could have happened in a year or two. If you can find something else at the same sight to use as comparison, that would be better.
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mattyg1306
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Post by mattyg1306 on Jul 20, 2010 20:23:03 GMT -5
revco,
I recently found several spikes that look similar to yours in a local state park near Fairmont, West Virginia. I'm also a rail enthusiast, and know a great deal about railroads. The rail line where I found my spikes was abandoned ca. 1905, so the spikes are AT LEAST that old...even if they were installed the same year the line was abandoned (further proof that they are that old is that the grade now has trees growing up the middle of it that are 3+ feet in diameter!). I believe spikes in this era (including yours if its that old) were still handmade, as all of the ones I have found are inconsistent in size and shape. I also think spikes back then were smaller, definitely not as large as the ones used today. Even though this was a spur line, it was immediately off of a Class I railroad, the B&O (the spur is less than 1/4 mile long...it serviced a grist mill).
Anyway, yours looks extremely similar to mine, so I thought I'd give my two cents...as far as monetary value, I don't know what they would be worth since they're 100+ years old and handmade...buts it probably more sentimental value than financial, lol.
See my next two messages for a look at the spikes I've found.
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mattyg1306
off to a rocking start
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Post by mattyg1306 on Jul 20, 2010 21:57:42 GMT -5
The four spikes I've found so far, believed to be more than 105 years old. Compare to current standard guage railroad spike. Attachments:
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mattyg1306
off to a rocking start
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Post by mattyg1306 on Jul 20, 2010 21:59:22 GMT -5
Another view of one of the spikes compared to present day standard guage spike. Attachments:
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