8 RAILROAD DATE HEAD NAILS INCLUDING 2 SANTA FE “X” NAILS 1910 – 1935/RARE DATES
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:43369376 | Modified Item: No |
| Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
All the railroad nails in this listing are from onecollector who personally took these out of old removed purchased railroad tiesor telephone poles. The nails are in asfound condition and have been washed only. All are in good condition. Theyall appear to be steel. The length ofthe nails are app. 2 ½” long except for one of the 1935 and the 1910 nails. They all have a round head with raised numerals. The nails were driven into ties either at the tr...eatingplant, to indicate the year of treatment, or at the track, to indicate the yearthe tie was laid. The 1910 raised date nail is 2” long and the 1935 raised datenail is 1 ¼” long. They were probablyout of telegraph/telephone poles. The dates on the nails in this offering are 1910, 3 nails that are 1928, 2 nails that are 1935, and 2 “X” raised nails. The 2 “X” nails are definitely Santa Fe. I have included below part of an article fromthe University of Indianapolis web site that talks about the “x” nail and itsuse:“Both the Santa Feand the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh used "X" nails to indicatea substandard tie or timber. Many ties, after leaving the treating plant, are found to be sub-standard. Some have a little premature rot, whileothers suffer from checking (splitting) in the ends. Often these ties arestill fit to be used, so the railroad would drive an "X" nail toindicate that they did not want them counted in the annual statistics. The BR&P used a nail with an indented X from ca. 1911 to 1932. TheSanta Fe began using a raised X sometime 1926-36, and they stopped perhapsabout 1959.”
