Railroad Tracks

[James Huffman]

I have often wondered if tecting a railroad track was feasible if even possible. Looking at very old tracks I just envision all the people who have walked them over the years and have lost coins, jewelry, etc and cannot find them due to the rocks.

Just wondering if anyone has tried this?

[sectshun8]

Lots of people do it. There are even books that show where old stations or even small shacks were along the lines.

Do a search here on the forums for railroad and I'm sure you'll find some info.

[James Huffman]

My biggest question is if the train tracks have so much metal and make the tector go crazy? Mostly with it raised on either side........

[sectshun8]

Well I doubt there would be much to find actually in between the tracks... it's alont the tracks you would want to be hunting. Staying a certain distance away from the rails would keep you from falsing, otherwise, turning your sens down as you got closer would help if you wanted to get within a foot or so of the rail.

[James Huffman]

Originally Posted by sectshun8

Well I doubt there would be much to find actually in between the tracks.

I would/hope think that a hole hoard of items would be lurking between the tracks as people walk them all the time, especially an older track. But I know that it would be almost impossible yet legal to dig up a track

But I will always dream to

I will take the advice of hunting on the sides and old stations, thanks

[Wildcat1750 (nyjrbethelct)]

I've found alot of flattened coins between the ties and along side of railroad tracks. Kids love to put them on the rails and try to find them after a train passes.

[Sklybones]

New here but thought I would speak up on this I believe it was Chet Long a detectorist and author on metal detecting that found gold nuggets here in Nevada detecting along railroad tracks and cant remember where I read it but sometimes when building the railroad they would use the waste rock from the mines as ballast to the miners at that time the rock was waste the gold in the rock was not feasable to to extract. Then theres also date nails that you could look for they have a date stamped on the top of them for the year so they new when the ties were put in and when to replace them. I know out here there are old foundations about every 4 miles along the tracks may be different in more populated areas I suppose...



Hope this may help
Mike

[OkieDigger]

I have detected along tracks in town before. Very trashy. I highly recommend a small coil. I have no idea what they're like outside of town.

[ucbearcatz]

Ok here's something to think about too before wasting any time,Most modern tracks use either Blast furnace slag or BOF furnace slag that has been processed for balast and rail bed fill which will be full of small bits of metal.I work in a steel mill and haul slag from BOF and its just one of things we recycle out of our by products.

[z118]

Originally Posted by James Huffman

I would/hope think that a hole hoard of items would be lurking between the tracks as people walk them all the time, especially an older track. But I know that it would be almost impossible yet legal to dig up a track

At least around here it is NOT legal to even be on the tracks, nevermind dig. Couple of times a year someone get hit by a train, usually walking on the tracks listening to music or drunk or stoned or something. I would not think it would be a good idea to be digging on the tracks with headphones on... at least not on a track that is still used.

[rbholt80]

i work for Union Pacific RR and things changed after 911. the land and tracks are private property and off limits to any one in the public unless its a crossing spot for civilians. It is now a threat against national security to be on rail lines or on the property unless you have a nation security badge. The RR is taken these thing serous and will prosecute violators. They have there own police force and these guys are not governed by local laws and practices. Its national security at stake so if your busted and they want to push things they can really stick it to you.

Stay on abandoned lines and lines that have been removed. If it has trains running on it regularly then stay off or you could pay or be killed.

Some small private lines may be ok to be around but please stay 2 arms length away from active lines.

A locomotive backing up a line of cars will not see you and the only sound you may hear is a wheel rolling over a splice in the trac.

I work on the locomotives and have almost been hit wile walking down the side of tracks by locos cause wile there in notch 1 the engines are not working very had to supply electricity to the traction motors and so the locomotive is very quite and with headphones on or ear plugs you really cant hear some of them.

trust me they kill and they can be silent.

here is what i do. i follow the lines on a map and look for the stations that once were all over the old lines. some places turned into town but then died off. these places would have people in higher concentration and more money to be lost. I mark them on my map and then try to find the land owner to secure permission to hunt. Many old lines that were removed later became roads and highways that we all now travel down. The towns along the old tracs that died are good places to hunt and you will find much more in them than you will find along the tracks.

[swaits]

I will add to this..

STAY AWAY FROM RAILROAD TRACKS!

Not only is it probably illegal, but those things are seriously quiet these days.

I learned this the frightening way. Today, you get the benefit of my idiocy.

I went out on my mountain bike one day several years ago. I was using my GPS to search for NGS benchmarks. After digging around awhile, I looked up and saw a train about 200' away, coming right at me. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

Most people don't think of trains as being quiet. That's probably because you only ever encounter them at crossings, when they're intentionally making lots of noise. Away from the crossings, you probably only notice the really loud freight trains. But you need to realize that a lot of trains are indeed relatively quiet these days.

Don't believe me? Go ahead, but don't say we didn't warn you.

[steve in so az]

We have spent the last 20 years going along old Rr tracks - mostly abandoned or seldom used ones- never any poroblems. We detect mostly the old maintenance house areas -every 6-8 miles. A few times the RR crew has said ok to be along the tracks, just not on them. We have found very little on the tracks but a lot off them. Here's an excellent book to find the old long gone sites in your area, Steve in so az