Posted 5 years ago
AnythingOb…
(1778 items)
Which I've actually owned for many years now -- after recently re-noticing it doing nothing else but collecting dust in a storage room, I dragged it home to become the latest addition to my (neglected) flower/scrap iron garden [the old iron bits require far less regular maintenance, BTW...? <giggle>] joining a couple of my favorite old bricks and rocks and other stuff. ;-)
Roughly 15"L x 7"H x 6.5" at it base, and even with the large hole cut out of its middle, it still weighs in at a hefty 54lbs. I believe this was probably the cut-off end' of a much longer section of new RxR track as it would have come from whatever kinda places supply 'new railroad track'...even if I don't remember exactly where or when I picked it up, I *do*kinda remember that it was somewhere close by some location where track replacement work was going on. (and I grew up in/around a RxR town, so such opportunities weren't uncommon, I suppose??)
Its orange painted end is nice and smoothly forged, the other end (like the hole in its middle) looks to have been cut with something more like a torch. The only remains of any existing markings cast into it are shown in the last pic.
54 lbs! Think how much a standard length of rail weighs and building something like the transcontinental railroad by manual labor.
Hey Tim, I have a chunk about that size too, I cut one end at an angle, and back a few inches, the thickness of the top rail, and use it as an anvil when I need it! :^D
Thanks for posting, and plant a tree by your track, and in another 40yrs, it will be grown around it! :^)
If you didn't get my message, you'll get the Marlin Spike on Tuesday, by the end of the day! :^D We're up at Tahoe, Calif. in less than 80 degree temps, because it's over 100, back at home, in Bay Point, Calif.
I have one in the barn that I use for an anvil too.
Stuff
THANKS SO MUCH to Toyrebel, billretirecoll, fortapache, Newfld, iggy, yougottahavestuff, Watchsearcher, Anik, jscott0363 & Ben for tapping your <love it> buttons!! :-) :-) :-)
Indeed Toyrebel -- and if just the track itself is so heavy it makes the mind boggle at how heavy the *trains themselves* are...esp a big ole honking steam engine...?!!
Bill and Stuff, there's actually another (slightly) lighter gauge chunk of rail laying around @ the shop, cut as you describe. [maybe I should "inherit" it too...? ;-) ] That's actually the reason I picked up this little chunk years ago (thinking it'd be a great anvil) but, oddly enough, on those very few occasions when I (or anybody) actually need an anvil I generally just use the back side of one of the big vises instead...?? <lol>