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  • LHR date nails

  • Discussion of the L&HR and its predecessor the Warwick Valley Railroad for the period 1860-1976 at its inclusion with ConRail
Discussion of the L&HR and its predecessor the Warwick Valley Railroad for the period 1860-1976 at its inclusion with ConRail

Moderator: David

 #664650  by tristate
 
Hello all
Any one dabble in date nails? I picked up 4 bags of LHR nails on ebay the other day and need a few to complete the span of years I got.
Denny
 #664835  by Marty Feldner
 
I have two or three dozen; some picked up when I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, some pulled from yard ties after the rails had been lifted in the 90's. All in Warwick.

Dates: 1918, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1947, 1948, and 1951. I have no idea if those are the only years they were used on the L&HR, or if there are years that I don't have. I suspect the former (the answer might be in the recently recovered archives)...

What years did you get?
 #664909  by tristate
 
Hi Marty
I would feel safe to say they used them almost yearly from whenever they started to whenever they ended. I have quite a few:18,19,21,22,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,35,36,37,52 & 56. Multiples of almost all. They came from about a mile east of the Playboy resort near McAfee in the mid '70's.
Den
 #712508  by NY&LB
 
The L&HR used date nail from 1910 to 1939 and then from 1946 to 1956, most are INDENTED, the RAISED dates are '39, '46, and '47; there is also an INDENTED '47. You will also find nails from second hand or re-used ties. Several of the nails are quite "rare". There are MANY different "types" of date nails as well as "variations", several years have several "similiar" nails. I have a complete set, including the ones attributed to "second hand" ties, I also have a good number of "extras". PM me if you are interested. Given that there are MANY miles of abandon lines, it's a great place to collect date nails without getting into "trouble".
Last edited by NY&LB on Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #712919  by Marty Feldner
 
Fascinating information, and it adds to my knowledge of the L&HR. Never a bad thing...

What's the source, or is it just based on observation? I've never gone into that much detail in regards to date nails.

The date ranges make perfect sense; 1910 was a year of major improvements and upgrades to the physical plant and ROW; the gap from 1940 to 1945 coincides with WWII. 1957 was the start of a major recession; the Erie Lackawanna merger was just ahead, ending the road's Port Morris traffic. Some consider this the beginning of the end for the L&HR; cost cutting measures would have ended date nails.
 #713040  by NY&LB
 
Marty, The source is Date Nails and Railroad Tie Preservation by Jeff Oaks, a three volume set of books that "For each of over 250 North American railroads, a list of date nails they used is given, followed by all info I have on their tie treating and record keeping practices. "
http://facstaff.uindy.edu/~oaks/Resources.htm#Thebook Although Jeff hasn't updated his website in a few years, the books are still available.

The Texas Date Nail Collectors Association is a group of date nail collectors (don't let the TEXAS part fool you) from all over the country that publishes a newsletter (about 4 times a year) and holds "date nail shows" twice a year, one east of the Mississippi and one west of the river.

http://community-2.webtv.net/nailernews/NailerNewscom/

If you are interested in date nails, send me a PM, I have THOUSANDS!