I would like to share with you insulator collectors a hobby of mine. It's collecting railroad date nails. Starting in 1900 dated nails were placed in ties by many railroads to keep records on the life of the ties used. Some were even marked by nails with letters. These were "A" Ash, "E" Elms "P" Pine, "C" Cherry and so on. They are very rare, and I'm the proud owner of six of the thirteen kinds found so far. It seems each railroad used a different type of nail. Several kinds can be found on the same line, too.

Now for some of the many kinds found. The round head is the most common. They come in two kinds with raised and indented numbers. Some lines used the indented from 1900 to 1926 and the raised type from 1926 thru 1969. Then there are the square headed nails. They come in raised and indented numbers and these have both round and square shanks. The Pentagon nail, so named because of its five sides, was placed in ties to denote a used tie. They were used from 1934 thru 1959. They, too, have the raised numbers. Nails with a raised letter "X" were inserted in non-standard ties at the treating plant. The nails sometimes found where a siding starts denote the length of the ties. The, start at 8'6" thru 15'16". I can't begin to name all the kinds. And I'm sure new ones are being found just like insulators are turning up as more people become collectors.

Just a few hints on where to look for dated nails. On the tracks some are outside the rails and some six inches inside. Be sure to really check bridges, for ties last longer there. Look underneath on the pilings. If you find old cross ties in the ditches, be sure to look them over. After you have walked the track, start checking the lines of telephone poles. Lots of them have dated nails in them. They are usually knee or eye level high. Some are steel, and some are copper that clean up beautifully. Don't forget to keep your Eagle eye out for insulators. Now when you hunt insulators down a track look for pole and tie dated nails. That's killing three birds with one stone.

There are lots of corrals and fences made of ties. That's a good place to check. Be sure to look near the ground, too. He may have turned the nail end down. Remember only the plate side has nails.

I have good friends at Eastland, Texas, who will soon have a new book out on railroad date nails. They gave me my nail of nails, the Oar 1900. 1 have from 1900 thru 1969 and several complete sets that railroads used. Have traded from Maine to California and into Canada.

Have you guessed? I do collect insulators. Really started on barbed wire. Have a very large collection of it. In hunting wire, began to find old insulators down fence rows. And some bottles were found, too. I got two insulators today, a purple Hemingray-54 A & B and a Chambers.

If anyone has one of the Chambers I'd like to know more about it. This one had been painted and used for a doorstop. But it got "Tender Loving Care" as it was cleaned up.

Hope the sketches of some types of nails help you, and maybe this poem of mine will explain a lot.

Nails are such fun to find,
But how they confuse my mind,
This nail, is it this or that?
In my belfry I soon have bats.

But again I go look for more,
Walk till my feet are sore.
Then I find the indented "33"
And I yell a big "Whoopee".

On down the track I race
To hunt for more some place,
But I find no more that day,
So retrace my steps some way.

Then on a telephone pole
That broke off near the hole
I spied an insulator so rare
That it took my breath of air.

That made my day complete
As I later sat on a fireside seat
And dreamed of the things to hunt
By me, myself and other nuts.