The Fall Hikes by Gene DeVaux

As I sit here writing this story, I can hear the horn of a distant locomotive. It brings back memories of those cool fall days when I hiked down the railroad looking for insulators. 

Six years ago, when I was still living with my parents, I had a close friend names Kevin. He and I worked together at the local Chinese restaurant, and were longtime friends. 

Kevin and I had similar interests, such as hiking, fishing and collecting antiques. He knew of my odd interest for insulators and suggested that we search the railroads for them. 

I had heard the railroads were a great place to find glass insulators, so I agreed to try looking there.

Our parents weren't too happy about the idea of us hiking down the railroads, but they allowed us to do it anyway. One thing they would always ask, is where we would be hiking and what direction we would be headed. This way they knew where to look for us if we didn't show up at the appointed time. Of all those miles of track we hiked, we never even scraped a knee!

If we started hiking in the afternoon, we would keep going until dusk. We would then start on our way back, stopping to pick up the insulators we had found earlier. By the time we reached the car, our arms would be full of insulators. If is wasn't too cool, we would remove our shirts and use them like baskets.

Most of the insulators we found were Hemingray 42's and aqua beehives. They seemed to be everywhere along the tracks. Once in a while I might find a beehive "star" or a signal "star", but that wasn't very often. Nothing we ever found was very valuable. It was just fun to find something. 

My fondest memories of insulator collecting to date are of those fall hikes with Kevin and an armful of Hemingray 42's.

Sometimes I still hike down the railroad track by myself. It is a peaceful experience if the area you are hiking is outside of the city limits. I recommend this to anyone, just bring your hiking boots and something to drink. Who knows, that sparkle under the next bush may be that "jewel" everyone dreams about.