forys@sunybcs.UUCP (Jeff Forys) (08/08/84)
Could anyone tell me about "Date nails"? I got about 15 and want to know
more about them. When they started putting them in ties, when they stopped,
why some are square and some round, etc.
Thanks,
Jeff Forys
UUCP: {cmc12,hao,harpo}!seismo!rochester!rocksanne!rocksvax!sunybcs!forys
{allegra,decvax}!watmath!sunybcs!forys
ARPA, CSnet: forys.buffalo@rand-relaychaltas@uiucdcsb.UUCP (08/16/84)
#R:sunybcs:-21000:uiucdcsb:11100024:000:996
uiucdcsb!chaltas Aug 15 19:28:00 1984
I recall (from my childhood days spent watching trains along the B&M)
seeing date nails dated from 12 to 68, when it seems that the B&M gave up
on tie replacements for awhile. When tie replacement resumed in the late
seventies (I recall seeing about one out of every five ties marked for
replacement) the B&M did not use date nails. I was interesting to note
which ties were in the worst shape. It was not always the oldest, and
some batches of ties seemed to do decidedly worse than others. I suspect
that one reason for date nails was to see how different types or treatments
of ties held up under use. Certainly they were NOT used to determine which
ties were due to be replaced.
Alas, I did not aquire a collection of nails whilst I had the chance (I did
get a couple). They were generally hard to pull up without a LARGE hammer
or claw of some sort, and as a child I didn't much care about them, certainly
not enough to go home for a hammer.
George Chaltas
uiucdcs!chaltas