Rail road Rail

At a garage sail I found a George Foreman waffle maker I also think it has a skittle for meat and such Never saw one like this and for $3 the AL made it a no risk deal. Picked up a few other items and the the home owner help me to the truck with the goodies . It was obvious what I did to make money with this truck, so we started talking and he said he had a rail road Rail in his yard that years ago he took to a local yard but they did not want it from him - The the yard man said he could get in trouble having it in his yard . So I took a look at the contraband & and he said when i got my house 22 years ago it came with the house
I told him it feels like 70 pounds and I offed him $5 bucks.
I figure it will make a nice anvil and it sure did as I busted up some Cast AL from a sewing machine just now .I like it cause since it is so long when you hit it it's not to loud , Some anvils sound like your ringing a bell.

SO the question ?
I did buy it at a garage sale and now I have it sitting with pride for all to see ,I guess it is stupid to ask now but is it illegal to have can a spiteful person cause me trouble with this item
I figure it to be 50 years old or older . and about 6 feet long , I can see from modern rails this one is an oldie.

Actually I had a similar situation come up when we cleaned my grandfathers property when he passed away. No yard would even look at it. Someone apparently had some rail spikes and they tagged him with a $10k fine. I know that seems silly for some okd spikes but those railroad guys seem to just have a vendetta out...just watch where you have it or cut it up and use part.

Originally Posted by webuyselltradestuff

Actually I had a similar situation come up when we cleaned my grandfathers property when he passed away. No yard would even look at it. Someone apparently had some rail spikes and they tagged him with a $10k fine. I know that seems silly for some okd spikes but those railroad guys seem to just have a vendetta out...just watch where you have it or cut it up and use part.

Thing you gotta wonder about is on ebay people sell rail road spikes ,
There is no record of me selling RR stuff to any yard , But i better see what the rules are here . I got the hot potato
I would think selling RR stuff to the yard thats taken a chance.
Just figures I am careful to get permission, nice on the road & now I own it - But what a nice anvil !!

Years ago, when I was clearing off my late uncle's farm, I ran across a rotting stump inside of an old wood shed. I thought it was a strange place for a stump to be stored. The much older (and wiser) gentleman that was with me said to look around for an anvil, as it was common practice to mount anvils atop stumps on dirt floors. We dug around in the dirt, and sure enough, there was the tip of an old anvil sticking up. It was one of those old railroad based anvils and looks to have been made using a cutting torch. I still use it to this day.

Folks beat me to the punch...I was going to say..cut that sucker up with a torch or whathaveyou and make anvils out of it. Yard won't take it cause its part of the forbidden fruit they won't buy, but other folks who work with metal sure will. We have a couple blacksmiths down here on my sandbar, they'd love something like that, maybe there is something similar out your way.

Just goes to show you, you can find all kinds of cool stuff at yard/garage sales.

Sirscrapalot - Alll aaaabboooard!

This one I am keeping, not for sale .It's real grungy looking .I had two Cast Al sewing machines and I opted to just bust em up to separate Al and bits of Short.
some of the hard pieces were no match for the rail.
Next --
I have a customer I am painting for he has a piece of steel 1/2 inch thick 4 1/2 tall by 2 foot wide that was hard to pick up . I'm gonna inquire.
Just collecting dust ??

Originally Posted by Mick

In this case it's not likely, but it COULD be considered theft of RR property, It is a federal felony and can result in life in prison.

I am involved in prison ministry. should I go ahead and send letters, in advance, so I can be on your mailing and visitation list?

was actually directing that at the OP, Mick, since he is the one in possession of said contraband ;-)

If he tried selling to a yard I could see a case made of.."Recieving stolen property" but law is not my forte, but seriously that's the only charge I could see, an someone would have be a real douche bag to go that route. From Copperhead's description it shows its age, an he could just tell who he got it from. I wouldn't do ebay, or the yard. Ebay has gone all mommy on certain items, they don't want sold. That's cool, it's their right and their company to do as they please. I would hope the law would have better things to do then come after someone for a piece of rail road rail that is over 40 years old..maybe a statue of limitations on something like that..I dunno, I ain't a lawyer or a cop. LOL.

Bigger things in this world to worry over then someone who bought/given a piece of rail at a yard/garage sale.

Just how I see it, an Copperhead I agree, put it to use for yourself, an don't worry about selling it or anything. An if anyone does ask you about, make sure you keep the guy who you got it from's name an address. If anyone was guilty of stealing it was him or his family, etc.

Dot them i's and cross them t's, an CYA.

Sirscrapalot - Always enjoyed taking a trip by train.

I have a piece myself about 4 foot long that came with a bunch of scrap I bought at an estate auction. Reminded me of when my grandfather in the Texas panhandle had one mounted on 4x4 posts as an anvil. Only thing I am trying to figure out now is where to mount mine.