Comments on: So this little guy tells quite a story. The year he was placed in this railroad tie (sleepers in the UK) , the wooden pieces that railroad tracks are secured to was 1941. England and the Commonwealth had already been at war with Nazi Germany for 3 years. The Battle of Britain was over. America was not yet involved in the conflict. Average Cost of new house $4,075.00 Average wages per year $1,750.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas 12 cents Average Cost for house rent $32.00 per month Beautyrest mattress $39.50 Average Price for a new car $850.00 Apples, 25 cents for 2 pounds Bacon Sliced 59 cents per pound . And this railroad date nail was placed in the wooden tie 77 years ago! Railroads used them to know the exact date the tie was placed in the roadbed. Amazing that it has survived this long when most railroad ties are replaced about every 25 years. I am not sure if its that says anything bad about railroad maintenance, but the nail was on a 100 yr old bridge over the Humber River that is being replaced in September. Of course I removed it and took this little piece of history home.

By: ngineered4u

ngineered4u — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 16:14:39 +0000

Hey Dan L. The bridge where I picked up this date nail was the former CN (now Metrolinx) bridge over the Humber River down at the lakeshore area. The other bridge that you must mean is the CN Halton Sub Mi 4 over the Humber River near the 407. CP’s Mactier Sub passes under the Halton Sub just before the CN bridge at the Humber.

By: Dan L

Dan L — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 17:13:35 +0000

Does this overpass over the Humber River belong to the CN Halton Sub or the CP Mactier Sub? Both these lines cross it and the two bridges are less than one kilometer away from each other.

By: Stuart Streit

Stuart Streit — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:26:24 +0000

The practice of applying date nails spanned from 1897 to 1969. All one could ever want to know about date nails can be found at:https://www.rta.org/assets/docs/Other/date%20nail%20history%20cohs.pdf

By: Stephen C. Host

Stephen C. Host — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 18:11:53 +0000

I believe the last year they were used was around 1968 or 1969. I have never seen one later than this, some in Sarnia were still visible saying ’68′ on the north track.

By: awmooney

awmooney — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 17:07:02 +0000

Seems to me I remember them on CN as late as 1962.

By: Stuart Streit

Stuart Streit — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:22:07 +0000

Trivia time; what year did the widespread use of date nails conclude? Answer to follow.

By: ngineered4u

ngineered4u — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 22:45:30 +0000

Haha@Snake2..even i know you are way smarted than that mister

By: Snake2

Snake2 — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:42:14 +0000

Ah – No Phil. It is my IQ

By: ngineered4u

ngineered4u — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 20:59:58 +0000

@AW.. there were three more but the dates had work away. I can add it to my collection. I have speed signs for the Turbo train and LRC. Operator hoops for train orders to name a few.

By: ngineered4u

ngineered4u — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 20:58:07 +0000

Service track at Oakville? No my friend. I found it on track #2 on the Oakville Sub over the Humber River!