Friday, December 16, 2016

Date Nails

 
 
 
 



Dear Friends,

Pop quiz:  What is a date nail?

They might be a thing we might hammer into the days we love the best, the ones we don't want to lose, to forget.  They could be a pin for the dates to come, a marker for the future.  They could be something even less probable, a nail to get the pit out of a date.  Or, they could be saved fingernail clippings from the first dates of paramours, which might be saved in in special date nail lockets.

What they really are though, are nails with a date stamped on their heads, to mark when a railroad tie or utility pole was installed or erected.  Have a look at part of a really large collection of date nails, from the galleries of the Western American Railroad Museum in Barstow, California.
 
 
 

 


 


 
 

 


 
 

 


 
 

 
 

 


 
 

 


 


 
 
 
 
 
If you are thinking (as I am) 'hey, how can I get a piece of this action?'  Try this site for some advice.
See you on the tracks, Jack!