Thank you grandma!! :)

[woodstockva]

So for the last 2+ years I have been actively trying to find a section of railroad track at EVERY single yard sale, auction, and flea market that I have gone to (100's) with zero luck. I wanted one to use as an anvil in the garage, and could not believe that no one had any....I assume the scrap metal guys stuffed them into car trunks for extra weight at the junkyards.

So two weekends ago I am at a flea market & spot a mini-anvil already made out of a section of track. It was not full size like I wanted, and was maybe 10" long x 3" wide x 6" tall....if that. It looked like it belonged on a mini-train track, or possibly out of a quarry or something. Still, it was better than nothing. The guy refused to go to a reasonable price & I walked away.

Later that day I stopped by my grandparents house and told them about my day. I brought up that track & told them the guy was nuts w/the amount he wanted....but I regretted not buying it, since I had been looking for 2+ years w/no luck.

My grandmother looks at me and says "you want a section of railroad track? .... we have one down in the woodpile.....you can have it" ..... So down the yard I ran, and there on the ground lay a full size piece of track that was undamaged except for surface rust. She said that my uncle inherited a house 25 years ago & there were 3 sections of track in the yard....so he gave them one & its sat in the woodpile ever since.

So.....thank you Grandma! The search is finally over!

 

[Exceller8]

That's awesome, congrats!! Track pieces are easy to find around here. I actually have more than I need at this point. They are great for shop use. My favorite one is a 4' section of track that I bought for $40. It's on my outside workbench and I use it for all kinds of work.

 

[southalabama]

Congrats.

I was walking some old family property before dad's cousin sold it out of the family. They'd told me I could have anything I found. My great grandmothers house and shed had been bull dozed. Next to where the shed used to be was a three foot section of rail buried under the leaves. It's old logging rail iron.

 

[ADSR]

Nice free score! I need to find one as well!

 

[Professur]

I wanna hear about how you're gonna pay yer Granny back for this.

 

[Exceller8]

I wanna hear about how you're gonna pay yer Granny back for this.

I hug and a kiss will prolly do!

 

[Davefr]

That's the perfect size and it has nice clean cuts. Congrats!!

 

[rockinacummins]

You ****!! Grandma made you a good deal! Have to buy her a nice hanging basket of her favorite flower!

 

[bwringer]

I inherited a piece about like that from my Dad. I had no idea how handy that stuff was until then.

Nice score from Grandma! You'll definitely have to visit more often.

 

[imok]

Great story! Awesome find. Now you need to get your grandmother something nice!

 

[Tucko]

Damn you! I had no idea I wanted that till now....Now I'll have to start looking.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I have a couple of pieces I've picked up from estate sales. The perfect one for an anvil is about 15" long, 10" tall, and about 80 pounds. I took it to a machine shop, but they couldn't even begin to touch it. I had hoped they could mill a flat surface on top, but they didn't have the equipment and didn't know anyone that could.

Rats!

I may just grind it myself with a ton of disks, lots of soda, and time.

 

[dlcwent]

Funny how things "show up" . You never know do you? Nice find.

 

[Farmall450]

I need to find myself a piece...my dad has one, it's handy.

 

[Steroblan]

I kick myself everytime I think about the 6' section of heavy track that I took to the local dump and threw in the scrap metal pile. I had built a drag for the tractor out of it and got a box scraper so I thought I didn't need it anymore. Sometimes I look around the place and think it's time to clean out some unused stuff but later regret it.

 

[Junkman]

I have a 100 pound (+ -) real anvil and a track anvil somewhere on the property, but haven't seen them in a couple of years. I put them outside one fall when cleaning the garage, and then moved them out of the way a second time. Then I forgot about them, and now, I don't remember where I put them. Hadn't thought about either of them until reading your post. Tomorrow, I will have to start looking for them again.

 

[pipehack]

For you guys looking for a piece. Try to find a local rail yard. They are literally everywhere and always have a supply of cut offs. I mean always. I got a 24" piece from one. I asked someone that was working there and was told to go ahead and look. He knew what I was I making. I offered him $20.00 and he refused to take it. You can meet some of the nicest people I the most unlikely places.