The second, and final installment from my odyssey of junky glass this autumn comes only a few weeks later, on an idle Thursday afternoon, following my morning minerology class. My girlfriend and I had arranged to meet up, but were strapped for anything to do. She, not realizing the serious nature of the words about to depart her mouth, let slip the suggestion, "let's go insulator hunting!" I can only assume it was a joke of some sorts, but, much to her assumed dismay, I instantly had a spot on my mind that we could head to - one I had had been to the previous year, but had been forced to leave an exquisite insulator behind. So, after a bit of planning to make sure I could have her back in town for work by a certain time, we decided to go for it, and go get that awesome insulator that had eluded me years before.

Arriving at the line, and unveiling my climbing spurs for the first time in probably over a year, we began walking down the track. I was darting my eyes back and forth from each pole we passed, searching for that one tantalizing piece, while we conversed about this and that - world politics and nuclear physics, no doubt. Before long, we had passed the halfway point of the concession length, and I began to become concerned that we had missed the pole... or worse yet, that someone else had come and claimed my gem! But, then, there it was. A relatively short, straight pole with two crossarms, a number of Dominion - 42s, porcelain signals, and two lonesome CD 145s in aqua shades on the top arm. I explained to Cassie what she must do to watch for trains, and then set to work climbing. It had been a while since I had done anything the like, so it was a slow-going process assuring I did it correctly, and safely. Spurs in, straighten the leg, lock the knees, raise the belt, and then do it again. I reached the crossarm, and began to unscrew my gem... began to... unscrew... Ack, this thing is tough! Much to my assured dismay, the insulator was so tightly stuck onto it's pin that it appeared I wouldn't be able to go home with it, once again! No worries, though, I had anticipated this. Out comes the folding saw, and off comes the pin... or half of it, anyways. I tossed the insulator into the soft soil of the nearby farmer's field, along with 2 Dominion - 42s - one light green, and one peach in colour - for Cassie.

And then we were out of there. After carefully climbing down the pole, we returned to the car, and I put the spurs away for what will probably become another full year. I returned home a few days later, and began cleaning the piece up. The pin, I will tell you, took an unparalleled amount of effort to get out of the insulator, and the bubble within the pinhole of the insulator was full of creosote, as it opens into the threads. However, a few weeks of aggressive cleaning, here I am with another beautiful N.E.G.M.CO. CD 145, with an absolutely enormous bubble within it! That's three to date, but frankly, I don't think there will be many (or any) more. This is the first of the three in which the bubble is actually fully visible from the embossing side of the insulator! The piece most recently acquired is the one in the centre of the photo, and the [id=75142010;other two] are from previous hunts.

Another great insulator removed from the wilds of S.W.Ontario - they're still out there, just keep looking!