A huge pile of cross arms with insulators from the local BNSF Railroad piled on the farmer's property near Somonauk, Illinois. The farmer and his son pictured here. A pleasant few hours digging and talking insulators with them. You can see they are cutting their way into the pile and removing the insulators, wire, iron for scrap money.

A few local collectors have gone through the pile, but some of the good stuff probably is still buried under the cross arms. Tom Nugent from Ottawa, Illinois said he walked the line decades ago and there really wasn't much to find upon the line. Hawley's and H.G.Co. B-hives.

I bought 4 insulators, a 83 Fulton St. Brookfield CD 145 in a lt green, a Hawley B-hive and a H.G.Co. with pea size bubbles through-out the clear glass.. That was a cool piece that I liked with bubbles. Also a H on the dome bar-bar CD 145 with snot and swirls. I bought some metal brackets and spool racks from his barn. He will be set up at The Yorkville, Illinois show with some of his treasures from the pile. I suggested he make cross arm display arms with one or two insulator pegs to set your favorite insulators on the pegs for sale at the show. There wasn't many desirable insulators in the pile, but I looked for the oddball stuff and errors. A lot of broken glass here, but he had a few hundred in his barn of the commons. That would make a neat aqua mound too.