Still, this is one of those little interesting finds, that tends to make a day. A friend of mine was driving me to some errands, when we happened to pass the local Santa Fe tracks. There, in a large dirt area by the rails, I suddenly spotted a great pile of crossarms and cut poles, from a wrecked-out line, which still sparkled with glass. Instantly I shouted, "INSULATORS!" With that, we immediately pulled to a stop. If only I had had a camera with me.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the "pickers" had already been at the pile. There were a lot of empty pins. But then, there was also a lot of broken glass on the ground. What remained, was all just common stuff---mostly Hemi 42's. But, I was still able to find a few pieces worth digging out of the pile. No unusual colors or embossings though (don't try to judge the colors, by the dirt and rust stains). Looks like I'll have to try that oxalic-acid bath, that everyone has been talking about.

Included in my finds, were 3 aqua CD 145's (Hemingray 21), 3 clear CD 214's (Hemingray 43), a rather battered aqua CD 152 (Hemingray 40), a 1-1/2 inch spool with bracket, and a transposition bracket. I even grabbed a black plastic "REN" insulator, just for laughs. And, those wood cobs might come-in handy.

There were also some porcelain power pieces, from the signal system's 4kv supply line. But, they were too badly broken, to be worth salvaging. I did spot a 6-inch Hewlett, complete with hardware. But, I had no tools with me, to remove it. So, I had to let it go. My lack of tools also forced me to leave a through-arm J-pin, which I really wanted to add to my hardware collection. All in all though, it was a great find, on a day when I wasn't even looking.