Howdy "dbabson":

Date nails range from 1900 to about 1961 so the two digit
 numbers would
be from 00 to 61.  There is whole book on them that I
 purchased at an
SHA conference back in the '70s.  Anyway, I have found them
 on both
logging railroads and mainline railroads.  An old timer
 railroad
employee told me some stories about reuse of railroad ties
 back in the
late 70's. On logging railroads, they were on ties that had
 been taken up
from mainline railroads.  Nobody bothered to remove the old
 date nails.
Sometimes a huge section of railbed would be repaired and
 all of the
better quality ties stockpiled in some railyard.  They were
 occasionaly
reused in the late '60s and after but still had the old date
 nails in them.
They were no longer required or even used so no one bothered
 to take
them out.  It mostly depends on how long the good used ties
 were
stockpiled before reuse.  Don't depend on those puppies for
 dates.  I
recommend them as an indicator only.

Smoke.


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Smoke (Michael A.) Pfeiffer
Archaeologist
Ozark-St. Francis National Forests
605 West Main Street
Russellville, AR 72801
501-968-2354 Ext. 233
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 Absence of evidence IS NOT evidence of absence.