[GreenKeys] Telegraph in 2009?

[Bob McConnell]

Roy Morgan wrote:
> On Jun 18, 2009, at 8:08 PM, Don Robert House wrote:
> 
>> Okay List,  What do you think.
> ... As you can see in
>> the second photo, the wire looks like single-conductor strand, about  
>> 10
>> AWG solid iron with no insulation.
> 
> First, a warning:  Messing about along railroad tracks, especially  
> ones still in use, can bring very unwanted attention.  I spoke with a  
> fellow who used to collect wire insulators such as you see in the  
> picture.  He no longer goes out along abandoned or in-use rail lines  
> to look for collectible insulators.  Reports are that security people  
> are especially alert to people who should not be found on rail rights  
> of way.  This is a real phenomenon since 9-11, the former collector  
> told me. Apparently you can be on a long-abandoned right of way that  
> has not seen a train for many decades or even the greater part of a  
> century, and be hauled off for suspicion of illegal activity.  'Sounds  
> like it's best to avoid the rails altogether.
> 
> Second a guess:  I would expect that the wire is likely not iron but  
> steel, and perhaps used to be copper clad steel wire and now the  
> copper is corroded away.  Folks who know will no doubt be heard from  
> and we'll get a better answer than my guess.

I read a couple of newsgroups where rail fans post pictures and videos 
they took of trains, track, stations, etc. They report that security 
around the rail lines has gotten much tighter since 9-11, to the point 
where a few of them have been threatened by security. A couple were 
arrested for trespassing, even though they were on a public highway when 
they took some pictures. In some cases the "security" personnel were 
rent-a-cops with delusions of adequacy, but they were still a nuisance. 
They also make it a point not to post pictures of identifiable freight 
loads for several weeks after they shoot them.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP