A
Anonymous
Guest
Last summer I came across an abandoned railroad bed in Western North Carolina that runs for several miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I didn't have my CZ-3D with me at the time but plan on going back this summer to check it out.
The tracks and ties are all gone, with the exception of a few ties off to the side. The bed runs mostly through thick forest. There are the remains of an old RR trestle that once passed over a fast moving rocky bottomed creek. Some of the wooden pilings are still protruding from the stream bed. I didn't see any evidence of former buildings anywhere, but I really didn't explore but about 1/2 mile. It's possible that this railroad was used during the Civil War but I'm not sure.
I know that unless I descriminate, I'll be detecting lots of spikes and tie plates ( I found a tie plate lying out in the open). My question is, has anyone ever detected on an old railway bed? What can I expect to find besides iron? Should I detect on the bed, beside the bed, or farther out?
The tracks and ties are all gone, with the exception of a few ties off to the side. The bed runs mostly through thick forest. There are the remains of an old RR trestle that once passed over a fast moving rocky bottomed creek. Some of the wooden pilings are still protruding from the stream bed. I didn't see any evidence of former buildings anywhere, but I really didn't explore but about 1/2 mile. It's possible that this railroad was used during the Civil War but I'm not sure.
I know that unless I descriminate, I'll be detecting lots of spikes and tie plates ( I found a tie plate lying out in the open). My question is, has anyone ever detected on an old railway bed? What can I expect to find besides iron? Should I detect on the bed, beside the bed, or farther out?