Walking down the railroad tracks in the Old City reveals the usual detritus of civilization: plastic bags, broken bottles, and cigarette butts. But once in awhile, something else turns up. Something maybe a bit more interesting and historic. Like this: an old railroad spike. These tracks have been here since the late 1800s; the Old City grew up to take advantage of that prime location, wanting to move all kinds of goods along the railways to be sold in other cities. And you know, those trains rumble down the tracks, and the tracks quake, a call and response that repeats day after day, century after century. Once in awhile, all those vibrations cause one of the old iron spikes to pop out and lay in the gravel, useless as a beached fish. But quite interesting to wandering photobloggers.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Spike
Walking down the railroad tracks in the Old City reveals the usual detritus of civilization: plastic bags, broken bottles, and cigarette butts. But once in awhile, something else turns up. Something maybe a bit more interesting and historic. Like this: an old railroad spike. These tracks have been here since the late 1800s; the Old City grew up to take advantage of that prime location, wanting to move all kinds of goods along the railways to be sold in other cities. And you know, those trains rumble down the tracks, and the tracks quake, a call and response that repeats day after day, century after century. Once in awhile, all those vibrations cause one of the old iron spikes to pop out and lay in the gravel, useless as a beached fish. But quite interesting to wandering photobloggers.
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5 comments:
Got to say it - You nailed it.
Interesting mini series we have had.I feel like Alice in wonderland - getting curioser and curioser.
Babooshka nicked my pun!
You could sell this on Ebay!
Lovely shot - a real treasure nowdays.
Growing up, I lived 1/2 a block from RR tracks - and that was in Northeast LA. The tracks are still in use but now it's the Metro trains using it. My friend Annie & I used to walk from school along a stretch of them. We would find a spike once in a while but didn't bother taking it.
Is the spike now a paper weight on your desk?
Leedra’s Photos For Fun
Photography By Leedra
I love this collection of images - we have old rails too. The relatively simple technology of it all is inspiring for the immense effect it had on our history.
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