I need help identifying this piece of OLD cast iron. Railroad part? Sleigh part?

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@dizzblnd (3073)
United States
October 13, 2008 7:19pm CST
Let me give you a little history. My dad found a piece of 35 pound cast iron in the mountains of Wyoming. It says "Sweet 1875" on one end and "Patent Oct 19" on the other. It weighs about 35 pounds and is about 1 foot long and and about 6 inches thick. I have tried to do research on it and not having much luck. What I DID find.. doesn't help me much because it doesn't show the full picture. What I found was that it MIGHT be a sleigh part. I found this by entering all the words on it in the search engine and I come up with this http://tinyurl.com/52tbjn.. if you are wary of clicking on the tiny url link.. this is the full link http://www.google.com/patents?id=NU9KAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_1#PPA1,M1 The matching wording leads one to believe it is a part of a sleigh used for heavy cargo. However, I posted these pics (which I will have to post as I reply to all of you) in the ebay community forum, some there say it MIGHT be a railroad "re-railer" used to put derailed cars back on track. It would be spiked into a tie, and then the train would be pulled forward and the re-railer would guide the wheel back on the track. My dad wants me to sell it, but I obviously don't want to post it until I know with some certainty what it might be. I will tell you that where he found it, there were no railroad tracks anywhere to be found. I will post the first pic and post more as I respond to each of you. Thanks so much! THESE ARE NOT REFERRAL LINKS These are to give more info about what I am posting about
2 people like this
3 responses
@underdogtoo (9579)
• Philippines
14 Oct 08
That is an intriguing piece of metal. Something from over a hundred years ago would be considered part of history and who knows what it did particularly. I hope you find more information on it and make tons of money on ebay. Cheers!!
• United States
14 Oct 08
And here I thought I knew everything. lol Sorry hun but I have no idea and my hometown is riddled with rail road tracks but I am clueless as to what that piece of cast iron is. Good luck with your search. Let us know how it turns out for you.
• Canada
14 Oct 08
Not sure what it is, but it sure looks interesting to me.