Name/Title
NailEntry/Object ID
2021.099.0010Description
Set of 101 railroad tie date nails, steel, in two size lengths of 2 1/4" and 2 1/2".
In early years of date nail use, all dates were indented in the head. A "4" or "04" would indicate the year 1904.
Date nails with different shaped heads might mean different things to different railroads.
Letter nails stood for type of treatment a tie received, the quality of a tie, or the timber the tie was made from.
Most date nails were made of steel although some metals used were copper, malleable iron, and after 1940's aluminum. Date nails were used until 1970.
In this collection the head size of the nails range from 1/3" to 1/2".Collection
Benicia Industrial Collection
