Railroad Bar

[want@1070]

What about crow bars ?

 

[Steve in VA]

What about crow bars ?

 

[petertay]

Like this?

Yes, that is the kind of bar. I use it to get the 6-foot field mower lined up to the 3-point hitch. And as others have said, when digging a hole in rocky soil, it is just what is needed.

 

[Jim.ME]

Yes, that is the kind of bar. I use it to get the 6-foot field mower lined up to the 3-point hitch. And as others have said, when digging a hole in rocky soil, it is just what is needed.

The bar in Watthour's picture is commonly sold, at least around here, as a Pinch Point Crowbar (length can vary), it tapers from one side of the square to the opposite side to form a taper/ramp. The square end of a Wedge Point Crowbar tapers from two opposite sides to form a wedge shape at the end of the square.

 

[David from Kansas]

We have a five-foot long pry bar, round at one end, square and tapered on the other. Is it really railroad related, we don’t know. But my question is, Why does it have a serial number stamped in it? Why would such a tool need to have a specific number?

If it is what I think has been described, they were used a lot in the military and were called "tanker bars". About every tracked vehicle had one or more in their tool set.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

Pretty sure they were called gandy dancers.

I may have missed a bit of the context, but the gandy dancers were the men who maintained the tracks. Went to elementary school with the children of some and those families lived in coverted boxcars on the town siding in the 50s.

I have my grandfathers old RR lanterns, all embssed with AT&SF Rwy and I doubt I have to hide them from anyone after 100 years.

 

[kevinj54]

A few of my bars, One is a San Angelo & the others are various length pinch bars.

The San Angelo is 6' long.

 

[want@1070]

Ha.ha.ha I heard it told , Before crowbars were invented, most crows drank at home.

 

[Mule Meat]

Always called that type spud bars. Used a lot when digging post holes.
The type that has a flat end like a concrete bit for a jackhammer are called slate bars here. They are used to check for and remove loose rock from deep mine roofs.

 

[kevinj54]

Always called that type spud bars. Used a lot when digging post holes.
The type that has a flat end like a concrete bit for a jackhammer are called slate bars here. They are used to check for and remove loose rock from deep mine roofs.

It is strange how different areas have different names for the same tool.

Some old guys here used spud bar also.

The San Angelo or flat chisel point is often just call a digging bar in these parts.

 

[NDIHC]

I found this one leaning against a tree stump in an old shelterbelt next to my yard. The trees were planted in a timeframe from the 1920s to the 40s. I don't remember it ever being around the farm and my dad doesn't remember it either. The place has been in our family since the late 1800s when my great grandparents homesteaded. I don't know where it came from. 51 inches long, tapered squarish point at one end and tapered flat at the other.