What Else Do You Collect?

great topic!

I can be considered a borderline hoarder with the collections I've had over the years, but I'm learning to move on.

I was HUGE into hockey cards as a kid then got back into it after the first lockout. when my wife got pregnant I decided it was time to clean house and sold off most of the collection. now I only have personal Maple Leafs player autographs I've gotten in person and through the mail over the years, which I've started up again requesting them made out to my son.

I've also collected cameras but recently narrowed it down to my five favorites to make room (although whenever I come across something really unique I get it)

the wife and I are into movies (we were married in a theatre) so we have tons of vintage movie stuff (reels, projectors, camera) as well as posters and a couple props that'll line the walls once the renos are done.

as I used to be a chef, I have a soft spot for antique cooking tools

aside from that I've dabbled in comics, guitars & odd musical instruments, as well as random off the wall stuff (10-pin bowling ball, stuffed ferret, etc)

I am a bricklayer from the past and built our home some 25 years ago but one part of my building process will never end!

And that is the amazing collection of timbers on the inside of our home. Walls, floors and ceilings are all different types of timbers. Some of the timber types can no longer be purchased in fresh cut condition.

Now it is basically furniture and fixture that I look for from 2nd hand sites and recyclers.

Memories!

I like to turn my money into good quality tools because they are useful and they retain their value. They also afford me new opportunities to be creative, and handy that wouldn't exist without them.

Wow great collection of insulators and date nails earle! I collect glass insulators also but don't have near the quantity or quality you have, I've been trying to find a nice purple one for my collection but can't seem to find any around my area of town and when I do they are priced crazy. I also collect date nails but find it hard to get any when its illegal to walk the old rail lines. Where did you get the post that they sit upon?

@Voshus
A good, deep royal purple in a style called a CD102 can be had for around 30.00. Each insulator shape has been assigned a Consolidated Design number since sometimes two different shapes can be found with the exact same embosssing/model number.

The next price tier up would be a CD121 at around 30-40. After that the price jumps to 75.00-90.00.

If you just want a nice looking light purple then the least expensive one is around 20.00 for a CD155.

PM me if you want as I plan on having a table at the upcoming Shrewsbury, PA show. I don't have an extra purple right now but know multiples of each will be at the show. I;d barter as if buying for myself and just want that plus shipping (normally 10,00_ nowadays - OUCH!).

I think the most popular insulator website is not a competition site to CCF - and if the mod deems it so, I am sorry I misinterpreted the rules (I did review them ):
insulators.info.


Date nails can still be found easily. The best way to do this is find an abandoned line - such as they have converted to a bike path - and look to the sides of the path in the brush for the old discarded ties.

EIther this, or find a rural place where no one cares! There is a place in VA a friend took me to where the only access people have to their houses is the gravel road by the RR! The RR expects to see people on their property. Also, don't forget to check old poles. They sometimes used the exact same nails as RRs.

As to where I got the pole for my outside displays...

An abandoned line w/out rails outside of the small PA town I used to live in. Local 4-wheelers ride it all the time. Off to the side, the old poles are either still standing or were cut down long ago. Sometimes the farmers grab them for fenceposts, etc. Contact local power companies. I had some crossarms dropped off in my driveway after stopping to talk to some linemen working on a pole and telling them what I wanted them for.


@oldno7
Your name reminds me of a favorite song of mine about a certain three mile grade between Lynchburg and Danville

The oldest I ever found was a 1920 in Salamanca, NY. My friend and I were there (pre 9/11 days) and a RR truck, on the rails, stopped. We thought, "Oh no did we do something to get in trouble?" They just asked what we were looking for. We told them, and the driver told us to go back into town closer to the old depot b/c there was a wide variety back there (I miss those days!). We even got some of the letter nails used to identify the type of wood used!



I understand this aspect of it completely. Its like losing a special silver coin you found in change.

The Sante Fe set was pulled by a friend of mine, I got the WM RR nails myself (they were in the ends - installed perpendicular to the ground!) and thankfully stumbled onto that big copper Hubbard.

BTW - people sell date nails on ebay, but for postage, I'd be happy to send you some - I have a huge bucket of extras that I pulled over the years and have often wondered what to do with them. I can't bring myself to recycle them or throw them out.

And for fun you can google date nails or Hubbard nails and find just a couple sites - but unfortunately it is a hobby that seems to be gasping its last breath.

PM me if you want to talk more about them.

I collect old Hot Wheels Redline track sets and accessories by the cases... Not to many of those around..

I hoard debt, my collection is quite extensive.