I got this photo from my wife's nephew. They were found along an abandoned railroad right-of-way. A toothbrush is shown for scale. Any guesses as to what they might be?



Any info would be appreciated.

the fact they are metal imprinted means a lot of these were made. They look familiar but I can't place it.

I tend to think they are just some kind of box feet as they might be screwed to the bottom of some kind of box/tool chest, the imprint touches the ground while the rest of the box/object does not.

Looks like the plates they used to put on the corners of lumber shipments on flatcars to protect the edges of the lumber from the steel straps used in those days to secure the bundles and to secure the bundles to the car.

They would have been bent at a 90-degree angle in the middle to form a corner, and it looks like these were.

Without these, the steel straps would cut into the corners of each stack of lumber, resulting in damage claims.

Also used when sheet rock (drywall) was shipped on flatcars.

Look at today's center beam flats. Each cable has an angle threaded through it to perform the same purpose.

I'm thinking along the same lines as Mr. Penn. These look like "edge protectors" that where nailed onto the corners of lumber bundles. These worked to keep steel straps from cutting into the lumber and damaging it. They also made the load more secure and prevented a strap around mostly soft material (lumber) from working loose and causing a lumber bundle from falling off a train.

They where likely originally bent at 90 degrees, but many years of being "stomped on" returned them to a mostly flat condition.

The embossed "H" shape is easy to do and just makes them that much stronger.

Cheers, KevinK

I've also seen these used on bundles of ties.

Makes sense, the one on the right shows a line like it might have been bent but straightened.
Perhaps a derailment and a lumber spill.

http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Flatbed-Trailer-Products/Corner-Protectors/Steel-Corner-Protector-for-Chain-Galvanized-W-Groove

Nailable variant for strapping:



It's not a gang nail plate for ties... unless that is a monstrous toothbrush... which, incidentally, doesn't appear to be a Colgate-Palmolive/Crest/Oral-B/Reach product.

Rod

Yep, my guess too. Keeps the banding from damaging the cargo, typically lumber.



No matter how big that brush is, it's not a gang nail plate. Gang nails have, as the name implies, a whole "gang" of nails. This one is from Home Depot, but the look pretty much the same.



However, I think what the poster that mentioned ties meant was that he's seen them used on the strapping that holds bundles of ties together when they are shipped. That is correct, they do use them, and the mystery product looks a lot like that.

that might be a strapping but thats also a quick connect slam a hammer on it 2 pieces on the edge lumber thingy