Identifing lettering on railway pin

[Requit]

A friend of mine recently came across a few of these while walking along an old disused railway. We assume they are railway pins or nails. What would be nice to know is what the "A" and the "BJB" stand for. We know that 1957 is the year and "RR" is for Rhodesian Railways.

If there are any Railway enthusiasts or even Ex Rhodesia Rail workers who may be able to assist, your help would be most gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[KC]

Brett can you please tell us where you are located and/or what country they were found in?

I think these may be a "datenail". Many railroads used them to identify the age of the sections of rail, as well as the railroad and section.

[ghopper1924]

Brett talked about Rhodesian Railways, which would be in Africa of course, but the state hasn't been called Rhodesia since 1979.

Since then it's been Zimbabwe.

Actually, Rhodesia was an unrecognized state only from 1965 to 1979. It was a successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, which had been self-governing since 1923.

So actually these 1957 "date nails" would come from that time.

[KC]

The reason I am asking is not only railroads used datenails.  They were also used on bridges, utility poles, wooden structures, etc. 

Just because there is a RR doesn't mean it is from a railroad and you may have happened to find a matching railroad to RR.  Just trying to help them find out the best match. 

I suggest you try and correspond with the Nailhunter at this website: 
http://nailhunter.com/

[cogar]

Now persnickety Sam says the correct name for that item is “lag bolt”, ….. like so:
 

[KC]

Yep Persnickity Sam...agree.

The original "datenails" were nails but were changed because the nails would work out.  To insure that they would stay in the wooden items to be tagged many added screw elements! 

[Requit]

Thanks for your help KC. I am from Zimbabwe and found them just down the road from where we work on a disused railway line. No wooden sheds, utility poles or bridges around the area. I have actually seen these items in wooden sleepers also.

Because of the date we assume that the RR stands for Rhodesian Railways. Its the other lettering that we are intrigued by.

[cogar]

It very well could have been, and probably was, an "imported" item.

The “A” could designate the size of the lag bolt.

The “BJB” could be the foundry ‘mark’

The “RR” as you said, Rhodesian Railways

And the “1957” could be an inventory or ‘mold’ (casting) #.

Dates on such objects serves no purpose.

[mart]

What people call them and what they actually are is sometimes different !!  Here they are assumed to be date nails because they are replaced every few years or so !!  I have never seen one with threads here in my area !!  Ours just look like railroad spikes !!

[cogar]

Nails are nails, lag screws are screws, lag bolts are bolts and date nails are nails, …… to wit

Date nails were tagging devices utilized by railroads to visually identify the age of a railroad tie. Octave Chanute, railroad and aviation pioneer, is credited with the idea for using date nails as a way of tracking the life of railroad ties.

Different railroads used different sized nails with either alpha or numerical markings. An example would be a Southern Pacific Railroad nail with the marking "01" stamped on the head of the nail. The "01" would identify the nail as being hammered into a railroad tie in the year

Date nails are also found on utility poles, sometimes in conjunction with a nail showing the height of the pole in feet.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datenail 

Date nails were never made to be removed or replaced, ..... it was the RR crossties and/or the utility poles that were replaced, ……. along with any date nails contained therein. 

[Rauville]

Without knowing the dimension of the item, I'll say it's either a "screw spike" or a "Railway coach bolt". The "BJB" refers to its use in a elastic connection between the sleeper and the rail I believe. "1957" would probably be the date of manufacture. The screws / bolts were replaced on a periodic basis based on their age. The "A" is most likely the manufacturer.
https://www.anvils.co.za/product/railway-coach-bolts/

[cogar]

There you got it..

Railway sleeper screws

A screw spike, rail screw (or lag bolt) is a large (~6 in or 152 mm length, slightly under 1 in or 25 mm) metal screw used to fix a tie plate or fasten rail. Screw spikes are fixed into a hole bored in the sleeper. The screw spike has a higher cost to manufacture than the rail spike but has the advantage of greater fixing power; approximately twice that of a rail spike, and can be used in combination with spring washers.  http://www.zocindustrial.com/product/railway-sleeper-screws/

[Requit]

Very interesting info Coger and Rauville. Thanks. I have contacted Anvil in South Africa and they are looking into it for me. Any feedback I will forward to the group. Any idea if there is a market for for this kind of item in your end of the world?

[mart]

Date nails were never made to be removed or replaced, ..... it was the RR crossties and/or the utility poles that were replaced, ……. along with any date nails contained therein. 

Yes Cogar,, figured every one knew that !!

[cogar]

OOOPS, …….. I guess i'se misunderstood Reply #8.  My bad.