Nostalgia & History > Artifacts along the old Milwaukee

A few years ago I hiked along the original Milwaukee Road right-of-way that it used to cross Snoqualmie Pass, prior to the construction of the Snoqualmie Tunnel through the Cascades in Washington state. It was built in 1909, and used until the tunnel was opened in 1914, when it was abandoned. The Milwaukee mainline is now of course abandoned, converted to the John Wayne Trail.
It was pretty obvious where the tracks once ran, and surprisingly not too overgrown but actually open for walking. There were many fallen trees across the right of way, which appeared to be seldom if ever visited.
I of course kept my eye open for artifacts, and the most surprising find along the way were the crossbucks of many telegraph poles still existing after over 100 years in this damp environment, the poles themselves mostly rotted away with the insulators still on them (some with the wires still wrapped around them). I salvaged and packed out a few, and here is a picture of one of them.
Does anyone know if they might have value ​for a collecctor?

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Pretty common so I wouldn't expect to get much. Maybe $50 if you're a fast talker.

Maybe to a collector. However, I used to have quite a few of the old green Hemingray (sp) type and used to make unique candle holders from them. I would take 3 small decorative chains and connect them to a steel loop, dividing it in 3rds & slightly smaller than the top diameter of the insulator. I would then connect the top of the 3 chains to another smaller loop and hang it with the insulator upside-down in the bottom loop with a voltive candle in it. It's real easy to do and they look pretty cool with the candle shining through the green glass!

Although over 100 years old it's a very common beehive style insulator. It's not worth much more than a dollar or two if even that to an insulator collector. (of which I have been for over 15 years now)  An antiques dealer may assign it a little more value but who knows. 
The fact that you found it along a Milwaukee Road ROW that has been abandoned for over 100 years is pretty cool, though! It's certainly worth keeping because you know the history of where it was found and its provinance.

Take care,

Matt

I will trade you the Atkins, IA depot for that insulator........

mkancle,
Yes, experiencing this place was very cool. I had been aware of it for some time, having read the history of the Snoqualmie Pass area (the book Snoqualmie Pass, Prater, 1983, Mountaineer Books), and having always wanting to go there. The old route is dark, passing under forest having grown up heavily, and appearing relatively undisturbed since abandonment, and posesses an eerie stillness that enhances the sense of history. The roar of I-90 a short ways down the mountainside seems to paradoxically enhance the stillness and historical mood. The route sidehills along the steep mountainside through forest for about a mile until it meets up with I-90, approaching the pass at a steeper angle than the rail bed, at a sheer cliff where the the eastbound freeway was excavated. Just beyond is an open mountainside where the freeway (formerly US 10) went through a snowshed, and very likely the railroad before that, which was probably the motivator for the construction of the tunnel. All in all, this is a very worthwhile destination for those interested in railroad history, and fans, like me, of obscure places.

It sounds like an awesome place to hike! Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
Most times for me, anyway, it's not about the monetary value of any relics found out there in the wild. Instead it's the experience of being there that's most important. Wandering around places not very many other people get to see. 
I might try to check it out if I'm ever up there in the future.

Matt