Two arrested for stealing railroad spikes ( illegals in North Carolina )

BlueRidgeNow ^ | March 1, 2010

[george76]

from Norfolk Southern Railroad, according to Henderson County ...The men, both of whom appear to be illegal aliens... ordered to be held on ICE detainers pending deportation proceedings.

Sheriff Rick Davis praised the work of the two deputies who apprehended the suspects while investigating suspicious activities on the tracks...

found the suspects in possession of over 500 spikes that had been taken from a stretch of active rail road track.

“This act of theft could have easily had catastrophic consequences had a train derailed in this area,” Davis said. “A spillage of chemicals or other hazardous materials as a result of a derailment certainly puts our citizens at risk, as well as the emergency services personne

[kbennkc]

Tie them to the tracks .

[mylife]

Sounds more like sabotage than theft

[Feline_AIDS]

Why the heck were they stealing railroad spikes? Is there a giant Mexican suicide bomber in the making somewhere?

[Dallas59]

It’s all a misunderstanding and racist to think that this would cause an accident./s

[rabscuttle385]

found the suspects in possession of over 500 spikes that had been taken from a stretch of active rail road track.

WTF??????????

[MadJack]

Saboteurs? Derailing chemical cargo could serve as an asymmetric attack, or they could be looking to impact movement of military equipment.
They could also be just plain sh*tbird illegals who should have been shot on the border.
Just sayin’.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“Sounds more like sabotage than theft”
BOTH, actually.

[ltc8k6]

Recycling money.

Stupid though, since they would be questioned by any legit recycler.

[mylife]

Odd that they would keep them.

It’s their best defense against the charge of sabotage.
Whats the price of steel at the moment?

[stephenjohnbanker]

Yeah, WTF........they need amnesty, don’t they?

[mylife]

True enough.

[mylife]

I can think of a million sources of scrap iron without having to destroy property or endanger people.

[mlocher]

Agreed. The punishment should “fit” the crime.

[SpaceBar]

“Now remember, if you’re caught, just say something about collecting them for their metal value...”

- Mohammed the handler

[mlocher]

Stupid though, since they would be questioned by any legit recycler.

The key word is "legit"

[mlocher]

found the suspects in possession of over 500 spikes that had been taken from a stretch of active rail road track.

Somebody ran out of roofing nails....

[ltc8k6]

You probably aren’t shiftless...

[Moonman62]

Family values don’t stop at the border.

[Rastus]

Why steal railroad spikes? They can only ever be used as railroad spikes, since steel doesn’t melt. /Rosie

[mylife]

You mean I’m not a criminal.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Is scrap iron worth that much now?

[ltc8k6]

15 cents a pound or thereabouts.

[ApplegateRanch]

Pulling spikes out of ties, to sell for scrap? Gosh, that must sure beat working for a living! /sarc>

Let’s see...500/2 = 250 spikes-—check!

5.6’ tall by 1.3333’ wide = ~7.5 square feet * 144 * 2 =~ 2150 sq inches of body surface area-—check!

A spike = ~1 sq inch cross section-—check!

Drive 1 spike/10 square inches of body surface-—CHECKMATE!

[Oldexpat]

We are becoming a Thurd World Country,,where we have people stealing copper wire, copper pipes, aluminun wire and now railroad spikes for the price of scrap. Next thing you know they will steal man hole covers from Pennsylvania Ave just before the Obamamobile drives by. \BTW..in Thurd World countries they make the man whole covers out of concrete to avoid theft. Just a hint for the financially strapped cities.

[count-your-change]

Where I grew up gathering spikes was how the poor families made cash. There was always enough loose ones on the tracks to make gas money. Of the railway folks didn't quite see the necessity of it.

[ApplegateRanch]

I used to pick them up along the tracks, where they were thrown by the crews replacing them. They made good weights for ocean fishing off the rocks. Never would have crossed my mind to pull them out of ties, though; besides, I saw how hard it was for the workers that had to do it, using a 6’ pry bar.

Used spark plugs worked good, too, as weights. The great thing about them was that if they hung up, a steady pull would bend the ELL shaped electrode away from the center one, releasing it from the line. All that was lost was a free spark plug.

[Talisker]

...found the suspects in possession of over 500 spikes that had been taken from a stretch of active rail road track.

Attempted derailment, attempted murder. Depending on the train cargo, passengers, prevailing wind and nearby populations, potentially attempted mass murder.

And what religion are these fine fellows?

[Colorado Buckeye]

This is just another small price to pay for cheap labor.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Sounds like it would require an awful lot of effort to pull the spikes out.

[ASOC]

You folks should read up on “train wrecking” - deraila train, loot the cargo.

Az just busted two Mexican (as in from Mexico, here illegally) for cutting the air lines on trains, so they could steal appliances.

The 3rd world isn’t coming, it’s here now.

[F15Eagle]

Nearby neighbor Lindsey Graham will reward them with amnesty if allowed.

They’re only nearly derailing the trains Americans refuse to do. /hoping sarc tag wasn’t necessary but just in case

[DoorGunner]

>>”Sounds like it would require an awful lot of effort to pull the spikes out.”

Yes, a special tool, and much labor. The track where I used to live typically had freight trains rolling through every half hour or so. They would almost certainly be seen by a train crew. They would also be facing a Felony Murder charge if a derailment cost someone his life; at the very least, Depraved Indifference. They could have made more money, and with little risk, picking up aluminum cans.

Therefore, I think one of two things (nay, three things) is most likely true:

1. They were ACTUALLY merely picking up used castoffs, and the story is wrong.

2. Their full intent was sabotage, and keeping the spikes was a bonus.
3, Being criminaliens, they assumed they would not be held to account.

DG

[bikerman]

Why the heck were they stealing railroad spikes? Is there a giant Mexican suicide bomber in the making somewhere

Lots of vampires in Mexico??

[AuntB]

There was a report a few weeks ago about the same thing. I don’t know if this is the same incident. My cousin who worked for the RR for 40 years says this could be catastrophic.

TERRORISM.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Depression era people have told me about wandering the tracks and picking up loose coal to help heat their homes.

[UCANSEE2]

Recycling money. Stupid though, since they would be questioned by any legit recycler.

Not if the recycler is in Mexico.

[count-your-change]

My folks didn’t wait for the coal to fall off the cars it seems. Whoever was fast and agile would cuss the trainmen and get chunks of coal tossed at them for their trouble.

Given the family history I think a few of the coal chunks found their mark and did some damage.

[Gene Eric]

Picking the spikes Americans refuse to pick.

[Farmer Dean]

A local family had the aluminum siding stolen from their house while they we on vacation.Theives stole a bunch of catalytic converters from cars on a dealer’s lot here too...

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[traumer]

But - but.... they ONLY

“appear to be illegal aliens, gave no address of residence,”

[traumer]

Secure all your COPPER PIPES !!