Genuine Rio Grande Southern Jeffery Spike-near Ophir Loop-used

Description

For sale is a genuine Jeffery spike ,named after E.T. Jeffery, President of the Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado. This spike was patented in 1888 by H. Greer out of Illinois. The purpose of this two-headed spike was when railroad workers were laying track, this type of spike would help them from driving the spikes in at an angle, thus losing their grip against the 57 lb. rails at the time. Otto Mears, the pathfinder of the San Juans and builder of the Rio Grande Southern had ordered many Jeffery spikes for his railroad. One disadvantage was the Jeffery spikes were only 5-1/2" long and tended to loosen over time. I am downsizing my Colorado railroad and mining inventory and will be listing more items in the near future. Please view my pictures for a closer view.