Lightning

[TUPPERHUNTER]

Has any one seen a disc that look like it was struck by lightning. like one on a mountain.

[+Desert_Warrior]

NO! Photos please!!!

[+raouljan]

If you find one .. take a casting!

I would be happy to buy an aluminium copy!

[+California Bear]

While the marks are usually placed in high locations, the ones I have found are usually sunk into the rock by at least 1/2" or so. There are usually other things around that are higher than the disks that would attract the ligthening. Also, considering they are driven several feet into the ground, they are usually pretty well grounded and wouldn't develop much of a charge.

 

That being said, I can't be sure that a disk wouldn't attract a lightening bolt. I would imagine that a disk that was hit by a lightening bolt would be pretty well melted.

[+Spoo]

Part of my work involves FM and TV antennas on top of high towers. I can assure you that copper, brass and aluminum antennas and feed line are NOT necessarily destroyed when hit by lightning although damage to transmission is almost assured.

 

That said, my photos of PF1145, RM 1, one of an 1853 set of discs on a tall peak in this area shows signs of damage that I attribute to lightning. I have no proof that this is the true damage that I see in some areas of the disc, but my personal experience says it is probable.

[mloser]

Spoo, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but RM1 isn't an 1853 disk... the 1958 recovery states "REFERENCE MARK NO. 1, REFERENCE MARK NO. 2 AND AN AZIMUTH MARK WERE ESTABLISHED." That disk was set in 1958.

 

Matt

[+Spoo]

Spoo, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but RM1 isn't an 1853 disk... the 1958 recovery states "REFERENCE MARK NO. 1, REFERENCE MARK NO. 2 AND AN AZIMUTH MARK WERE ESTABLISHED." That disk was set in 1958.

 

Matt

mloser.........quite right! I never noticed that before. Thank you for correcting my error.

[mloser]

Spoo,

That is what makes looking for "original" 1800s era markers difficult. From other posts on this forum I get the impression that actual marker disks date only from approximately 1900, with a few earlier ones in the west. Prior to that it was stone markers, chiseled squares, rivets, bolts, etc. Many of these original markers were replaced in the first half of this century with disks, which I am guessing are easier to find and confirm as the appropriate mark.

Your find is even stranger than most because something original or near original still remains--the copper bolt. The description doesn't read very clearly however, so I am unsure if that bolt is from 1853 or was set at a later date. There is mention of a "loose" bolt also, which was supposedly left in place, as the description talks about both of them as if they existed simulaneously, not like the loose one was replaced with a better fitting one. I don't think there is enough information to locate the loose bolt though, but it would probably be near the station.

 

Matt

[+Spoo]

mloser:

 

I am convinced that the brass pin I have posted a pic of in PF1145, MT PLEASANT OLD, is the genuine article from 1853. I had wondered about the disc and am glad you pointed out my error.

 

PF1147, MT PLEASANT NEW, was another pin that apparently existed at the same time. My 'survey crew' and I looked and dug endlessly for it but were not able to recover it. This is the pin that was logged as 'loose' .

 

Ah, well, the trials and tribulations of the old ones, heh?

[mloser]

And a lot of the fun too! It is so great to find something that was put in place so long ago. It felt so good finding the 1885 mark I located near me, and the joy was even better because it was unlogged since it was set!

 

Matt

[+Rocky Road and Annie]

The answer to the original question is "Darn right I have". Check photos for logs on GM0793, GM0786 and DV2012. My engineer friends reassure me that a zillion volts is plenty enough to momentarily liquify, ionize and displace small quantities of brass. Happy hunting but stay off peaks in storms!