He Sculpts Rail Spikes (Jul, 1962)
He Sculpts Rail Spikes
Discarded railroad spikes are turned into iron cartoons by Howard Munce, a New York art director who finds his raw material along the roadbed of the railroad near his Connecticut home.
He uses a handsaw, file, welding torch, forge and anvil to fashion amusing figures that also have merit as pieces of sculpture.
The skindiver, top left, has a spike torso, copper pipe oxygen tank; the fish is made of scrap iron. Legs of the fullback were burned out of the botton of a spike; arms are heavy nails. Bending a spike and adding a wire tail made the hen, below—and a steel rod, added to a filed spike, formed the acrobat.Munce’s sculptures are exhibited in art galleries.
New Haven (AP). Amtrak Train Derailment in Connecticut Caused by Unspiked Section of Track. Federal investigators reported that the recent derailment of an Amtrak train in Connecticut was caused by a section of track that was not held down by spikes. Mr. Howard Munce who lives near the tracks said he thought he had heard sounds like someone with a crowbar in back of his house, but thought it was the track inspector making sure the spikes were tight.
@George: I know you’re trying to be funny – but have you ever walked a section of rails? Old spikes are everywhere…