Scrap metal and theft

[Shannow]

As to theft, a workmate has developed a tourist railway asset, and is refurbishing old steam and diesel locos.

They have had repeated break-ins to steal diesel loco radiators, the gauges and brasswork off the steamers, and anything else copper.

As an engineer, it's that sort of theft that really burns me to the point that while I don't feel glee at the copper thieves who hack into HV cables, I don't feel sympathy either.

 

[spackard]

A couple of years ago someone went around the neighborhood stealing the brass caps off of brass fire hydrants. The city replaced them with plastic caps (took about a year).

A few weeks ago someone went through the neighborhood prying open the locked CATV boxes that are at ground height, sitting between the sidewalk and the street, and cut out and stole the transformers from them.

 

[Silver_civic]

Yeah its pretty bad in the Pittsburgh area I will say that. They even stole some brass plackards from gravestones, and managed to grind off the names and writing on them. The yard they took them to, they refused to take them, as they knew the monument maker that made the stones and brass plackards.

 

[Chris142]

I often wonder how recycle yards get away with buying obviously stolen stuff.

Somerbody stole a Historical marker near here. It was in the paper and everybody was on the lookout for it.

It got sold to a local scrap yard and they didn't take the sellers pic or photo copy his license like they are supposed to.

They sold it to whoever they sell to and that place called the cops.

Place #1 got into big trouble and ultimatly shut down.

 

[Silver_civic]

Yeah, and what the heck makes me really wonder; is if any of the workers at the recycling yards are actually criminals, druggies, or just low lifes, cause every time I go there, about all of them have no teeth, and are pretty rough looking people period

 

[PandaBear]

Scrap metal can be melted or shredded to hide theft, the only solution is to replace the metal with something low value that's not worth steeling.

Time to replace copper wire in phone line with fiber optics?