# Spam - No I don't want Train Wheels **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457 "2012-10-11T20:59:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/1 "2012-10-11T20:59:29Z")
I just received a spam message trying to sell me train wheels. As in large wheels that would go on the bottom of train cars. Or locomotives. Looks like they also will do Subway wheels or mine carts as well. My question is… Does spam for this type of specialized equipment ever actually pay off? I mean, is there someone sitting around in an office somewhere, who gets this email and thinks: “Say, I was just wondering where to get some train wheels! I had no idea at all, so I think I’ll just put an order in with this company today!” Just how many potential buyers of train wheels are there in North America anyway? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/2 "2012-10-11T21:05:49Z")
Can you forward me the e-mail? Right now my train is in my front yard on cinder blocks. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/3 "2012-10-11T21:41:42Z")
Everybody needs train wheels. Without wheels, your train is just an overpriced, inefficient sled. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/4 "2012-10-11T23:33:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Can you forward me the e-mail? Right now my train is in my front yard on cinder blocks. Here, fill your boots. > [@](#): > > Dear Manager, > > Glad to learn your information , take great honor to introduce competitive > train wheels for you. > > Wheels are popular in USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Africa, > etc. Even GE spoke highly of the wheels. > > TB/T, IRS, EN 13262:2009, BS 5892 Part3：1992 , UIC 812-3:1984, AAR > M-107/M-208：2009, BN 918 277-2008 and GB8601-88 are standards we > manufacture wheels. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/5 "2012-10-12T01:40:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I just received a spam message trying to sell me train wheels. As in large wheels that would go on the bottom of train cars. Or locomotives. Looks like they also will do Subway wheels or mine carts as well. > > My question is… Does spam for this type of specialized equipment ever actually pay off? I mean, is there someone sitting around in an office somewhere, who gets this email and thinks: “Say, I was just wondering where to get some train wheels! I had no idea at all, so I think I’ll just put an order in with this company today!” Just how many potential buyers of train wheels are there in North America anyway? I suspect someone mistyped their email address. I get emails from a ship sighting website; I had no idea such a thing existed. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/6 "2012-10-12T01:41:21Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Can you forward me the e-mail? Right now my train is in my front yard on cinder blocks. There’s a place around here that has used train wheels. You can save a fortune that way. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/7 "2012-10-12T02:05:28Z")
Damn, I just bought new wheels for my train last week. I just _knew_ this would happen… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/8 "2012-10-12T02:20:09Z")
Do they also have train coupling buffers? I want to use them as door stops. On very large doors. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/9 "2012-10-12T02:34:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Does spam for this type of specialized equipment ever actually pay off? Yes, though not in the way you’re thinking. This is what happens when someone hires a cheap marketing/SEO firm. They outsource to spammers. The marketing firms make a killing at it. Am I correct in guessing that this message came via a contact form, or something on a web site, not direct email? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/10 "2012-10-12T03:27:45Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Do they also have train coupling buffers? I want to use them as door stops. On very large doors. Can’t help you there, but I think I can scrounge up either a couple hundredweight of alloy B bronze or a 6 inch diameter titanium ball valve ball … only slightly damaged. What I want is a reproduction Roman lead [pig](http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/l/lead_pig_ingot.aspx). One stamped as having the silver content still in it. mrAru is rereading the Marcus Didius Falco series and it would make a great christmas present for him. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/11 "2012-10-12T05:12:48Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Everybody needs train wheels. I agree. Unless you have train wheels, your arguments will go off the rails. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/12 "2012-10-12T07:17:36Z")
Many years ago I attended a Customs sale. They were flogging seized stuff etc. One of the items was a brand new tractor planet or something (I think it was a differential for a tractor). It didn’t get one bid. I was thinking I could have bought it for $10 and surely, somewhere, someone would be willing to pay more than that for a spare part for his tractor. My scheme never got into gear. (pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/13 "2012-10-12T07:47:19Z")
I need snow tires from my mine cart. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/14 "2012-10-12T08:51:16Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I need snow tires from my mine cart. Aren’t you afraid they’ll melt? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/15 "2012-10-12T19:11:34Z")
My son would flip if he saw that I got train wheels for him. He loves trains, almost to the point of obsession. He’ll be three years old in a couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/16 "2012-10-12T19:18:00Z")
This thread has gone on long enough. The training wheels need to come off now. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/17 "2012-10-12T19:28:27Z")
Well,[Mid-City Steel](http://midcitysteel.com/annex/used-train-wheels-moorings.pdf)seems to be currently out of stock on used train wheels. Probably why someone else put the push on marketing new ones. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/18 "2012-10-12T19:38:01Z")
How to become a millionaire: 1. Get a train wheel. 2. Sell it for a million dollars. Just be sure this isn’t a MLM scheme where you have to start hosting train wheel parties and hounding your friends to start selling train wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/19 "2012-10-13T14:53:31Z")
This could be an urban myth, but back in 1950s, I heard that someone had gotten a train wheel to make a super-stable turntable (for what we called “records” those days). He had to start it by hand, but on good bearings, it didn’t take a large drive motor. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457/20 "2012-10-13T16:02:25Z")
So, who had carriage of the matter? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-no-i-dont-want-train-wheels/637457.md?page=2)