I wouldn't be surprised if there was some hardware out in the woods here and there. It may be worthwhile to research old newspapers (local ones from logging communities) for hints. Another place to look is around former railroad facilities and sawmills where hardware may have been used as fill material. In this case, a good metal detector might be useful. Yet another place is at the bottom of hillsides where recovery of derailed equipment wasn't worth the effort. However it is disgusting how thorough abandonment "clean-ups" were - even here in Alaska where there wasn't much value on scrap iron and steel. Good luck!