You must have a pretty good metal detector to find anything in that area. Not much left there--at a glance--to suggest there was once a railroad. Not many 1870's-era photographers seem to have made it up that way while the "Bruce" was narrow gauge. A lot of midwestern narrow gauge railroads in the U.S. have similarly poor photographic documentation because they didn't have the population density of the east nor the grand mountain scenery of the west.
Odd place to find a journal cover. Those things don't normally just fall off. Wonder if there was a derailment or other similar mishap nearby.
I can't imagine too many farmers mind you pulling large hunks of thick metal out of their fields, for free. Sounds like a mutually beneficial service.