A machine for collecting tie plates strewn along a rail bed includes a frame adapted for travel along a railroad in a forward direction. A pickup drum having magnetic properties is rotatably supported by the frame and extends over a bed portion of the railroad. A top drum is mounted at a location that is higher and forward of the pickup drum and rotates parallel to the pickup drum. An endless conveyor circulates around the pickup and top drums, and a separation drum is disposed between the pickup drum and the top drum along an ascending portion of the endless conveyor. The separation drum includes a magnetized rim that can lift ferrous objects but not tie plates from the endless conveyor.