Any person who shall, without written authority from the railroad company owning the same, purchase or receive for sale, or in pledge or on storage, or for safekeeping, any article of iron, brass or other metal which has been manufactured and is used exclusively for railroad purposes without the consent in writing of the president, vice-president, general manager, superintendent or purchasing agent of such railroad company shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be fined in a sum not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00, or be imprisoned not less than six months nor more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, and proof of possession of any said articles shall be prima facie evidence of violation of this section.