Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-12-28

deep and yielding sand, where two tracks
are again laid and continued short dis
lance, until the road, descending a slight
hill, gains the level of the low wet ce-
dar marsh about eighty rods wide, which
is crossed by plank track of sixteen
feet wide, laid upon an embankment Of
sand averaging three feet in height; it
then ascends from this swamp up to an
other range of sandy land, across which
two tracks Of eight feet are carried for
three-fourths Of mile, until the road
way is composed of a gravelly soil,
whence but one track is used to its ter
mination." The objections to a sixteen
feet double track are AS we. have all
ready shown, the travel will converge to
the centre, and the depressing Of a wide
road at the centre causes sprlnging up
of the ends Of the plank, which. admit
ting the air and moisture, renders them
unstable in their position, and promotes
rot whereas on an eight feet road,
common wagons, whose track is five
feet four inches, bear more equally on
the plank, and tend to keep them in,
rather than justle them out of their
place and thus the timber is all worn
out together. Again, on a sixteen Ieet
track, heavily loaded teams, travelling
in the centre, as all vehicles from choice
will, move so slowly in turning out, that
light and fast vehicles, unless they have
lcisure to await the tardy movements of
the heavy one, must be crowded oft thu
plank upon the siding embankment,
(there being no turnout path to six
teen feet track, in their efforts to get
by the other within any reasonable time
on an eight feet track, however, when
a heavy and light team meet, the latter
of course takes the turnout path, and
no difficulty nor delay ever need occur
in passing. The plank on sixteen
feet double track at Toronto having be-
come loose and unsettled, they were saw
ed in two in the centre-thus partially
imparting to the road the advantages of
two eight feet single tracks, excepting
the convenience of turnout path in
the centre; after which it is said to have
worked better than any sixteen feet track
had ever done before. 1T certainly
would have been more pleasant for an
unsteady driver" (remarks Mr.. Alvord,)
to see wider track than eight feet;
but economy in building prevents it,
while the real usefulness of the road is
not impaired" by combining it to that
: width.
When the construction Of sixteen
feet track becomes absolutely necessary,
in locations where the unsettled and
yielding consistence of the soil will not
, admit Of grading turn out path of suf-
, fcient solidlty, from three to five sils
should be used, on browning grade
with convexity of two or three inches
in the centre of the road and the ends
Of the plank should be slightly sprung
down on each side, and spiked or pinned
to The outer stills.
, 9TH. GRADING.
The Port Stanley and London plank
road foundation is graded thirty feet
wide between the bitches, and the bed
raised twelve inches above the natural
surface OF the earth. This road ascends
from the lake to the level of the coun-
try by grade of one foot elevation in
thirty, although in one case it overcomes
an ascent of one foot in twenty and it
is Mr.. Talcotts opinion, that an inclina-
ton of one foot in twenty-one en- be
very easily overcome on plank roii.
But Mr.. Alvord, in a recent letter To us,
says: In building plank road, there
is no necessity of paying that strict at
tention to lengthwise grading, which is
supposed to be necessary by the specu-
lative (not practcaD road builder. |
can hardly conceive of any elevation in
your country which would require much
cutting down. We pass over rises on
our road, (short, it is true,) of one foo!
in Ten. Ii is easier to go over the same
elevation on plank road than on COM
mon dirt one for on plank there is no
cutting into the substance passed over,
nor encountering of stones by the wheels
and if, as it ought to be, the plank
way is covered with slight coating Of
earth, the only danger suggested, the
slipping Of the animal, is avoided. II
would be a prettier sight for the eye,
/ were we to grade our plank roads more
f level but while their practical utility is
not lessened in any perceptible degree
by their unevenness, economy forbids
the expense of leueling them for orna-
ment The grading and grubbing on
the Port Stanley road seems to have
been more costly than on any similar
structure in Canada. Independent of
entertainments and deep cuts, the expen-
diture on account OF grading, &C., of
: this road, averaged $500 per mile
while on the Salina plank road, Quilt on
an old road way, however,) the whole
cost for bridges, sluices, and contingent
cies, was ouIy $63 per mile. Where
the entire foundation is to be made anew,
it is difficult to make any calculation
that can claim to be more than an APP
Proclamation to accuracy, in regard to
: the expense of grading, DC. Should
the line of the road pass over plane
surface, with only gentle undulations, or
; over an old road way, with no hills To
5 cut down nor valles to fill up, fifty cents