Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-06-15
plank Roads.

The construction oil PlanK ItOaas ~ ~
Ibis time attracting mitch attention, To
show how far they have been successful
elsewhere, says III American Fafnier, we
rive the following statement, copied FROM
our exchanges, Of the results Of invests
ments FOR a similar purpose IN the State o.
Next York
The Waterville and Utica road, mines
tee,, miles long, aud costing S3I, 900 has
,,st declared a dividend of ten per cent.
,tayable to the stockholders on deinaila.
ten per cent. hid by for repairs.
The Utica and Bridgew;ter rond, tweii-
Nv miles long, and costing 100000, pays
twenty-five per cent. regularly.
The Boollville road pays twenty-five
l,er cent,
The Watertpwn road pays twenty-five
per cent,
The 1Forea and Jslinson ronsl, folir miles
long, and costing $4,000, pays regularly
fifteen l,ef cent.
A contemporary remarks, that "tllere Il
one gratifying fact in relation to plal,h
roads. which cannot be said Of railroads,
canals, steamboats,, hanks, or amy siiiiilar
stocks, and that il, tl~t those who have
been Interested in plank roads and watch
ed their progress have learned, by expe-
rienee, that no plank road has ever yet
been constructed tiat proved Il losing coii-
Germ TO tile Stockholders, Experience has
shown too Tint the people will seek these
roads and win Use them and, Unlike many
of the railroads, they are enterprises inva-
riably as beneficial to the Stockholders ~
TO the public" .
In New York, although only introduced
In 1s46, between four and five hundred
miles II appears have teel constructed
The subject ID already attracting q great
deal of attention ii, Tie Northern States,
aud d Supplement to the work OF TITLES
rie on Roads and Railroads has recently
appeared in New York, from which we
make some extracts
Plank Roads were introduced into Can
ada by the Goverlor-General Lord Sy-
deubem. who Ind seen their utility in Rus
ala, in 1894 the first one wns there con-
.trueted (eading from Toronto eastward,
and since then five hundred miles Of them
have been there built. In the United
States. the one from Syracuse to Central
: Square, N. York, led the WY, being fin
ished in July, 1876 and liz great success
has already caused the construction OF four
or five hundred miles in this State, and the
projection of twice as many more iii 1t,
and in New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Wis
consin, &c.
!. In the most generally approved system,
two parallel rows Of small sticks or timber
: fcalled imliferently siee1efs. sttingets or
Stiis) are imbedded in the road, three or
four feet apart. planks, eight feet long
and three inches thick, ere laid upon these
sticks across them ut right angles to their
direction. A side track Of earth to turn
cut upon, Is carefully graded. Deepditclles
nres dug on each side to ENSURE perfect
drainage; and thus is fqrined a Plank Road.
LAYING THEM ouT.--ln laying ont a
plank road, 1t ID indispSsnpable, il, order to
secure all the benefits which can he deti-
we'd from 1t, to avoid OF cut down all sleeps
ascents. @
A very short rise of even considerable
steepness, may however be allowed 10 re-
main to save expense since a horse can,
for a short time, put forth extra eSertioil
to such an increased resistance and the
danger Of slipping is avoided by descend
ing upon the eafthen track, j
A aoH5te plank track will rarely be ne.
cessary.
No one without experience in the mat
ter can credit the amount OF travel which
one such track can accommodate. Over
Il single track near Syracuse, 161 900
cams passed iii two years, averaging over
220 teams per day, and during three days
$50 passed daily. The eaftl,en turnout
track must, however be kept In good or
der and this is easy, if it slope of proper
" to the ditch, for il is not cut with any
continuous lengthwise rttts, but Is only
passed over by the wheelsof Wagors which
turn oil from the track to return to 1t. They
thus move in curves, which: would very
rarely exactly hit each other, and this tra-
. vel, being spread over the earth, te,ltls to
keep II IN shape rather than tp disturb 1t,
= CovERtNe.-The planks having been
properly laid, as has been directed, should
he covered over with very fine gravel, or
coarse sand. from which MI the stones or
pebbles are to be raked. go as to leave
nothing upon the sufiaee Of the road that
could be forced into and injrtre the fbrea
OF the planks. The grit Of the sand soon
penetates into the grain of The wood and
combines with the ibrcs, ard the drop
pings upon the road, to fortil a hard aud
tough covering, like felt, which greatly
protects the wood from the wheels md
horses shoes. Saw dust and taii-bark
have also been used.
The road is now ready for ,Ase.
LAyINa.-The plank shoGia be Ibid dt.
rectly ae,oss the road, at right angles. or.
square to its line. The ends of the
rlanks are not laid evenly TO a line, but
project three or four inches on each side
alternately, go Ms t~uTDnevent a rat being
formed by the side Of ts0 Plank track, and
make il easier for loaded wagons to get up
on it as the wheels instead of s~crapiny
along the ends of the planks, when coming
towards the track obliqnely after turning
Oft, will III coming square against the edge
of one of those projecting plallks, rise di.
rectly upon 1t. On the Canada roads
every three planks project three inches on
each side of the road alternately.
Cosr.-The Syracuse and Central
Square plank road, t6 miles, cost Slis7
per mile, with timber at $500 per M. 1t
has a single s feet track, except over flew
spots of Welding sand. The Rome and