The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent., 1850-03-22
From the Louisville Journal.
Plank Roads.

making" which was read at the recent public
meeting in Schenectady and published in the
Cabinet, contains much valuable Information on
this important subject, and from which we ex.
tract some passages of general interest in rela.
ton TO this improvement, the most valuable aid
to locomoton since the invention of railroads.
The inland town roads are substitutes for ma
vgabe rivers. The more widely they radiate
in every direction, and the better their condition.
the greater will be the consequent prosperity.
Their comparative value is determined by the
different weights which horse can draw upon
them at any uniform speed, or by~ihe different
speeds at which he can draw the same load Of
all modes of improving their surface, plank
roads are the most effectual at the smallest cost
II we take the load drawn on new gravel
road as our standard Of comparison, experiments
show that on good broken stcne, or Macadam
road horse can draw four times as much and
on smooth plank road eight times as much, or
twice as mush as on a good Macadam road
Plank roads, therefore, enable a horse to do
more than any other arrangement except rail-
roads. But invaluable as the latter are to the
hurrying traveller, the ordinary roads on which
every farmer can drive his own team, when not
needed for the farm labors, are incomparaby
more useful to the community at large-and of
all such, plank roads are the perfection. They
are the farmers railroad.
Mode Of ConSfruction-Th best mode OF
constructing them is briefly this: Lay out the
Intended lne with great care to avoid steep in
clinations, never ascending more than one foot
in going thirty or forty, and winding many feet
around rather than 90 up one. Grade the road
bed wide enough for two Wagon tracks,. but
plank only one, and that on the right-hand side
coming toward the city, for teams generally
come in heavy and go out light, and this arrange
ment makes the heavy ones keep the track, and
the light ones do all the turning out. Lay down
fiatwise two stringers, twelve by three, four feet
apart, to centre. Imbeo them well in the earth;
across them. at right angles, lay three inch hem
lock plank eight feet long The leDgthwise
and skewing methods of lying them are now
abandoned. Pack the earth well upon them;
slope the earth track toward bitches (Which
should be wide and deep and your plank road
is made.
Many minor points must, however, be attended
TO in making your roads as perfect as possible.
The inner strpgers should be higher than the
outer onesg SO as TO carry the water off freely.
They should be IN two pieces, each six by three
so as to break joints. The end Of the planks
should lot be laid to line, but project a few
inches on each side alternately so as to make it
easy for wheels to go on the track, and to avoid
forming a rut alongside. They need not be fas-
tened down, but | would recommend spiking
down, say every fifth or tenth plank, the rest be.
ing well driven home against these. The strin.
gers are now made heavier than formerly and the
plank lighter. When hemlock panks get worn
down two inches, the knots project so as to make
| the road too rough, and to reqEre renewal. AL
| low one inch more to hold them in. and we have
| three inches thickness. Hemlock is generally
used, as cheapest, but pine or oak would bt
! better.
A single track will be sufficient for almost any
amount Of travel. The ,urnings out upon tht
earth road by the side of it are at such yaret
points, that its surface. ifmade properly crown
ing, will always remain in good condition. 100
/ 600 teams passed over Syracuse road in tw'
| years, averaging more than 200 day; and 70
three days in succession 700 day passed owe
it, and all this was on single track.
Cost-The cost ofthe road will of course var
with the price Of lumber. On the plan recon
mended it will require l27.00 feet of plank
and $4,000 feet of stringers per mile; in all, sa
! $50 900 feet board measure. Other items Of cos
are leveiling the road bed and laying the plank
which cost SO cents to 81 per rod The excava
tiuns and embankments necessary TO give tn
road proper grades, and the bridges and sluice
cannot be estimated without the data OF a.survey
Omitfing these, as also gate houses, we will hay
the following rough estimate of cos: per mile:
Lumber, 100 900 feet, at SO per Al Sl,44
Levelng and laying at rs cents per rod "a
Engineering and superintendent 10
In all Sl,78
/ Add, for contingencies, 10 per cent II
Total SI.95
Or say $1,000 PEI mile, with lumber at S!
and emitting extra excavations and embanR
ments and gate.houses The difference of s.
per NJ in the price Of lumber makes differenc
$3.50 per mile.
Duration-As to durability. seven years fc
hemlock would be safe estimate, though on
experience is asyet very limited. One set {
slringers will out.lasttwo or three coverings {
plank. But, TO be profitable, the plank must hav
so much travel as 10 wear them out before the
rot out The wear and tear Of the first yea
equals that of the following six, as tough elast
coating of woody fibres is soon formed, and prC
tects the plank from wear. And the soont
they wear out the better, for the sooner will the
cost be repaid. On one road the passage ofl60
600 teams wore the plank but one inch.
Profis.-Before hemlock plank have bee
worn out they will earn TO the rate of tolls e
tablished by the general plank road law fro
s., 500 to $4,000 per mile above repairs and e!
penses. or double their original cost, which the
will thus reimburse. and leave as much mo-
for dividends, which will of course be more
less large, according as the wearing out or col
comitant earning is done in shorter or long
, time. On the Syracuse and Central Squal
, Plank road, the tolls on eight miles for two yea
ending last July, were $l2, 900; the expenses
salaries and repairs $1,000, leaving 81 h40
The pIanks were half worn out Zone inch),
that their net profits before renewal would
$22,S00 for the eight miles, or Ss2,850 per mil
Advantages Improvements of this ctara
ter it is difficult to say who gains the most
whether it is the stockholder, the farmer, Il
city merchant, or the consumer of the proaui
/ brought in. The farmer can bring his potatoe
j apples, grain, pork. wood. &C., to market at Sc
sons when he would otherwise be imprisoned
home by the state of the road, and could not the
work to advantage. He could also carry twi
, !, as heavy a load as ever Sefore and therefore
/ half the former cost. He could therefore 81
g cheaper and yet make higher profits. The CO
e sumner would consequently get the articles III