, 1864-03-03
STEEL RAILS ron RAILROADS.

Considerable attention has been excited in
railroad circles, among stockholders as well
as managing officers, to statement publish
cd In the last Annual Report of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company, referring to the
rapid destruction Of iron rails, under the in
creosing pressure Of heavier engines, and the
necessity Of substituting steel rails for iron.
When that road was first constructed the rails
were Of the best refined iron, from selected
ores. The rapfu increase Of railways depend
cd somewhat upon reduction in the cost Of
rails, hence an inferior quality Of iron was
adopted, and to such IN extent has this cheap
Iron come into use, that none Of our rail
mills have now the particular kind Of furnaces
requisite for making the refined iron refer
red to. According to the report Of the Penn
sylvania RaIlroad, at the termIni and sta
tions in some places, the iron rails do not last
six months.
Railroads, IS the great iron arteries Of the
country, upon which depends the very lie
and success Of travel, trade and commerce,
are daily moro fully appreciated, and their
reliability and durability a1e made q matter
Of serious consideration In Europe the in
veatsgstions into the matter, lave led to the
adoption Of rails either made wholly Of eteel
or capped with steel, and experiments show
that cast steel rails will last fully ten times as
long us iron. A thorough test made upon the
Derby and Midland road. Where iron rails last
only ffom SIX to seven months, at stations,
the cast steel raf1 has lasted rs many years,
and promises to serve for four or five years
yet, the only change produced being the nc
tna1 wearing of the top Of the rails, us steel
does not laminate or split
A letter dated "Cammel1 g. Co.'s Cyclopps
Works. Sheffield, Feb. @, 1861" to their
American agent, Philip s. Justice, phila
says: "Nfth respect to steel rails, We can
only say that oil the railway companies are
using them; the London and Northwestern
Company arc lnying down several thousand
tons, and the other lines are going largely
into them. We have now IN order for 30
tons for the India Penfnsular Rail say, and
they speak Of duplicating the order before
this is completed. We have likewise sent
largely to France. Indeed, on this side Of
1he wafer, you can scarcely name railway
which Is not using them 10 some extent"
In this country, the reformation has begun
-arevolution which is destined to do more
to improve railway travelling than any other
Of recent date-has been begun By the Penn.
sylvania Central Railroad Companr, which
Inns procured, by way Of beginning, $50 tons
Of rails mnde wholly Of cast steel, and is also
giving trial to the steel-capred rails. The
Beaver Meadow Railroad-a coal road. Is also
laying down steel raiI We apnrchcnd that
stecl-capped rails will not give satisfaction
while the contraction and expansion in an
iron rufi is considerable, that o1 steel rail
is very 1itt1e-so slight as to be hardly per-
ccptible- Hence the eteel-capped rails
Will be iablc to separation from this effect,
as well Us from the vibration which will have
q tendency to loosen the weld.
At present these steel rails are manufac-
tured only in England, but there arc agencies
in this country where they can be procured.
However,, the Pennsylvania Central Rail-
road Company's Report speaks Of the prob
able necessity Of that company erecting
works to make the quality Of rail desired, and
now that capital is abundant, We submit
whether it is not subject worthy the con-
sideration of capitalists tllat works be erected
In this section for supplying the Northwest
There Is not a doubt but MI the rails Of su-
pctior quality thst may be manufactured
viii find ready market, ns our railroad com-
panies are all doing prosperous business,
and are able and anxious to make substantial
improvements .....-
The next question Of interest, is as to the