New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-09-05

roads carry logs, planks, scanning ana many
other articles liable to be displaced by joltihg
and to project SO far beyond the open platform
cars on which they are loaded as to strike other
cars in passing them. The reader of the table
in yesterdays TRIBUNE will see how common it
is for cars to run close to bridges, buildings and
fences killing or manning somebody every few
days. Out-houses and fences are often placed
SO close to the track that should board become
loose and fall little out Of place, or the cars
lean over a few inches, they must inevitably
collide. No building should be allowed nearer
the track than four feet; bridges should not be
50 narrow as almost to scrape the paint off the
car windows, aud tracks should never be laid
nearer together than six feet.
The dangers of railroading are by no means
inherent to the rapidity Of locomotion, or the
other results the science aims to achieve. 1t
may seem miraculous, looking at a mad, roar
Ing, whirling train as it passes, to suppose that
it will reach any given point on this earth in
safety. Yet we know from experience that it
would be hard to throw the train off the track,
provided that track is kept in good order. The
very weight and momentum of the train itself
tend to keep the wheels down upon tho rails
and to continue forward upon the same straight
line, while the conical shape of the Wheel
hanges overcOmes any slight inaccuracy at the
joints Of the rails if they should not be exactly
in line. Those who manage railways are, how
ever, apt to presume too much upon this, and
allow things to 90 too long without repairing
Too much care cannot be taken to have both
track and rolling stock in complete order. Many
valuable lives may be lost by the breaking OF
an axle Even defective spike may, by Its
giving way, precipitate whole train off
curve, down a steep embankment into the
water far below. A great deal depends upon
the spikes, particularly upon curves of short
radius the whole momentum Of the
train in that case tending to push
the rails outward with great force. Our
correspondent illustrates this from his own ex-
perience. 81 have seen, he says, " the lead
ING pair of gude.wheels on a locomotive so
placed that they constantly tended TO run oil
the track on the left side. The fange OF the
wheel on that side was worn bright, and COM
paralively sharp and straight, while the oppo-
site wheel was about an inch from the side Of
its rail- In this case, the axles were not paral'
lei l also noticed, upon the main track OF
railway, ties that were so much decayed that
lifted the spikes entirely out with my fingers,
and as readily dropped them back again. l
have often seen the ties so poorly bedded that,
when trains were passing over them, each wheel
as it rolled over caused them to vibrate
two or three inches" The
lesson this teaches is that all cross-ties should
be sound and well bedded, so rs to give firm
and solid track, without any iTegularity on the
surface.
Another point occurs to us Of very great i'm
portance. The method of using layers of iron
of different qualities, rolled into one mass, to
form rails can but tend to lessen their strength.
The rail is not perfect; and the different kinds
of iron constituting the different layers are DIFF
ferenty affected by the severe shocks and
strains to which they are hourly subjected.
They lamnate and otherwise deterorate; the
elongating influence Of the heavily loaded
wheels passing over them tends to detach the
upper LAYER Of iron from that upon which it
adheres. The employment of steel instead of
iron for making car-aHles, rails, and so on,
would materially diminish the frequency Of
railroad accidents broken axlcs and broken
rails would be Of very rare occurrence; and, IN
point of economy to the companies themselves,
it would DC desirable, as the increase of first
cost (about twice that of iron) is more than
compensated by the vast superiority in durability
and strength. Steel made by peculiar process
has been used to limited extent, in various
forms, upon railways in England and other
parts of Europe, for several years past, always
with great satisfaction; its great superiority
over iron for such purposes being demonstrated,
By actual trial, beyond all question. 1t is now
getting to be more generally used there, and
some of our American railroads have begun to
experiment in the same way; their experience
must give tho same result. Particularly Is 1t
desirable TO substitute steel axeS Tor iron ones;
and next, perhaps, in importance, to use steel
instead of iron in making rails. What we
mainly want after all and above all. is care and
shrewdness There is no reason why railroad
ING should not be as safe as carrage-riding. II
we play with Steam, and tempt him, and dis
obey his laws, he becomes demon, and will
turn upon and rend us. If we study his charac.
ter, master and control him, keep him in bonds,
and hold him with firm and prudent hand he
becomes q messenger Of peace and plenty, and