, 1868-06-12
Plans for Chenp RalIro.a.

More than usual attention has been directed Of
late to plans for railroads Of short distances
where economy Of construction and efheieucy 10
working capacity shall be secured. The cost Of
the McAdam road, 10 many parts Of the United
States, has ranged from $4,000 to $4,000 per
mile. This included cuIverts, grading, and The
bed Of broken rock. Roads have since been built
under the same name, where coarse gravel was
substituted for rock, At q cost ranging from
80, 500 to $4,000 per mile the gravel or pebbles
making the most desirable road.
A railroad which costs $40, 900 per mile, which
Is about the average cost 10 this State, is out Of
the preston In many districts, where the public
interests demand some better facilities than the
common road. The tram road has long been
known, aud iu many places has been made
most efficient and profitable means Of trAusporta-
ton. An improved road Of this kind is likely to
meet growing want Of the times.
A late number Of the Scientific American notices
project Of this kind as follows:
"At Denver, Colorado, a company has been or.
ganiEed to build q uam-road into the mountains
Of South Pass, as q means for bringing into the
city lumber aud all kinds of building material.
The plan Of construction is as follows: The ties
are designed to be seven feet long, round timber;
the rail sxs wide, sawed spruce timber, l68 feet
long, let into the ties aud securely keyed track
t9ur teet wide car wheels l8 inches in diameter
finch tread, with square hange. These rails
can be turned and used eight times, or can be
strapped with iron when desired by the company
Small but powerful locomotives are to furnish
The motive power. The estimated cost per mile
is 81, ,T3s."
This plan involves some of the most desirable
Improvements in cheap railroads. 1t is either a
misprint or an error of calculation 10 estimate a
stick Of timber having four equal sides as hav-
ing eight separate surfaces. A stick SO shaped
can be turned and used four times, but requires
levelling up and extra keying to compensate for
the wear Spruce timber is not SO tough and
dense as the yellow fir Of this coast. The chief
objection to strap iron is the difficulty of keeping
the plates tight on the wood, the ends working
loose and forming what are called "snake heads.
The redwood for sleepers and the yellow fr for
string pieces are about as good wooden material
as can be found. The best of California oak
warps too much in the sun and is less durable
than hr wien exposed to the weather.
Instances are known where wooden tram>
roads have lasted for years under heavy loads of
stone brought down from quarries. An occa,
sional turning of a rail, or the putting down Of
new one have sufhced TO keep the road 10 or>
der. or course a wooden road does not admit
of a high rate of speed, nor is this desirable.
But "pony locomotive" with wheels adapted
to the track, may be drawn at the rate of 10 miles
an hour with reasonable safety.
We have examined of late two or three plans
for cheap rail, the merits of which have not
yet been fully tested. 0ne of them has been
patented by P. L. Mccarthy of this city. The
bed of the rail is made of an iron plate, turned
up at the sides so as to form groove, say three
inches deep by three inches wide. Into this
groove are inserted pieces of wood, presenting
an end surface not unlike the Nicholson pave>
ment; these are keyed together, the iron groove
operating as champ. A wooden rail present
ing end surfaces is much more durable than any
other modern device. Another improvement
suggested is a wooden stringer or sill, with
groove cut to let in the blocks of wood, the i'm,
provement consisting in great saving of ex>
pense over the iron hange and the attainment of
substantially the same ends as to durability.
Without wholly Vouching for the merits of either
OF these inventions, it does not seem improbable
that great improvement will yet be attained in
this direction, possibly by device still more
simple, whereby a cheap and desirable rail will
be secured. Ifa satisfactory tram road can te
built into the mountains at Denver at a cost no
greater than 81 ,738 per mile, a pretty good road
of this sort ought to be built over favorable
grades in this State at cost, say from 50, 900 to
50, 800 per mile and even at less cost when
the grades are light and timber is abundant.
There are already many short pieces of timber
roads connected with mills on this coast,
which are operated with great eaiciency.-S. F.
BuLLetia,