The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-13

clip. attached to short tsckling Axed overhead
to the frame.
While they are doing this they stand on an
overhanging portion OF the platform, and at the
same time third man is dxlng a chair on the
forward end of the rail. They lower the rail to
Its place against the last chair. The man sta
his pulley, after the one in the rear has let go,
and the latter steps off the platform, fits 1t by
hand, and holds what is technically called a
shin thin plate of metal Ave inches long, one
and one'eighth inch wide, and three
eighths OF an inch thick. which he places
between the butts of the rails and holds there
until the forward mantle one who put the
CHAR on the rail before 1t was lowered
has struck 1t home with his sledge. The
object of the shin is to place some substance
which, while hard enough to steady the rail- will
yet yield before the pressure caused by the
elongation of the metal by heat. One or two
seconds after the sbIns are in their places the
forward main wheel of the track-layer is on
them, and the work of the machine on that pair
of rails is over. While the machine is running
forward at a regular pace, the next rail is being
hooked up by the clips attacked TO the pulies,
and the work goes on at q steady pace. The
time taken to lay rail, as may be we'll supposed,
is less by one-halt than it will take the reader
to peruSe the above. One of the adyant ages or
disadvantages of the machine is that while the
engine is working no man engaged in track
laying or dischargiDg ties has time to turn his
head to sneeze with safety.
THE CREW.
Besides the men we have named there is a
pilot who steers, an engine driver, and fire.
man-in all twenty men. The following is
recapitulation OF the crew.
Pilot, l; engine driver, /; fireman, i; four
men on freight truck discharging ties, A; two
men on each side handling rails, 4; two men on
each side at pullies, 4 one man on each side
placing on chairs and driving rails home, 2;
one man receiving ties in front l; one man on
each side laying ties on the road, 2. Total. 20.
Twenty is the number on the ships articles
the patentee or his partner Mr. Whteside,
being generally around. but not engaged in
manual labor. We should have. said that when
a stoBpage is made to run iron for ward the tie
layers go back to the construction train tracks
to assist. The men who put the chairs on take
the opportunity to carry fresh supplies forward
from the rear Of the track-layer
IT'S AVERAGE WORK.
The average work of the ms machine, when run
ming, since the first few days, during which the
men had to be drilled to quarters, has been from
two-thirds to three. quarters of mile. Had the
grading been done, the bridges built and the
supplies all ready, she would have made the
trip from Vallejo to Sacramento in ten or eleven
weeks.
1t is proposed, when next engaged, to build
freight cars on purpose for the work, with
rollers affixed to them, and by placing guides
for the hauling rope over the heads of the tie
transportation party, reduce The stoppages to the
minimum, just the time necessary to run the
complement of rails from the last car to the
machine, two minutes and forty seconds, as we
have said. Under these circumstances Dir.
Whiteside says he could lay with his present
1orce one mile Gay, out prODaoly the tension
OF the men occupying some OF the most arduous
posts would be very severe,
sPIKING AND TAMPING.
Behind the track layer is party of spikers.
ten in number, and 1t Is as much as they eau do
to keep pace with the machine. OF course tue
construction train has to pass over the rails
before spike is driven. As soon as the chairs
cali be got at couple of spikes are driven into
each chair, and a couple midway in the rail to
steady the IRON and prevent the metal being dis.
placed. Behind the spikers came a gang of
overseers, who were engaged in tampiug that
Is, bedding the ties where they are hollow, aud
ilhng with tine oil around them. The party of
been new hands at the job we expect, though
their work was well enough cone. They had
the full costume of the Chinese peasant, big
penthouse hat, and all undisfgured by Ameri-
can cothing-cXcept occasionally pair of No.
IL boots-just as we see them land from the
kailing shps which transport them hither.