New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-10-30
STEEL RAILS.
E1EvFN HUNDRED MILES OF STEEL ROAD IN THE
UNITED sTATEs-AMERICAN AND ENGLISH
RAILs-sTEEL-HEADED RAILs-ADVANTAGEs
or SOLID STEEL.

ELEVEN HUNDRED MILES OF sIbEL hOA = -, iiiE
UNITED STATEs-AMERlCAN AND ENGLIsh
pAUS-sTFFI-HEADED RAILS-ADVANTAGE
OF SOLID STEEL.
Eight years ago steel rails were doubtful
experiment To-day they are hxed fact ana an abso
Lutte necessity When they we're rst ohered Tor SALE as
was recently stated by Mr. w. Bragge the gentleman on
whom deyolved the difficult tasA OF introducing them
they wero looked upon with dstrust and only by giving
rails n he made into points and crossings, ria TO be
,A for when they had earned their value possible
90 Ai.nose Of them in England. In 1861, Mr.. George
Wilson agent of Cammell n CO., who were among the
earliest steelra makers and manager Of their famous
Cyclops works at Sheffield visited this country with
specimens Of the manufacture and succeeded III
persuadng farseeing President of the Pennsylvania
Central Railway TO purchase few hundred tuns, Wmch
were laid during the ensuing tue most trying
portons Of that road. These the FIRST steel IIs
used in the United States and the credit OF
ton largely due Mr. Philip Justice OF Philadelphia
who perceived at the advantages which tney must
possess iron rails and eXerted his influence secure
trial for them Notwithstanding this suspicious opening
the sale Of steel rails this country very Tar from easy
work When the subject was first brought TO the notice
of the President Of the NewYorR and NewIIaven Rail-
way Of the directors of the company chanced 10 DC
sitting in the Office absorbed IN newspaper Catching
the tonic Of conversation between the President and the
agent he suddenly looked up exclaimed with snlf OK
supreme contempt "stee ralsi BAIL stuff! bOsh non
again. leaving the President to take the very broad hint
and the agent to sell no rails AS OsetO this, ana
as good illustration OF the progress steel ras nave
made in the good opinion Of American railroad men, the
factmay be cited that less than week ago. the General
Superintendent OF the very road promptly replied
to the question: Chow many steel rails are you laying
this season I" with the significant remark, IAN that we
can raise the money to pay for In England too, is
only few weeks since the engineer of the Metropolitan
Underground Railway OF London stated TO an American
gentleman that without steel rails 1t would have been
utterly impossible 70 operate that road successfully TOT
the heavy trains drawn by fortyhye-tun locomotives
starting every five minutes, and stopping at
halfmfe stations, and running forty miles an
hour with the brakes down more than half
the time would have used up the best iron track so fast
that il could not have relad without interfering
most seriously with the tralcIof the line And finally
the report Of exhaustive and important discussion
held last year by the Institution Of Civil Engineers In En-
gland up the in these words There can be
no doubt as to the expedency OF employing steel rails
even ON railways where the traffic light but OF course
the heavier the traffic the greater will be the economy
of substituting steel for iron"
In view OF this forcble verdict in favor OF steel rails 1t
becomes matter Of great public interest TO know by
what companies and what extent these rails are being
laid in the United States ITbe report on Railroads OF
fhe State Engineer and Surveyor Of NewYok prepared
by S. H. sWeetJ Deputy and copied from the advance
sheets into Van NOstrands Eclectic Engineering Maya
zine for last June says estimated that from 10000
10000 Of steel rails IN use on our various rail-
ways" Careful researches made in this city during the
past week. warrant the Of much mere encouraging
figures and authorize the assertion that by the end
OF the year 1869 there Will be laid in the
United States, in round numbers, one hundred aud
thousand s OF steel rails equal TO eleven hundred
miles OF steel road and OF this amount about
thirty.six thousand tuns, equal TO three hund.
red and sixty miles viii be laid during the present
These rails In use on more than " dnefent
roads, partly OF American, principally OF English,
and to very small extent, OF Prussian manufacture
Four large steel works for making rails have already
been established in this country and fifth Is nearly
completed JOIN A G n ro C RsdPe sSoSt oS
tuns Of steel rails half of them fr the Erie Railroad,
Os 70 t5 ns ns have S broken nd ocS certificates
testify that they are equal " Test foreign rails The
pretors 70 produce rails at the rate Of 1900 TO 10000
tuns per year The Pennsylvania Steel works at Harris
see rails At the rate of 1900 tnns annually These are
mostly laid the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Official
foreign rails The yearly oS capacity pon6 OF
Mil Company producing steel rails at the rate OF
1000 70 5000 tnnS per year IIey oave On efe ss
pacity Is 1900 TO 10000 tuns per year Their steel
Of Lake Superior iron aud Is Of excellent quality The
Freedom Iron Steel Works at Pa pro
ducng rails for the Pennsyvana and other roads at the
rate Of SONS 5000 tuns per year Their annual capacy
10000 $4,000 tuDs Their steel Is pronounced by the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, after rigid tests equal
the foreign. The Cambria Iron Company have hes-
It's capacity will be 10000 tuns The above statements
authoritative and clearly indicate that shall be
able by next year. 70 produce annually at least uns
good Amercan-made steel rails fact full OF promise
for the future OF American railways; II may also DC
stated here that the propetors OF one OF the largest
ron-raimaking establishments In pennsylvania aiter
struggling yy S IF four years Sds "g naeSatns
for the services OF able and experienced German
Sey establishing steel works at which they confidently
expect within year 10 produce steel rails equal 70 the
mod iron rails The report quoted above states that
some 1000 OF domestic steel rails have already been
laid certainly safe TO assume that 5000 tuns viii
he laid bis season. making total In round numbers Of
at least 1900 tuns u2O mes Of American steel rails in
The English rails LAID IN this country made by
four great manufacturing Somps1es each h&ying an
South Wales, very celebrated makers Of iron rails but
have not long been engaged IN inc seeral
little more than year. Eight hundred tuns OF their rails
are in the Erie Railway and 1900 tuns on the
NewYOrk Central The orders for this season include
1000 uns for the Delaware Lackawanna, and Western,
tnns for the Newly rk and New ayen CoO tnns Tor
the Hudson River and small trial lots for the Boston and
Providence and other roads, making total OF about
5000 tuns for this year and 1000 TINS 10 all inc rails Ior
ordered through Influential director who visited the
saw that the order given despite the fact that the
managers Of this road have hitherto srenuOnsy opposed
in ironra woTks The Guest rain weighs about co pounds
10 the yard and tested with the utmost severity by
placing it on bearings three feet apart and dropping
made the huge S5pOund ra used on the London Under
ground Railway, and said TO be the heaviest steel ran
ever made specimen Of may be at the onice OF
their agents, Livingston, Perkins Post No 6S Broad
The steel rails OF the Barrow Hematite Steel Company
have for sale In this market little moro than TWO
years during which time fully $4,000 tuns have been sold
the this year reaching about 10000 tuns The hrst
Barrow rails laid in this country were put down three
years curved track running out OF the Hudson
River Railroad depot at Thiruethst, and as yet they
show scarcely sign OF wear -Four thousand uns OF Bar
row rails going down this SUMMER on the Eew.York
Central and about $500 the Hudson River while others
I'm various quantities laying or have been laid
the Pennsylvania Central, Baltimore and Ohio, Phladel
mia WilIniE "A and Baltimore, Reading, New York and
New Haven Connecticut River, Boston and Providence,
Providence and Worcester, Old Colony aud Newport,