New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-09-26
STEEL R4ILS.

The recent failure Of the Oxford Fur
mace Company exhibits in strong light the
severe strain to which iron manufacture in
this country has been subjected since the gem
eral employment of Bessemer steel in rails.
few years ago, the country was adding to
its lines of railroads at the rate Of 5000 or
1000 miles yearly the iron rail was almost
exclusively used and the annual wear and
consequent replacement Of iron rails on the
roads of heavy traffic amounted to several
hundred thousand tons. Now only LOCO or
1000 miles of road are built in a year. The
new roads are partly laid with steel rails.
The old roads of heavy and established traffic
have nearly all substituted steel for iron rails
with consequent reduction, at least during
the first seven years, of many hundred thous-
and tons yearly in the quantity required for
replacements and repairs. Inevitably, the
present demand for iron is utterly inadequate
to employ at a profit all the splendid works
put up in the flush times Of railway
building. Nor is the demand for steel rails
at this time quite sufficient to give profitable
business to all the Bessemer works in the
country. Failures are inevitable. Those es-
adjustments which have the largest accumu-
lated surplus of capital, or the best facilities
for obtaining cheap and suitable material, will
resist the strain longest, while others, though
well managed, have been or may be COM
PEELED with keen regret to ask the patience OF
creditors.
Nevertheless the cloud has a silver lining.
Steel rails wear out slowly, but they do wear
out. The average life y Of the best Bessemer
rails is supposed to be about fifteen years,
and of those less enduring, from seven to
eight years. The enormous quantity of Bes-
semer rails laid within the last five years has
as yet hardly begun TO wear OUT the saving
in quantity of iron needed for replacement IS
realized, but the corresponding requirement
for replacing worn steel rails has not yet
reached its maximum. From this cause
alone, if there is no increase in railway
building or railway traffic, the guam
tity Of steel rails required annually
must rapidly increase from this time until
about 1885. Besides, the increasing tonnage
of railways must lead to more rapid wear Of
rails on roads already laid with steel. and to
greater demand for steel from roads still
using iron. And, finally, any permanent and
solid Improvement IN business mast be quickly
followed by the building of many roads, which
have been projected for years and are really
needed, but for which capital and confidence
have been lacking.
Either of these changes will bring prosperity
to the manufacture Of steel rails A well
situated and valuable establishment for that
manufacture, though Improbable now, has its
bright days not very far ahead, If creditors
and owners can be patient and endure. Even
the iron manufacture, to some extent perma-
nently curtailed in respect to iron rails, it is
probable will find new stimulus whenever
business revives and the building of new roads
is resumed. The country has emancipated
itself from foreign competition, and the day
is not far distant when it may begin to eI-
port iron, not in small quantities only, but as
Great BRITANNIA chief competitOr.