Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-03-16
oI.,Mpt,. N~HINs.To> TER.
OLYMPIA. thipll NElINh. MARCH fl. 1888
The Steel Industry.

The Steel Industry.
The B,'Hj>h I'vnntD,,y'r SAYS it is
indebted to NJ. Paul Transenter of
Liege, for an elaborate and valuable
review and anal ysis of the steel in
dustrv, with especial reference to the
future of steel rails, and of the con-
Gems which are at present primarily
devoted to the production of that
class of manufactured steel. He
shows that there are 81 Bessemer
steel works ard $50 converters and
SiemenS furnaces in use in the world
and estimates that they ale equal to
the make of 800 600 20 5000 900
tons of ingot per annum, including
900 900 tons of cruciDle and other
steel. As to the consumption, he
sets down about ;, $50 goo t. rs as
rails, and 1,0O0,G eco tons as other
rolled or hammered products. 1t is
thus apparent, argues NJ. Transen-
tel, that about three quarters of tie
steel produced is transformed into
rails. 1t is, therefore, important
to analyze and estimate the demand
for those articles. During 1881
there were made in the whole world
about 4,1S5, 900 metrical tons of
steel and iron rails, about 700, 900
tons being iron, of which quantity
$4,000 tons were laid in the United
States alone. The consumption
OF rails throughout the world dur
ing the last ten years has varied from
1850 900 tons to 4, 15O, 900 tons, av-
eraging IS tons per kilometer in Eu-
rope, and GO tons elsewhere. Fol-
lowing up those figures NJ. Transen-
ter sets down the consumption of
rails in 1881 at 4, 1856 900 metric tons,
of which he assigns l SIC, 900 tons to
new lines, and 4, 665 900 tons to re-
placements on old lines, explaining
the apparent discrepancy of the fig
nres by estimating that 1880, 900
tons of the rails were really made
the year before. He recognizes the
difficulties of making an approxima-
ton to exact facts for thepurpose, but
estimates that in the United States
there were on January 1882, 21O, 900
kilometers, of lines-counting all as
single lines-with sidings, of which
10000 kilometers, or 81 per cent.
were laid with steel rails. Germany
had $4,000 kilometers of wav, of
which 1000 kilometers, or 3S per
cent, were of steel. Belgium had
100000 tons of steel and 27O, 900
tons of iron rail in use, or 40 per
cent. of steel. In England the
percentage Of steel is put down
at SIS per cent, in France at so per
cent, in Russia at GO per cent, in
Russia Hungary at A per cent, in
Canada at IS per cent, and in other
countries at an average of As per
cent. From these factors NJ. Tran
senter proceeds to the calculation of
his problem. He assumes that all
the rails made since 1871 are still
in use, the total quantity made
being II 100000 tons. From this
he deducts proportion for stock on
hand, en- route, etc., leaving from
100000 to 10000, 900 tons &C
tually laid on January LIST, 1882.
This quantity he checks by calcu-
lating the mileage along with the
weight laid per xilometer in differ
ent countries, and by allowing re.
placement of nearly two millions Of
tons of iron rails since January
LIST, 1882, and a make of 1000, OOC
tons of steel rails in 1882, he as.
sumes that the iron rails still in use
on the railways of the world count
up to an aggregate of more than
17,OO0,O 900 tons. He next proceeds
to estimate the renewals of these
rails, and after q series of elaborate
calculations as to the wear per an
mum, primarily con cludes that the
mean age of the iron rails in use
on January LIST, 1882, was about
ten years. The mean age of the
steel rails in use, on the same date,
he sets down at something over -four
years. As to the wear of each class,
he takes figures showing the move
ment of traffic by weight only-ig.
noring the influences of speed, grad.
tents, curves, etc.-and allows a
mean OF twenty years duration tQl
iron rails, and ninety years for those
of steel. The year 1900 is fixed by
the writer as The probable time for
the complete disappearance of iron
rails, and Ivy following out the oper.
alton of b curious law of proper.
ton in these matters-fully worked
out by NJ. Transenter-he estimates
the renewals of 1883 at 100000
tons, and those of 1884 at 100000
tons.
IT is now stated on what we con.
slider good authority, that the late
serveys made on the Skagit, are in
the interest of the Oregon Short
lime which is another name for the