Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-08-09
A PAPER RAILROAD TIE.
Durable, Light, and EIastic-Hopes of its
Inventor.

That is railroad tie" 1t was of
the regular size and polished as smooth
" as a piece of Italian marble. The
grain was so fine and the whole appear
ance so artistic that it might easily
have been taken for chip from a pill
lar of 4 Grecian temple instead of such
practical thing as railroad tie
The speaker was a short, stout, sad
faced man, with large head and over
hanging brows, and was the inventor
of this aesthetic sleeper, and in his little
office In Fulton street there were many
models of cars and railroad tracks
scattered about This, said he, as he
patted the railroad tie lovingly. as the
result of years of labor, and believe
now that it is perfect 1t is made of
paper, which / believe is to enter to a
large extent in all building operations
at no distant day The great enemy to
the use of paper for many things is
moisture, and in my invention. of
course, means had to be discovered to
prevent dampness from having the
slightest effect, as a railroad tie being in
the ground is subjected constantly to
it, and a rotten tie might cause the loss
OF many lives and much property. The
process of manufacture is secret to a
certain extent, but the tie is absolutely
fire and water proof. There; / will
throw piece of the prepared paper in
to the fire. You see it will not burn. |
have submerged it for weeks and
months in both hot and cold water,
and the moisture has never been found
inside the surface,
CONSEQUENTLY IT CAN NOT ROT.
Though apparently as hard as iron,
an ordinary spike can be driven into it
without difficulty, and when the spike
is in position the material is of such
nature that it closes around the iron
and holds it so firmly that it can never
be shaken loose. There is also a GER
tam amount of spring in the tie, and
when there is load on it it operates as
sort of cushion and takes away GER
tain amount of jar from running cars.
Under certain conditions, by slightly
altering the combination of materials,
the paper can be made so hard that it
will turn the edge of the hardest tool
without being more than scratched.
The ordinary wooden tie will last about
five years under the most favorable con-
ditions, while the paper tie will stand
any kind of weather for at least thirty
years.
THE paper used is generally made of
straw, though almost any kind OF fiber
will do as well. Straw is preferred be-
cause it can be easily obtained and the
supply is unlimited. There are mills in
the West where the straw is made up
into boards. 1t is large industry, and
was first started to utilize the waste
straw in the vast West for fuel, instead
of wood. This is paying business,
and fortunes are being made out of
what only few years ago was thrown
away or burned UP as useless. These
boards are put together in layers, and
after being treated with liberal dose of
cement are put under a tremendous
pressure in hydraulic machine. This
forces the atoms together in a solid
mass. Under pressure dozen boards
will take the place of one. Heat is also
an agent in the manufacture of paper
ties, and they are thoroughly baked in
an oven at high temperature. Under
the present Imperfect conditions and
appliances it takes considerable time to
make q tie, but with everything built
in accordance with my plans they can
be turned out quicker than they can be
cut from trees and at
A MUCH LESS COST.
''rhe number of wooden ties used
every year to construct new and repair
old roads is enormous and is Il large
element in the disappearance of forests
in this country. 1t is my belief from
what | know of paper that it is destined
to take the place of wood in many
things. and this will give protection to
our forests. Legislation can never pro-
tect the forests as long as there is such
a large demand for wood
Tine strength and durability of
paper is well shown IN car wheels made
of this material 1t makes an iron
wheel sick to contemplate light paper
wheel running for years after it has
been thrown away as useless. Paper
will not only take the place of wood,
but also of good many metals and
stoneware. A portable paper bath is
one of the latest ideas, and pots, plates,
knives, forks, stoves, and engines made
of paper have large and increasing
market. A large part of the beautiful
bronze ornaments and statues seen in
public places and offered for sale in
stores devoted to the sale of ancient and
modern bronzes are made of compo-
sition the principal element of which is
paper OF fiber. A man to-day can wear
paper shoes and clothes, eat from paper
dishes with paper knives and forks.
served upon paper table, sit on paper
chair, sleep in a paper bed, in a room
carpeted with paper, wash in a paper