Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-05
METAL WHEELWAYS
To Save the Streets From the Wear
and Tear Of Heavy Hauling.
SOME CITY COUNClLMEN THINKING
About Duplicating Big New York Street
Improvement,
BUT TRANSFERS DO NOT WANT IT

The city of New York is considering the
advisability of laying fat iron rails on the
streets on which heavy hauling is done, as
a method of saving the streets. The idea
is to put down rails u inches wide, which
will suit the gauge of all vehicles. Such g
proposition has set some Pittsburg Council
men to thinking, because this is city that
has heavier hauling than any other in the
country, or, at least, much more heavy
hauling. It is well known that the heavy
hauling some years ago splintered all of Pitts
burgs wooden pavements, and in a short time
rendered them worthless, while the heavy iron
wagons plowed through cobblestones and made
1t necessary for a street paved with them to be
renewed at least every two years; and even
then it was full of chuckholes much of the
time. On this account it was shown in this
paper some years ago that cobblestone pave
ment in 20 years cost about four timeswhat one
of best Belgian block did.
Chief Bigelow, of the Department of Public
W orks, didn't have time to talk On the subject
yesterday. but one of the employees in the
Highway Department gave some Information.
A PIKE STREET SCHEME.
There is no necessity Of putting down rails
in Pittsburg," he said, because all the prin-
cipal streets now have street cars on them, and
the heavy hauling is all done on those streets.
There is no question but what fat iron rails on
the streets save the streets, but there is no
necessity for them being II inches wide.
Horses are liable to slip on ordinary street car
rails, and l2-inch rails would be worse Some
two or three years ago there was proposition
to lay steel car rails on Pike street, In order
to relieve Penn avenue Of the heavy traffic, but
nothing has been done about it. Teamsters
will seek the streets that have rails on them.
and it saves the horses no matter If they do
have to pull of occasionally, SO far as Pitts
burg is concerned, however, there is no necessity
for putting down more rails, unless it might
be on Pike street, which is right in among the
mills, and 1t is very doubtful II you could get
teamsters to drive on that street. when Penn
avenue, Fifth avenue. Liberty avenue, Smith
field street, Carson street, Second avenue,
ws and Center all have
other arterial street that hasn't street car
tracks on 1t. and that is Forbes street. ana no
heavy hauling is done on it. There is little use
for rails on the short cross streets, because but
little hauling is done on them"
TRANSFERS NOW SATISFIED.
Ardary Bros. who do about as heavy hauling
as any one else in iron transportation business
in the city, do not take kindly to the idea
They said that II the wheelway were to be
made smooth, horses would slip on them and
injure themselves. They stated that they, the
horses, frequently sprain themselves now on
street car tracks and wheelway foot
wide would be much worse, and that even If it
were corrugated the case would be but
little better, as the iron would soon
grow slippery anyhow. Then. Ehey
object on the further ground that the iron, II
corrugated, would make wheeling noisier than
even the cobblestone pavements do; also that
the metal, being harder than the pavement
alongside, the latter would wear, and when a
wheel went of the metal way 1t would be diff
are various degrees of hardness there are
always chuckholes. This is shown most uncom-
fortably in the country where supervising cob
blers fill holes with stones. Soon after the
filling, the first time there is a wet spell, there
are two holes where there was but one before
"A hole each side Of the hole that has been
filed.
PITTsBURG's HEAVY LOADS.
Messrs. Ardary say there is not nearly 80
much heavy hauling in this city as formerly,
and that the average four-horse load is now five
tons, though sometimes weights of n to 80
tons are hauled on big timber wheels. Owners
of teams do not like to do this heavy hauling.
Their best horses are frequently injured more
by hauling one heavy casting or shaft than the
is worth. Where 10 or Is horses
are hitched to aload the spirited animals do the
bulk Of the work and sprain them
selves, and efforts to make the lag
CARDS pull up only render matters worse
and making them exert themselves still mere.
Most large establishments now have railway
tracks running into their works, and they by
use of heavy cranes load directly on cars.
streets are worse than those of any
other large city from the fact that they are
poses oftener than streets In any other city and
are consequently more uneven.