Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-03-12
MAKING RAILROAD MAPS,
a prescription OF the Methods Now in Use
In the UnIted hfate.

A Description of the Methods Now I'm Tia.
In the Upited states.
The method OF making railroad mana
II described as follows. Up to 1901
maps We're engraved on stone, copper
or steel. The process was slow, te-
dious and expensive. The plates soon
wore out. and maps were costly.
About this time the process OF making |
maps on wax was invented. 1t reyolu- |
tionized one kind OF map-rnaking. and |
they became almost as cheap as news |
papers. The map-maker works in a
room the temperature OF which can
not go below 90'. Few men work at
1t longer than four years. though
years OF apprenticeship are required
TO make them expert. The heat be-
comes uncomfortable in the end. and
they go into some other employment.
preparatory to making the original
plate, melted beeswax and some hard
ening ingredients are poured on a
highly polished metal table For fine
work the wax is as thin as a piece OF
paper. but for the coarser kind the
waxen sheet is an eighth of an inch
mick. Rough pen and ink drawings
OF the work to be done are given the
operators. They draw the hair lines
with sharp pointed instruments by the
aid of straight edges. The dotted lines
indicating county or township bounda-
ries are made with little wheels, on
whose narrow edge are cut the pecu-
liarly designed lines. All crooked
lines are made by hand, and require
an artists eye. The names OF towns,
rivers, countries and the like are i'm
pressed in the wax in type. letter by
letter. Every impression must cut
through the wax to the polished steel
plate beneath, for the map is made
face down. When all the lines and
letters are in, the wax is placed under
cooler temperature, which hardens
it. The wax is then covered with
black lead, and the steel plate with its
waxen cast is suspended in an electro
) tipping solution. The copper in the
solution covers the black lead ant
forms hard plate, which is called ths
original. The wax is then pulled of
and the printing surface is then pre-
; sented. The tin copper plate is backed
! up with type metal and the plate i
, ready foru 1t is usually preserved
5 however, for the making OF stereotyp
plates, from which the actual printin,
! is done.
( In the preparation OF the etchini
great care is required to keep the wa
: at the proper temperature, as degre
= too low would make it hard to work
t and degree too high would melt an
e probably destroy it. Often many hur
a dred thousand maps are ordered, an
d from twenty to forty plates are mad
t from the original. II the maps ar
r small. so many OF these plates as ca
|. be conveniently used are placed sid
q by side on the presses, and sheet {
o maps is printed at each impression
!. The ordinary advertising map is fiji
e ished when it leaves the press, but tt
a others must go through more hant
g before they are ready for use. Bl
d this is the smallest p;rt of the map. II
d unseen work-the preparation OF II
ss original draft-represents time, lab'
s. and money expended upon these a
s, ticles. The method of preparing maj
k for places of learning and for the u
of those engaged in selling property
ID much more elaborate and costly, al
V. this fact will be fully realized when
IN is stated that a map lately finished
It. this city measuring sixty-tive inch
70 square, was nearly six years und
IN wav, and, when finished, cost $50, OC
lg Philadelphia Gail.