The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-15
tions and denials of the Central Com
pnny.
Due service of a copy of the answer of
the Port Recalling Company has been &C
knowledged by Barker Gummere, soli-
citor for the com~plainangs.
METAL TIES A FAILURE.
The Pennsylvania to Return to
Wood After a Fifteen Years.
Trial-Readi ing in
Doubt.
Special to the Jersey CITY Neys.

tPNHf' st~'
PHILADELPHIA. July Is. 1S92.-The
officers of the Pennsylva ia Railroad
Company have come to Lie con clusion
that the metal ties which they have been
experimenting will for the past fifteei
years are of no account. aud they have
given orders that all that are now il use
shall be taken IN and the old style OF
wooden ones su bstituJed.
About fifteen years ago the company
commenced to make experiments with
metn1 ties. From that time IN to the
present they have been placed at a half
dozen different points along the line of
the company, and they have utterly
failed in all the important points in Cam
parfSon with the wooden ties. The Off
GERS found that 1t was impossible to keep
Il ese metal ties in line, especially in
places where there was a curve. Tines
ties, willis not answering the purpose of
the wooden Ones, were also more expen-
sive aud did not afford the same comfort
or elasticity Of that given by the wooden
ones.
ENGINEER RICHARDS OPINION.
Joseih L. Rich ,rds, assistant chief
engineer of the company. in speaking
about metal ties In comparison with
wooden ones. said vesterday:-"The Penu-
syivania Railroad Company has tried
these metal ties ut half q dizen different
places along the road, and they have
f,ilad. They are too light, bling about
half the weight of the wo dan ties,
beside costing about twice us much.
They are rigid in their action. solid in
their bearing, and generally get in a
shaky and UNEASY condition, take a poor
hold an stone bal a,ts, and will not keep
in line on curves.
"The supply of wooden ties is such that
we get more han we want, ard at @ price
that was being paid for them fifteen years
ago. The timber seems to grow and a
new supply from the country is CONSTANTLY
coming in, and there seems to be no likeli-
hood of its being exhausted. Canada,
South aud Central America, Africa. and
other points in case of an emergency,
rOul1 all be drawn on, but as yet they
have not been touched. Wood s5ems a
turally and fortunately applicable TO rail
road cross ties. 1t forms II cushion,
deadens the sound. Is cheape. than any
metal or composition which has yet been
fund.
1.-The Pennsylvania Railroad Company
has not only tried the best makes, OF
metal ties of this country, ont nave i'm
ported a number fron England, the best
known Standards in their use. We have
tried the STANDARD of the London and
Northwestern Railroad Company metal
tie, which has only been in use for Il few
years. but have had to take it out, as under
the punishment received from our he IVY
cars they are all crushed out of shape"
H READINGS EXPERIMENTS.
The Reading Railroad has been expert
menting with metal ties for about one
year. and the officials of that compan
are 10th at the present time to give any
opinion as to the efficiency of this kind of
tie iu comparison with The Did woodea
ones. Nevertheless they seam to meet
with the same trouble the Pennsylvania
Railroad has encountered. This is, that
the metal ties will not take hold of the
ballsst., and it is impossible to keep the
ties in line.