The record-union., 1894-03-31
TO PRESERVE RAILROAD TIES.
A Portable Plant Being Prepared for
That Purpose.
A Process That Adds Greatly to the
Life of Wood and CurtailS an
Enormous Expense

For several days some strange-looking
machinery has been noticeable in the
railroad yards near the east end of the
depot AS there was not much hustle
about it, however, it has escaped the at
tention of many.
A RECoRD-UNIoN reporters attention
was attracted to it yesterday and Of course
he proceeded to investigate and try to
find out the use of the two immense
tubes that looked as if they might be
battering rams for storming some big
fort.
1t is well known that wood placed in
ground, as railroad ties, piles, fence posts,
etc., in few years deteriorates and be-
comes rotten. Various devices have been
resorted to to arrest and prevent decay,
and for number of years creosote has
been used for that purpose with great
success, being forced into the pores of the
wood by hydraulic pressure. Coal tar is
much used for ordinary purposes, the
wood being simply dipped in it while
hot. With the creOsOte treatment the
wood is not only preserved from the ac-
ton of the mud, but it resists both salt
water and the attacks of the teredo.
creosote plant for treating piles in
this way has been located permanently
bV the Southern Pacific Company at Oak
land, and in use for some time past.
There are other uses for wood, however,
by the company, and the expense of ties
on thousands of miles of its roads is enor-
nous.
For this purpose pine and redwood are
principally used. The latter lasts we'll so
far as rot is concerned, but it is very soft,
aud the continual passage OF heavy trains
over it soon sinks the rails into the tie.
Two kinds of pine ties are used, known
as sap pine and heart pine ties, the latter
being made from the heart or center of
the tree and the former from the outside.
A sap pine tie has an average life Of
from one to three years, necessitating fire.
quent removal and replacing with new
ties. A heart tie has an average life of
from five to seven years. This being the
case, any device for increasing the length
Of the ties life becomes of great moment
10 the railroad companies, both on ac-
count of the cost OF new ties and the
labor and annoyance of replacing.
A few years ago an inventor named
Burnett discovered method somewhat
similar to the creOSOte treatment, but
using chloride of zinc instead. This
treatment is known as Burnettizing, and
is the one employed by the Southern Pa
cific Company in treating its ties. Pine
sap ties treated by it five years ago have
as yet shown no signs of decay. A per-
manent plant could easily be set up in
any place, but the company's lines eX-
tend into other States than this, and it
would hardly pay to have a half-doZen
plants. A portable BurnettiZing plant is
therefore being constructed, which will
probably in about two weeks depart from
here to work for time upon the Oregon
lines.
Five tracks, side by side, are required
to set up this plant, they being about
thirteen feet from center to center. Two
immense cylindrical retortS are used,
having semi-spherical heads, securely
bolted, to resist the enormous pressure.
They are each 1l3 feet long, with a
diameter of six feet and made of five
eighth-inch steel plates. These set side
by side on their trucks on two OF the
tracks and are connected together by
large pipes, with slip joints, to allow for
difference in the space between tracks,
which sometimes amounts TO several
inches. They are made in two sections,
each 564 feet long, in order that when
being transported they can be separated
so as to be carried more safely around
corners than if i'll one piece. The care
with which they are bolted together indi
Gates the immense strain to which they
are subjected. On the left of them are
two cars, each containing three large
storage tanks for the chloride of zinc
preparation. On the right is car con-
tanning an apparatus bricked in for super
heating steam, which is connected with
the retOrts on one side and on the other
with a car containing the locomotive
boilers for generating steam.
On the car containing the superheating
apparatus are also a vacuum pump, a
condenser and a pressure pump, which
connect with the retOrtS.
The timber having been seasoned, is
first steamed, opening the pores of the
wood. 1t is then put in a vacuum, which
extracts the water and sap from it.
Then the chloride of zinc preparation
is forced into it under an immense pres
sure, thoroughly permeating the ibers.
The invention is too recent for it to be
known how long the wood will last after
being put in the ground, but as the
cheapest ties and those most liable to de-
cav have lasted for five years and show
as vet no signs, it is evident that an i'm
mense saving will result from the use of
the process.
Real Estate Transfers.
The following real estate transactions