The San Francisco call., 1896-03-31
IMPROVING ITS ROADBEDS
Novel Device Adopted by the
Southern Pacific to Pre-
serve Its Ties.
Conf ort, Safety and Economy Effected
The Usefulness of Redwood
Enhanced.

AS a result of the policy being pursued
bv the Southern Pacific redwood ties are
likely to be more in demand than ever,
and their use may be extended to lines
now using harder and more costly ma
terial on which to lay their rails.
Redwood has peculiar lasting qualities;
in fact no wood of it's weight and density
has ever been discovered to equal it IN this
respect. The objection, however, to its
more extended use for railroad ties has
been that its softness permitted the rail to
sink into the tie, and thus not only DAM
age the tie, but make the roadbed some
what rough and uneven. By an innova.
ton this drawback is virtually eliminated
About two years ago, while he was sta
toned at the Atlantic end of the road,
General Manager Kruttschnitt began the
use of what are known as tie plates. These
are plates of steel little wider than the
base of the rail and the length of the width
of tie. It has three ribs on the under
side and these ribs hold the plate in place
on the tie after it has been driven into the
tie with maui. AT diagonally opposite
corners of the plate are the holes through
which are driven the spikes by which the
rails are held down. On each tie are two
plates, one for each rail, and about 800
plates are required for each mile of track.
These plates effectually prevent the rail
from sinking into and wearing away the
tie, and thus not only save the tie. but
preserve the smOothness OF the road bed.
They also add materially to the safety of
the road, for a rail before it can be forced
from alignment must move both spikes
which hold it down to the tie through the
tie plate, whereas under the old method
the loosening of one spike was enough to
permit rail to spread.
On the eastern portion of the Southern
Pacific Railroad pine and cypress ties are
used but these must first be prepared so
as to make them lasting, but redwood re-
quires no treatment from preservatives,
and with the introduction of tie plates will
become more popular than ever In railroad
construction.
The Southern Pacific Company is the
first to apply This innovation to any great
Atlantic end OF the Southern Pacific and
about 100000 on this end. The plates
cost about 10 cents each, and the imp prove
ment thus far effected by means of their
use has cost $780, 900. The plan of utiliz-
ing them will be pursued until gradually
the whole system will be thus re-enforced
and improved.
Southern Pacific Railroad is being fol-
lowed. in the shape of ballasting with
gravel wherever the traffic is heavy and the
roadbed naturally dusty. Ballasting with
gravel it is claimed by General Manager
KruttschnItt, not only makes the road
safer, but cleaner and smoother. Among
the portions now being thus treated are
the stretches between Mojave and Palm
dale. Bakersfield and Pampa, and ten
miles in the San Gorgonio pass on the
Southern Pacific, and on the Coast divi-
sion between Pajaro and San Bruno.
Six new postal-cars have been added to
the equipment of the Central Pacific Rail
road, at cost of about $4500 each. They
are vestibuled, gas lighted and steam
heated, and will run between Oakland and
Ogden.
General Manager Kruttschnitt, who re-
turned from his three weeks tour of in
spection of the Southern Pacific Railroad
yesterday, and who accompanied Cornelius
Vanderbilt and Chauncey Depew of the
New York Central Railroad, from New Or
leans to the Coast, left the New York rail-
road men at Santa Barbara on Sunday. 1t
is expected that the distinguished sojourn-
ers will arrive in this City tomorrow or
THURSDAY.