The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-06-04
STEEL WAGON ROADS.
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE WARM
" URGES THEIR ADOPTION.

of the Country-Other Departures I'm the
Methods of Disseminating Information
on the Subject of Road Improvement.
Secretary Wilson has given directions to
General Roy Stone, chief of the bureau of
good roads at the department of agricul-
ture, 20 construct a sample steel roadway
at the most convenient location he can find
ut the Nashville exposition, where il may
be seen and studied by the visitors who
will attend the exposition during the sum
mer. Secretary Wilson thinks the steel
| trackway for wagons Is the easiest solu-
tion of the good roads problem, particular
| ly i'm the west where stone and gravel are
scarce and the soil is deep and sticky.
"No road material promises so much
| hope to the western farmers and village
population as the fat bars of steel at the
present cost of manufacture, said the
secretary yesterday, land l propose to
have sample roads built not only at the
| Nashville exposition, but at different
points throughout the country, where they
will afford practical object lessons TO coun-
| ty commissioners and other officials hav
Ing the highways under their charge. The
steel manufacturers of the country are
taking. hold of the matter with much in
terest, and are making experiments on
! their own account, which have already
| brought out valuable suggestions as to the
details of construction. The Cambria Iron
company of Johnstown, Pa, has joined
| heartily in the work of the department,
and Is cooperating i'm the development of
! our plans The result has been that very
| promising designs and methods of con-
struotion have been evolved, sufficient at
| least for experimental construction, and
the Cambria company will soon be pre-
pared to furnish the trackway for expert
ments or for larger use.
"The advantage of the steel roads in the
reduction of the pull required to move
| load from an average Of 40 pounds per ton
on macadam road TO pounds on the steel
track Is sufficient TO overcome many objec-
tions," continued the secretary. "But, in
fact the objections to steel roads have
mainly disappeared under the present in
vestigations. The obstacle of original ex
pense is overcome by the reduced price of
material and the anticipated high cost of
maintenance avoided by doing away entire
" with wood in the construction.
"The danger of horses slipping on the
rail i'm going up or down hill Is met by in
dentng the rails used on grades sufficient
" to catch the calks of the shoes without
roughing the tread for wheels.
"The difficulty of low joints is met by
making the joint stronger than any other
part of the track, and the danger of form
ing rut alongside the rail is overcome by
making every rail joint serve as a re-
mount for wheels. The form of rail pro-
posed is an inverted trough with slight
" raised head on the inside. The rail is
imbedded i'm gravel laid in n trench which
is well drained. A little gravel is spread
between the rails for the horse path The
rails are tied together at the ends and in
the middle. The present design is for an
eight inch tread, seven -sixteenths of an
inch thick.
"In addition to the steel road another
recent departure is in the direction of
building object roads at agricultural col
leges and experiment stations, " continued
the secretary, sin accordance with the
provision made by congress for aiding
those institutions in disseminating in
formation on the subject of bodybuilding.
The limited funds at command have not
encouraged any practical work in this di
rection, but cooperation has now been
established by the director of roads under
which the manufacturers of road machin
cry furnish the necessary plant free of
charge, the county or city authorities pro-
vide the material and the labor of men
and teams and the government furnishes
an engineer to oversee the work and in
struct students and visitors, and pays for
one or two skilled operators for the ma
chimes.
"The work will begin at the New Jersey
Agricultural college at New Brunswick,
where fund of about 81, 600 will be pro.
,l.I L., 81, a,,tb n,.itf md 10
neva n. V, where contributions have
been made by the city, the experiment
station and private individuals, amount
ing to about s., 200.
SIN sections where stone is very scarce"
said Secretary Wilson, "as in central Ill
inois, experiments are being made for the
construction of brick roads. At Mon
mouth a road has been made of single
course of vitrified brick set on edge, laid
on sand, z feet wide between curbs Of oak
plank and borders of broken stone to o
distance of 2 feet on each side. This road
has not been i'm use long enough to be
fully tested, but has given a very favor
able impression at the outset. 1t has been
recommended that an experiment be made
with brick trackways for wheels and grav
ell between for the tread of horses, and 1t
is quite possible that steel trackways may
be profitably substituted for brick.
"a more thorough test of brick roads
has been made i'm Cuyahoga county, o.,
where they have proved so satisfactory
that they are being extended in several
directions. The plans for their extension
call for stone curbing on both sides of
an eight foot track of brick, the remainder
of the road, 90 feet wide, being graded but
not paved These roads, however, have
been expensive and have required much
heavy grading The cost of paving is
much higher than that of a steel trackway.
1.-The cost of macadam roads has been
reduced within a few years Under the
, most favorable conditions, where labor
can be obtained for 40 cents day, where
coal for steam power is low and where
| the rock is alongside the road, a first class
macadam road inches thick can be built
on grade previously constructed and
bridged for sloO per mile for each foot Of
width From this minimum price the
cost ranges all the way up to $4,000
mile for IS foot track. Gravel roads cost
less than macadam and vary from 81 900