The herald., 1897-11-21

to the depth of the fange. or until the
soil supported the rail. The downward
flanges prevent the soil from being
pressed away from the rail and hold 1t
there, making firm foundation, so that
no ties are necessary on which to rest
the rails These rails are made contin-
uous by the fastening of the ends to-
gether with fishplates.
when I mentioned my idea of this
roadway it was suggested that the rails
would sink under the heavy loads In wet
weather and soon become covered iwth
mud. Others suggested that they would
tip to one side, becoming useless. and al
so that unless they were laid on ties they
would spread and get out of line. This
| track was laid to satisfy myself on these
and other points. During the recey wet
period mudholes were made at the ends
of the track by the wheels dropping al
ways in the same place. This very Sc
we're test, however, did not affect the
rails except at the end. On continuous
line of track severe and uncommon u.s.
age would not in any way have injured
or changed the rails, hence 1 should not
expect this roadway would need and re-
pairs after a wet period. The earth be-
tween the rails is removed to depth
of inches and the excavation filled in
with gravel for the horses tread. This
road has now been in use for eighteen
months and has been tested with all
kinds of traffic, including traction en-
gines. have never seen horse slip on
the rails, but they might occasionally
do so. a horse is most likely to slip
when pulling hard, which they will not
be obliged to do on this roadway, and
there is little occasion for horse to
tread on the rails, as there is room
enough between them.
"a mile of road requires about 60 tons
of steel, which can be produced in guam
titles for $500 or less. One cubic yard
of gravel is required to the rod.
"For this roadway l make the follow
ing claims:
"First-It saves power. A vehicle may
run on it with the least possible draft.
1t is estimated by engineers that the re-
quired draft is one-fifth of that on grav-
Iel and one e-twentieth of that on the av-
terage dirt road.
"Second-It saves wear and tear to
wagons. A vehicle is always on a level,
smooth surface. and is not subjected to
Is much lower than the other, causing
two wheels to carry most of the load, or
when a wheel drops into Il rut. A town
will save enough in vehicles alone to pay
large portion of the cost of the road.
"Third-It saves time. With load of
two or three tons a team will trot as
easily on level ground as it will walk
on a gravel or dirt road.
"Fourth.-It is a perfect bicycle path
and will be greatly appreciated by
wheelmen.
"Fifth-1t is extremely durable and
the repairs will be nominal.
"Sixth-The dust, which is so annoy
| ing on a gravel or dirt road is caused
largely by the grinding of the wheels
| On this road there can be no such grind
| ing.
"Seventh-It is motorcycle road and
speed Of twenty miles per hour can be
obtained with safety.
'In conclusion, the universal use of
| this road will increase the value of the
| farm; 1t will beautify the streets be-
cause when we cease to rut the road
grass will take the place of weeds. 1t
| will make possible the free delivery OF
mail in rural districts by bicycle or
! other swift vehicle. Travelling will be as
safe at night as in the day because the
team will keep the road.
! ABEL BLISS"
! Another interesting series Of expert
ments by prominent engineer and con-
tractor of Pittsburg, named F. Melber,
has attracted the attention of the de-
partment of agriculture, who have de-
cided to begin experiments on their own
account in order to test the value of the
plan. Mr.. Melbers statement Is as fol-
| lows:
my road is now in position since
about a month, and among other inter-
esting things have watched the tenn
perature of the steel when exposed to
the hot afternoon sun. Every steel
worker knows that steel bars lying in
the yards OF bridge works, for in
! stance, will get so warm in few min