New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-08-05
SIEGE RAILWAYS.
ELABORATE PREPARATIONS FOR RE
DUCING THE FORTIFICA-IONS OF A

From The Pail Mall Gazette.
Our Regulations for Military Ranways-
state that in the stores for a unit Of a siege
train, consisting of thirty guns (such as vas
dispatched to South Africa in November LASH
the following plant for about five and a half
miles Of single track IS-incb gauge rai1v@at- js
also overwhelmingly, > small tank locomotives
- trolleys, each mounted upon two four
wheeled Poges including one trolley specially
adapted Tor moving heavy guns; 2U..:ss rails
each Is feet long and weighing, u rounds 70 f5e
yard; 80 switches, u crossovers n OnO Ifqbt
StgfI sleepers d"OO pairs Of fishplates together
Win Win q IdrSe STOCK OF platelayers tools one or
TWO portable turntables and other minor ac-
cesSOTies.
However when the siege train left those
shores last November the foregoing rIa1t ~
constitute what IS termed a siege rail .-a,- ala
pUD aGc9ie2any the heavy 5-inch and finch
suns anu O-lhcn hGwitZers. And from this 0r04s-
sion IL is To be assumed that the siege railway
1GPPoSeu 10 D- ready in store either existed only
UL"u paper or, Tor some reason or other gets
80 p.e iieDle- IN the then probable contingency
OF Pretoria and Johannesburg HAVING ~ IL b..
StesSu, steps were Immediately taken 10 rau3ir
81 - ty ana a contract for the plant such
as mas Just been described. was PLACED -,f+L =
private engineering firm located at Stoga-I~l--
trent rms firm was allowed ONLY fftaar -
IN which to execute the order but r'e[-e--L1s-s
they managed to accomplish ii I'm ten
AS We are all aware, affairs have f1,-,5 900.
so fortunately that no portion Of rba sfag- -
mas mad to be requisitioned in ree,,act 1f = s-,I
IaI slt down siege. though the bea.,- 80.
sPlt up INTO small batteries OF Two or 7t ,
pieces, have proved of the ereatse+ ,+tt D-.i Re
ousung the enemy from some of his styora -
| natural positions. ~ 9''O1s
AT the present jurcture however fbera sea-,
every probability that aIthou-h m Pfti ills
aiiIiy mas hOt been called upon TO undertake a
siege IN south Africa, il may soon ha-a - - q
somewhere in China 1t is eztrernaI[, f - 10 50
therefore, that at last possese -[I,
tequipped siege train and that the SAM sboUi5
De now so advantageOusly posted if If s -aT,i-ei
10 dispatch it in haste to the Far F,as+ "a -
po i snousn, We are only cOncerne1 with the
railroad portion Of the material 7
A siege railway becomes divided into two e,--
terms railway and a tramway The raflv-sv
commences at the general artillery and g-na~sI
engineer parks. These main parks-i+ il 60
venlent to have but one of each-sbOI1Id he ON.
OF slght and range of the fortress basiaaa5 -
be located as near as circumstances y-iI7 - 80
TO the railhead of the ordinary railway Con-
nlcatlOn From the outlying works # m d.
renee nine thousand or ten thousand wards
ought 10 De the minimum distance for a NJ
From these two parks the siege railway Sr1r,-ie-
IN uue course the intermediate depots OF each
arm MOST PROBABLY there would be more than
one main line of approach and on each a d4not
( connected with the general parks and rh- sf-ga
works by a line of the railway Tbs DIS
might be about three thousand wards from The
fortress, out of sight, and each should contain
supplies for one siege day-that is. tventy-f5ur
hours. Ihey are the RUgbys or Grantbans OF
me miniature system, in that all trains stop
there 10 unload and load again; for from rbar7
are supplied the trench depOts which are not
nXed perInantly IN position. but advance with
I the progress of the attack At the trench f-D0ts
, the railway stops, or rather proceeds as tram
way. So far locomotive engines have been
neer parks, but now that the track is about IN
enter the zone of fire from the fortress the en-
Slnes uncOuple and the trOlleys are handed over
to men or horses The track continues laid in
the parallels and approaches. and is applicable
FOR the service of ammunition TO the siege bat
terry magazines. for the transport of engineer
ing material and for the removal of sick and
wounded to- the rear Big guns can also be
easily moved from position to another
along this tramway by aid of the special trolley.
When horses are employed To haul the rolling
stock they are in lassO draft, the tugs being
attached to the side of the platforms So that
an animal would not have TO walk over the
sleepers, disturbing the adjustment OF this very
light line.
The siege railway be laid throughout its
length with great speed and almost without
noise. In the trenches, at least, ii is not even
necessary 10 ballast the track, provided the soil
is of average hardness; il will be sufficient 70
cut good drainage trench along the reverse
of the parallel In the trenches well-trained
men, of whom we have lack thanks 10 the
splendid aid forthcoming from the Crewe rail-
way reservists. can lay from one hundred 20
one hundred and fifty yards of track per hour.
The gauge Of eighteen inches may seem alb
surdly narrow, but it is selected for the reason
that it allows of very sharp curves small
as twenty-fOOt radius being practicable