Warren sheaf., 1903-05-07
<e1ne GraveLl n.

being that there are slight ridges along
the outside edges of the wearing sur
face, which tend to keep the wagon
wheels in the track. The rails came
in 40-foot lengths and were riveted to-
=gether by means of three splice plates,
~one on the under side of the main web
~of the channel, having three rivets for
each rail, countersunk on the top sur
face. The other two plates connect
the flanges, each with two rivets to
"a fange. The rails are spaced SO feet
apart, center to center, and every 1917
feet longitudinally they are tied to-
=gether with A-inch rods, boltcd
through the outside fanges:' The
foundation for the rails is 12 inches
of broken stone resting on the old paw
ing blocks replaced by the rails. The
under surfaces of the rails were coated
with tar and the rails then bedded on
a thin layer of fine gravel
In addition to this roadway in Muir
ray street, which will be subjected to
the heaviest kind of traffic, it is pro-
posed to lay another stretch of the
steel road on Seventh avenue, in the
neighborhood Of One-hundred-and-
twentieth street. There the pavementis
an old macadam, and there will neces-
sarily be notifications of the founda-
ton and the methods of construction
to suit the locality. A trial will also
be made on some dirt road, for the
advantages of the steel rail are con-
sldered to be as great for a country
road AS for city streets.
At the present price of steel it is
stated that the rails can be furnished
for $4,000 per mile. The cost of con-
struction would, Of course, vary with
local conditions, and as the work so
FAR done is experimental and work
men had to be taught how best to per-
form the various operations of LAYING
the track, no reliable estimate has
been made as to the total cost of Law
dng this roadway.
A thorough series of traction tests
are to be carried on in connection with
the roadway in Murray street. and the
other places where the rails are laid.
"A dynamometer will be used and the
dractive force necessary to draw
truck over the granite paving will be
compared with that necessary to draw
it along the steel roa lwa;. In addition
to this test, records have been made
showing the amaunt and weight Of
traffic on the street previous to the
1mprovement, and further obserya-
lions will be taken from time to time
to see whether there is any increase
in the traffic passing up this street.
Gen. Stone has made very exhaus-
tive study Of steel highways, and has
had several patents issued to him in
regard to constructive details. These
he states are to be entirely free to the
city of New York to make use Of.
should the experiments prove as sue
scessful as is hoped. In rolling rails for
further experiments it is proposed to
make use OF a special roll having slight
projections on it's surface, perhaps all
inch square. The last time the rail
goes through the rolls this will be put
on and will leave corresponding de-
pressions in the finished rail. The OBJ
-ject of this it to reduce to minimum
the danger from horses slipping, and
rs an important consideration. How.
.ever, it is claimed that the use Of steel
rails will so reduce the amount Of
tractive force required that under
ordinary conditions there will not be
much danger from that source. An
sother proposed modifca tion is to have
the bead along the outer edges of the
tread futed so as to prevent wheels
from skidding as they leave the track.
In some cases it might also be advan-
tageous to have the fanges Of the rail
faring outward from the web on both
sides, thus preventing wider base.
There have been a few experime ents-
on a small scale in this country with
steel trackways, conducted by the /