Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-26
ENORMOUS MASS OF
TIES STORED IN
Los ANGELES
Millions of Pine Ties Being
Stocked Up by Southern
Pacific for Future Use,

More railroad ties are stored i'm Lu,
Angeles today than have ever been
kept in this city since the beginning OF
its development as a railroad center.
says the Los Angeles Times. over on
the East Side there is a whole city Of
ties, stacked in piles varying from one
to two stories in height, laid out in
blocks, with railroad tracks down the
main streets.
The Southern Pacific has bought
and is still buying millions of pine
ties, which it is storing in every avail
able part Of its great yards east OF
the river. These pine ties viii even
tually be used to replace all of the
redwood ties IN the Hartman lines
throughout the southwest.
Redwood ties are a thing of The
past, and pine ties have been crowned
king of the right of way. until some
thing better shall be found; that may
be eucalyptus.
The increased cost of redwood Ow-
ing to the depletion of the northern
forests has put The price OF ms TIM
Der up to a notch hat has made ties
too great a luxury to be laid by the
mile. The only other wood that the
railroads could turn to for material
was pine. and 50 they commenced
more than a year ago to order pine
ties.
Redwood ties were warranted never
to wear out, but time told a different
story, and those along the entire right
of way of the southern Pacific, laid
over fifteen years ago, will have to be
replaced owing to dry rot.
The officials of the road saw the
need for this change and began TO lay
in a supply in advance. Now they
have several million ties on hand and
TnnTn lannntnn n~ffh .aKFary chin. fIaf Br-
rlves from the north. At first they
bought them a shipload AT a time, bu,
now that they are way ahead OF
their present need they order only
enough so that each vessel can use
them as filler to store between the
rest of the cargo. This amounts to
nearly a trainload every week.
Dipped To Preserve.
When the railroad men found that
they would be forced to use pine FOR
ties they commenced to experiment
with the wood to see how IL would
Withstand the weather. They found
that the pine tie in its natural state
was a delusion and a snare, for today
IL might be hard as iron and tomorrow
might find II split to pieces or in q
state of collapse from dry rot.
The company chemist was turned
loose on the problem and told 10 fig
ure out some way to preserve the
wood and at the same time Keep the
cost of the preserved pine below the
market price OF redwood ties.
He tried soaking them in crude oil,
n dipping them in tar, but found
that the first made them too innam-
mable, and that both were too eNpen-
siye.
\ long line Of experiments resulted
in the discovery that the best thing To
do with the ties is To soak them I'm a
H- M
Ventivc against inrOads by insects and
the dry rot. 1t also tends 10 keep
the wood from splitting.
Glad 10 See En- 60.
All of the old railroad men viewed
the passing of the redwood tie with
joy. They are usually delivered
direct from the forests OF northern
California to the road and had to be
handlcd while they We're green, or
watersoaked from the voyage down
the coast, and were SO heavy that u
took four mcn TO a tie To them.
Many a mans feet were crushed boy
carelcssly dropping an end too soon
or too late,
The pine tie cannot be dipped in the
kid of zinc solution to any advau-
tage until they are dry. II is for tht.
reason that The ties are stored in tn,
yards. The trees from which thc5
are made are cut around Puget Sound
and along the Columbia river. and thu
ties are put OF the ships and sent
south while still green. II takes sew
eral months for them to dry out en-
tirely. and the dryer they are hcioit
they are dipped the longer they last
In the Pine City.
They are brought from San Pedro
by the trainload and dumped in the
yards. where they are stacked %
piles In such a way as 90 leave air
spaces. These piles are laid in regu-
lar order, So many to the block. witt
alleyWays between. Water barrels ar,
set in every alley as "a protection
against fire, and every section is de
vided by an extra wide alley in which
there IS a track 10 facilitate the ham
ding Of the ties. and so that railroad
pumps could be hurried 60 any Sec
ton of the yard should there be an
outbreak of flame.
There are four separate sections oi
the yard in which ties are stored am.
the total area Is moro than thtrtA
acres. ~
a.. all the ties that are In these sec.
tions were stacked INTO one large hear
il would make a pile as large as th'
Huntington building.
Near the center of the yard. in th
most convenient place, = the dipping
tank. As fast as the ties are givel
"a baui in the zinc oxide, they arr
loaded on Oars and sent out along th'
road TO replace their redwood prcde
cessors. which are stacked along th'
right Of way and eventually bccom.