The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-05-21
BIG MENACE TO LIFE
Pittsburg Expert Declares Every
Steel Rail Is Defective.
HOW USE DEVELOPS BREAKS.

HOW USE DEVELOPS BREAKS.
Each Rail When Finished Contains a
Fracture, Asserts A. w. Heinie--F auIt
Said TO De In Method of Manufacture
and Not In Meta!-Ncw Shape Urged.
Every steel rail- before 1t leaves the
rolls at the rolling mill Is more or less
fractured" was the sensational state
ment made by an expert roll turner In
pittsburg recently, says special dis
patch to the New York Herald. The
fracture is not visible and docs not de-
velop until train load Of cars ls
rushed over tho track. This causes
the track to roll in waves, and the
fracture In tho steel develops into a
break, which Is discovered by a track
walker or q train Is wrecked"
o. w. Heinlc, whose home ls In Grnf-
ton. suburb OF Pittsburg, Ii IN ex-
pert and consulting roll turner and has
made steel rails life study. His fn-
ther u also roll designer. The elder
Mr.. Heinle laughs at his sons efforts
to show up the weakness In rail con-
struction, although his views coincide
with those Of his son The younger
Heinle ID q persistent advocate Of
change In the present T rail, which Is
declared menace to life and property.
Should Mr.. Heinle's contention be
proved eorrect that 1t Is the shape Of
tho rail which leads to so many breaks
and accidents It would cost many mill
Hons Of dollars to replace the present
standard sections with q new style rail.
The distance between New York and
Chicago on tho Pennsyivalia railroad
n given a. Oil miles. There are two
rails to each stretch Of track, making
four times OH, or 8,044 miles Of steel
rails. This does not tnke into consid-
eration the side tracks or the sections
which have four tracks, the yards or
branch lines-merely the main line on
which passenger trains are operated.
The present standard rail- laid on
trunk lines Is ninety pounds per yard.
Thus there are approximately d,413, 440
yards OF rails on the main line OF tho
Pennsylvania railroad between New
York and Chicago. Should new style
rail- be adopted Of the same height. 1t
would require rail Of 100 pounds, or
041, 1,844,O 900 pounds Of steel, or 32O,672
tons Of rails. II the present track OF
tho Pennsylvania system between New
York and Chicago was to Be taken up
and hundred pound rail substituted.
the ninety pound sections would be
sold AZ scrap or converted into rails
for sidings, switches, ETC.. thus repre-
senting cash conversion. The laying
OF new sections could not be done for
less than $15 per ton, cash, or $4.710,-
O0O.
When It Is taken into consideration
that there are about ESQ., 600 miles Of 80
called travel track on the railroads Of
the United States, which correspond to
main lines, and all these steel rails are
to be replaced, the total cost Is about
400O, 100000. The 2oO.00O miles OF
track must be multiplied by two. as
each piece OF track has two rails.
While these figures are not absolute
" correct, they carry out the idea why
the railroads Of the United States are
opposed to adopting q new style OF
rail, as such change would bankrupt
the entire railroad system of the coun-
try; Tor 1t Is well known that should
q piece Of track be put down which
proves unbreakable every railroad In
the country would have to adopt such
q rail or DO ruined through damages
incurred from accidents and be con-
demned by the travelling public as well
FOR sticking to q rail which proves un-
sound and breakable through tho nat
urul wear and tear of railroad travel.
when the pig iron Is converted into
steel through the open hearth furnace
or the Bessemer converter" said Mr..
Heinle, 'the molten metal. which has
been changed from iron to steel by
chemical action and the elimination of
certain chemical elements and the ad-
dition Of others, Is poured into q largo
cast iron mold and formed into an In
got AS the metal cools It shrinks in
the mold at the top and center. gradu-
ally settling In the center In an In
verted cone shape. This is termed the
piping In the mold. Toward this pipe
all the impurities In the steel ingot
flow. The pipe may be from six inches
to eighteen inches deep, according to
tho size Of the ingot mold. The larger
the mold the greater the size Of the
pipe.
Instead OF cutting this pipe of pre-
paratory to reheating the ingot and
rolling It down into bloom It Is per-
mftted to remain In the steel. In the
rolling process the pipe containing the
chemical impurities Is gradually spread
out through the rail. Cutting OF this
piece Of pipe and eliminating these i'm
purities Is absolutely prohibitive In
practice owing to the cost involved
After the ingot Ia rolled down into a
bloom which will make the proper
sized rail the bloom Is rolled into
rail.
ssVVhon rails were rolled In thirty foot