The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1907-05-21
STREET RAIL QUESTION
Some of the Facts Concerning the
Recent Agitation About Their
Quality and the Remedy.

Bradstreet's: Not little public in
terest has been aroused by the dis
cuss1on which is now going on re-
garding the responsibility for railroad
accidents due to defects in rails. It'll
has been widely claimed that an in
creased proportion of the recent acci-
dents on the railways of the country
serious or otherwise, have been due
to the breaking OF rails. and the num-
ber of instances in which defective
rails, discovered after they had been
placed on the tracks, and therefore
capable OF producing disasters, have
come to light, has been very large.
This question has been brought before
the country in a concrete shape by
the announcement made after meet
ing of the Union Pacific board of di-
rectors, less than a fortnight ago, in
which the president of that corpora
ton, Mr.. Hartman, called the atten-
ton of his associates to the unusually
numerous instances of this kind. Fur
thermore, it has been made known
that the larger railway companies and
the principal manufacturers of steel
rails have recently appointed COM
rnittee Of experts to make a thorough
examination of the whole matter and
to report thereon, with view to
bringing about better state Of affairs.
In the public discussion of a matter
Of this kind which requires both
technical and scientific knowledge,
there is naturally room for not a little
misconception and error. The ideas
advanced in some quarters that the
railroads are wilfully laying down in
ferior rails, to the danger of the trav-
cling public, may be dismissed wish
out any consideration. Nor does it
seem fair to assume that the COM
panies which manufacture rails are
turning out a poor quality in order
to enhance the already considerable
profit which they make from the stand
ard price of $2S per ton. 1t would
seem, in fact, that the blame can be
rather evenly distributed. The rail-
roads are not only doing much larger
traffic, but the tendency on their part
is to increase the weight of engines.
and rolling stock, while they are also
loading their cars to the fullest ca
pacity This increases the weight
which the roadbed and tracks have to
endure, and enormously multiplies the
wear and tear to which the rails are
subjected. The larger amount of
roadbed which is now ballasted with
stone, and thereby is rendered much
more rigid, is also an element in the
case. On the other hand, competent
authorities have been cited to the
effect that with the general tendency
to use rails weighing 100 pounds to
the yard, instead of the lighter weights
which were formerly employed, new
dangers arise in connection with the
process of manufacture. A 100-pound
/ rail naturally requires a longer time
! to cool than the lighter weights. In
that case the element of haste in man
ufacturing becomes possible source
| of weakness. insufficient welding
while rails are being rolled would, of
course, tend to make them brittle
| Furthermore, it is claimed that rails
of heavier weight do not, on the
whole, wore as well as the light ones,
although, of course, the increased
weight of freight trains renders it
/ IlIC(SoocLy W O1lplOJ bAiS ACAAAOAs AAN
subject, in fact, is a very complex
one, and 1t might be well to suspend
Judgment until the expert commission,
which has been instituted by the rail-
roads and the concerns which supply
the steel rails of the country, has COM
Ipleted its investigation and made it's
lreport It should also be noted that
the situation has received the atten-
Ition OF the leading railroad manage
ments, with view to immediate rem
Iedy The Pennsylvania Railroad Co.,
for instance, in placing it's orders,
which was done within few days
!past, has made more stringent specifi-
ications and provisions for inspections
land tests than have ever heretofore
been devised Moreover, the tendency
among steel rail manufacturers them
selves is to turn to the open-hearth
in place of the Bessemer process, rails
made by the former having, according
ito some authorities, superior qualities
and noteworthy absence of the fra
gility which is inherent in Bessemer
rails by reason of their granular con-
sistency.