The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-15

covered with grains as hard as ilint
They blow over the rails, and as the
cars move they grind out the steel us
though they were emery powder AS
n result a wheels life is short, and
we have to cut down its tire every
few months. Moreover. the sand gets
into the bearings. and there is a con-
tinuous wearing, which ncccssitatcs al
most constant repair"
How about your sandstorms? Arc
they serious obstacles to traffic."
AT times, yes. They come with such
violence that they cover the tracks;
they darken the. sun so that when you
arc in one you cannot see your hand
before your face. They often spring
up afar off. and you can watch them
coming. At such times tho aand gets
into everything and grinds it's way
through all parts OF the machinery.
Another thing we have to contend
with" continued the railway manager,
us the extraordinary dryness of the
air. This shrinks everything connected
with the road. Our rolling stock has
to be frightened up again and again.
One of orr passenger cars will shrink
as much as eighteen inches in one wall
alone. and we have to put in extra
boards to fill up. This Is so as to all
sorts of woodwork.
The Destructive Ant.
Another trouble is the white ant"
Captain Midwinter continued. THAT
little termite eats anything wooden. 1t
chews up the tnsides of our cars and
even attacks the furniture.
Where there is the least moisture
the ants will go for the railroad ties,
and they will also chew out tho insides
of the wood telegraph poles. They
always work in the. dark, leaving n
thin shell of wood outside. The result
rs that tie or pole may look sound.
but all at once it cruinbles to pieces.
| We have to inspect the road very care
fully at regular intervals and watch
| out for weak points. We are now
using steel shells as ties. They do not
! make so smooth a road as the wooden
ties, but the ants cannot cat them. We
are also using steal ,tegle graph poles
| American W.. british Ioc0motivc.
II understand that you have some
American locomotives. How do they
compare with those from Great Brit
am?"
Not WE'LL" replied the railroad direc-
ter. I'VE have somc of your engines
which we bought seven years ago. We
are still using them, but most of them
have been repaired and made over.
You people make locomotives, expect-
ing to run them to their full capacity
for four or five years and then throw
them on the scrap heap. This is NOT
advisable out here in the desert, where
freight costs SO much and the trouble
of getting our rolling stock is so great.
we want machinery that will stand
all sorts Of trials, including the CHI
rlate. We want it rustproof and rot
PROOF and heavily made all around.
we nave here not only the dry air
ana the sand to contend with. but in
the neighborhood of the Red Sea also
the SAT- air and the alkali water. The
.atter ruin our boilers. and more so
IN some respects. than the sand. Take
look at this English locomotive
which has just been sent in for rc-
pairs Its boiler is full of holes. That
comes from the alkall water"
Desert Water Stntions.
II suppose the lack of water is one
OF your chief difficulties, is it note"
es. This railroad Is something over
5oo miles long, and the track is
/ iaid through the sand. For about ona-
third of the distance inland from tho
Red Sea the country is mountainous
but tho rest is flat. There arc M
streams. and we havo to rely on ar
tesian wells for our water supply. We
\ have bored NUMBER but wc find that
the water In many places Is salt. We
struck one which had per cent, OF
4 salt In It, and another In which tho
water was l per cent. salt. OF course.
such water is useless for our locomo-
tives.
1 1--WE arc having trouble also in get.
ting a good water supply at Port S,l-
i dan. We sank one we'll to a depth or
500 feet and struck a good flow of
4 fresh water. We had hardly completed
4 It. however. before the salt water from
n the Red Sea began to seep In, and we
are now drilling again. There are some
/ stretches along the route where there
Is no water whatever. In such places
we have to carry our supply with us.
! For this we have tanks of galvanized
|tiron. each of which Will hold about
4 1900 gallons"
i Travel on the Red Sen Railroad.
with all this Captain Midwinter,
4 can you make your road pay?"
II think so. 1t Is the short cut to
4 the Sudan and Central Africa, and
hit will have the most OF tho carrying
4 trade OF that region. Tho country is
vast, and it is lust now on the edge
j of its development. Goods will be
brought over the Red Sea road to
IIhartum and thence sent up the
White and Blue Niles. We shah have
| new roads going out from Khartum
connecting tho Nile with all parts IF
| tho country, and both the rivers ana
| the road will be feeders for this line
Of, ours"
The slrdnr ON Isailroai building.
FSpsaliing OF tho railroads OF the SUI
ldan, during a conversation with Sir
Reginald Wlngate.the Governor Cen
eral at Khartum. asked him several
1 uuestIons ms To thoir pDSSible future,
| He said:
,1'he development ofithe country. dc-
Ponds largely upon railroad building.
The road from the Nilosto the Ted Sea
is already increasing our trade, and It
Twill do moro as soon AZ we can brin s
1.-THE cars right into Khartum5 and Om-
durham, We are. building bridge
across the Blue Nile, whicflswlll carry
theSroad into Khartum, and In the near
future, n hope. we shall have NJ. bridge
across tho White n llei bicli vii he
1t down 70 opldnrnan, The road will
probably be 500 IA S enaetl 4 into !SS She
lliexircll The lain " hlc 4: \ les etWeesi