The Greeley tribune., 1909-06-16
MANY MILLIONS
CROSS TIES BOUGHT

IkUSS llES DUUuul ]
Ar AVERAGE COST OF 80 CENTS
oak Timber Constitutes Forty.thrcc
Per Cent Of Purchases
washington. June 9.-During the
year 1908, the steam and electric
railroads OF the United States pur-
chased more than 112.O0O.0O0 cross
ties, costing. at the point OF purchase.
over $56,OOO. 900. an average Of dfty
cents per tie. according to statistics
lust made public by the Bureau Of
the Census in cooperation with tho
! United States forest service. This
was some 4O.0OO.OO0 ties lees than
the quantity purchased In 1907, when
the total was approximately l53,-
| zoo. 900, the highest ever recorded.
The decreased purchases In 1908
were of course. chiefly due to the
business depression which affected
every line of industry. This forced
most of the roads to purchase only
| the ties which were absolutely essen-
! tial for renewals. and heavily cut
down the purchase for new track.
In 1908 only 7.431, 900 cross-ties
were reported az purchased for new
track against 23.557,00O In 1907.
OF the total number of ties purchased
for all purposes. the steam roads took
approximately ninety-four per cent
leaving about six per cent for the
electric roads.
1t is very interesting to note the
wide range of woods used for cross
ties The preliminary report by the
census bureau lists separately fifteen
classes or species. OF these the oaks
are now and have always been by
far the most important. The oak
ties amounted to more than 4S.OO0.-
600. or forty-three per cent Of the
total quantity purchased. Next to
these ranked the southern yellow
pines, with 21.5OO.OO0. or nineteen
per cent OF the total. 1t will be seen
that the oaks and southern pines
combined furnished nearly three
fourths Of all the ties bought by the
railroad companies last year. Cedar
and chestnut supplied more than g.
100000 ties each. and Douglas lr
nearly as much About 100000
tamarack ties were purchased. nearly
100000 cypress ties. and, in round
numbers. 100000 each Of western
pine and hemlock. Redwood. white
pine, lodgepole pine, gum, beech,
spruce. and several other woods we're
used In smaller quantities.
While the oaks, and particularly
the white oaks. have always been the
preferred woods for cross-ties and
still form a large proportion of the
total. the increasing prices which the
roads have had to pay for satisfactory
oak ties are forcing them to look
more and more for substitutes. This
accounts in part for the great var
iety of woods reported. White oak.
untreated. makes q tie which Gives
excellent service for many years. but
it has been found possible to take
woods which naturally are not dur
able. give them a treatment with
either creosote or zinc chloride, which
will prevent decay. and thus get
much longer service from them than
can be secured from untreated oak
ties. Among the woods which have
been most largely treated so far are
the yellow pines, particularly lob
lolly pine. Douglas fir. western pine,
and lodgepole pine.
This years statistics adds to the
list two kinds of cross-ties which
previously had not been reported In
sufacient quantity to justify listing
them separately. These are gum and
beech. The purchases of gum ties
In 1908 exceeded 100000. while but
slightly more than $1,000 of them
were reported in the previous year.
or beech ties, the purchases in 1908
amounted to nearly $4,000, against
but little more than $1,000 in 1907. |
These are woods which are distinctly
not suitable for cross-ties unless they
are given preservative treatment.
Iheir Increased use, therefore. Is one
OF the many results of the progress
or wood preservation in the United
States. For many years beech has
been one of the principal cross-tie
woods in Europe. where its value
when given chemical treatment was
long ago recognized. 1t is not un-
common for European roads to Sc
cure from twenty to thirty years serv-
ice from beech cross-ties. Untreated
they would not last long enough to
warrant their use at all.