The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-10-18
RAILROAD NEWS.
Santa Fe Adopts the Screw
Spikes for Ties.
A Step Towards Economy and
Safety in Tracks.
KENDRICK INVENTOR.
New improvement Worked Out
Under His Direction.
Other Items of Interest in
Railway Circles.

J. w. Kendrick, vice president il
charge of operation of the Atchison
Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, has come
forward as an inventor. and has per
fected an Improvement in railway con-
struction which it is expected will ado
greatly to the safety Of travel and make
a considerable decrease in the cost Of
maintenance of way. Mr.. Kendrlck
has spent a long period working out his
ideas and has so far developed them
that they have been applied success
fully as an experiment on stretch OF
eight miles on the Santa Fe's line, and
will be adopted in the future on all new
line or rebuilding which the Santa Fe
will undertake
The improvement which Mr. Ken
d. - worked out is an adaptation
of the, German practice of using screw
spikes in place of the nail spike which
has heretofore been used in the con-
struction of American railways. Mr..
Kendrick, however, has carried out the
plan to a greater degree and adapted l.
more closely to the needs of American
roads.
The device is regarded as especially
opportune now, as the practice OF re
sorting to the re of soft woods for
railroad ties is growing. and the cost of
oak and other hard woods heretofore
commonly in use is rising to a pr1-
hibitive level One of the difficulties IL
the use of soft wood, however, has been
in the fact that the nail spike easily
worked loose, offsetting to a certain ex-
tent the advantage of durability in the
creosoted soft wood tie.
This objection has been overcome by
two operations on the soft wood tie by
machines which are Me. Hendricks
design. The first operation is carried
on at a central plant, and consists OF
two parts. First, a hole is bored at
each end of the tie, in a position which
h. h0
hole being about four inches in dame
ter, and by the same operation the hole
is threaded to allow the insertion of
a hardwood threaded plug. Into this
hole is bored about one inch in diane
ter. The spike to hold the rail in place |
is screwed into this center hole.
The advantage claimed for the pres |
ence of the hardwood plug is that it |
retards the cutting down Of the soft tie |
by the rail, and when the hard wood |
has been cut down it can be replaced |
by new plug. The hard wood also
prevents the spreading of the soft |
wood, which would allow water to en- !
ter and rust the spike. Water proofing |
creosoting of both plug and tie.
1t is claimed for the screw spike"
method of construction that the con- /
slant Tightening of loosened spikes
away with. and there is no danger of
the crawling of rails especially at |
curves, where the impact of the whee's
Is most felt. The greater initial cost of
the various operations is partly offset
by the greater cheapness Of the soft /
wood tie, and the possibility of replac-
ing the plug is said to make the new
much the more economical
The Santa Fe is contemplating the lay /
Eginf about 100 miles of ninety-pound
rail, all with the screw spike, and all
new rails on the road will be so fast
sned. Gasoline engines are used in Mr.
device to fasten the spikes
INTO the wood. Il