The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-03-15
PROPER TIMER SCARCE
Railroads seour Country for Adequate
Tie Supply

Railroads Scour Country for Adequate
Tie Supply
Washington, March s.-That the
humble railroad tie is a mosI impOr-
tant factor in the material develop
menl of the country is Il great truth
that is little understood by people out
side of railroad circles. The pulling
engine that speeds al the rate % a
mile or more minuse over the conn
nv is a slave TO ID two steel rails
that insure a smooth and safe road,
and these rails in turn depend on the
old fashioned wooden cross-tie which
holds them in place.
Yankee invention has not yet found
a substitute which has induced the
railroads to give up wood, although
experts say that the day will surely
come when the countrys forests viii
no longer be called upon to supply the
demand for ties. Up TO the present
time II seems that no other material
has been found which has the ,esilien,
cy of wood and which at The same
time causes less wear and tear on the
rails, fastenings, and roadfed.
The countrys railroads during the
last two or three years use ll0,J00,000
to 100000 of sawed and newn ties
year. The ideal tie timber Is white
oak, which combines the qualities of
durability, hardness, strength and
close grain. 1t is not only excellent
for ties, but is widely used in shil
building, for general construction, in
! coopering, in the manufacture of car
riages, for agricultural implements, N
terror finish of houses, and Tor furni-
/ ture. On account OF this wide use,
the supply has been greatly reduced
and some of the railroads have been
forced to pay almost prOhibitive pri
ces for ties, or to substitute other
and cheaper woods to replace the
white oak ties rapidly disappearing
from their lines.
Over 40 per cent of the ties recent
lily purchased by the railroads are OF
oak, according to latest statistics OF
United States Forest Service. Cross
ties OF Southern pine formed some
what less than 25 per cent Douglas
fir ties ranked third, with appr0xin fte
lly 10 per cent of the total. Naturally
the proportion of these two tmbers
will increase as the supply Of oak
dwindles This Is true of cedar, chest
nut, cypress, Western pine. tamarack
hemlock, and other trees which arc
coming into the market as the TIM
bers.
Cedar, which is very durable, has
been extensively used to take the
place of white oak for ties, huI 1t is
so soft that it is readily cut by the
rails. This necessitates the use OF tie
plates and other protective devices
when cedar ties are used. AS the
supply of cedar is also running short,
il is necessary for railroads TO seek
further for new tie timber. One of
the woods which has all the requis
ties of a good tie, with the exception
of durability, is the beech.
A beech tie generally consists
largely of sapwood which partly ac-
counts for its lack Of durability. bat,
on the other hand, allows thorough
and easy preservative treatment. In
Germany and France, beech ties have
been successfully preserved from de
cay. and are used very extensively.
Beech is found widely distributed
throughout the eastern part of the
United States and u; the present
time is comparative'y cheap and
abundant If therefore, the railroads
whose lines are located in the regions
where beech is abundant can make
use of this wood, treated with some
suitable preseryative, another source
of tie timber will be opened up.
Stumpage values have been increas-
ing so rapidly during the last few
years that many railroads have found
it necessary to modify their timber
policy, and they yearly apply preser-
yatiyes to greater number of ties
and to more kinds of wood Substi-
tue woods naturally vary with differ
ent sections of the country but in
most cases they lack the two essen
tial qualities found In white oak
namely. resistance to mechanical wear
and to decay. Experience proves that
wear can be successfully retarded by
the use of tie plates and other me-
chanical devices, and decay can be
postponed by the application of prop
er personalities. The new condit-
ions have made 1t necessary for many
railroad companies to meet the prob
lem of preservation by establishing
treating plants at central points of
distribution along their lines.