The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-26
QUESTION DEMANDS SUPPORT
OF PUBLIC, SAYS " Il. S7UTSMAN
bring about any better results than are
accomplished at the present time. for.

uAs1e dUOuI any OeItor T0SultO tnan are
accomplished at the present time. for.
according to the railroad men, the
closest supervision is maintained over
steel rails while in course OF making.
Defects a exist in rails without be.
ing discovered and that was the con-
ditton which prevailed in the Sharon
wreck. 1t was also the same condition
that existed In a wreck near the
state penitentiary.
E. +. Potter, assistant general man.
ager Of the Soc road gave an interest
ing talk along this line. describing
some of the defects and causes OF
trouble In steel rails which could not
be ascertained by testing or experi-
menting, but could only be discover
ed by use. and often times only after
an accident. He stated that some rails
develo pan interior defect which
spreads like the decay Of a tooth and
Grows and increases until 1t weakene
the rail. but which a not be discov-
cred. by preliminary tests. He de.
scribed what is called the pipe RAIL-
a rail that has an invisible defect,
caused by a gas bubble in the mold.
When the molten metal is poured into
the mold q particle Of gas may be
unable to escape and works its way up
through the center OF the rail and att
er the rail Is rolled it spreads out over
the entire length of the rail and can
only. be discovered by saving the rail
In two: This was.the cause Of the re.
cent disastrous wreck at Sharon on the
Great Northern. and General Manager
Gruber had a number of photographs
taken OF the defective rail which caus.
ed this wreck and in these photo.
graphs the defect or pipe" could be
distinctly seen In a half a dozen places
where h rail was sawed In two trans.
versely. Sometimes this pipe can be
discovered by lean OF a thin dark
mark along the top Of the rail. but
this was not the case in the Sharon
wreck and the commission was salts
fed that this wreck was caused by this
defect. which was entirely invisible
and could not be anticipated. IT,.
The conference also developed the
fact that broken rails are caused Oft
en- times by fiat car wheels which
pounding over tire tracks. will invarta.
bly, find the weak or defective rail and
break it.
Railway men agree that govern
ment inspection Of rails at the found.
~ would not add anything to the de-
gree OF safety now enjoyed, because
eminent experts Of many years ex-
perience arc continually busy trying
to detect defects by acid tests and
"ACOs 0AIu " pSoteuL UeI0CSlVS
rails setting into actual use and they
maintain that the government experts
would DO either these same experts
employed for the same purpose or
others who would have to spend years
OF study In becoming experts. There
10 a frm Of experts in New York who
do nothing else but test with every
known method ingenuity can devise,
the rails as they are SEM out from
the factory. In making this test they
always act for the purchaser and
nearly all Of the railroads buying steel
rails employ this firm Of experts to
test their rails: Some railroads. how
ever. act on the theory that as they
are paving the highest market price
they demand that the factory furnish
absolutely good rails and guarantees
them without any test. As a matter
Of fact a large percentage Of the rats
manufactured are rejected before ac-
tuaily put into use. Others are dis
covered to be defective after a short
use and are thrown out. but after all
the precautions taken now and then
q defect occurs which IL only discov-
cred by an accident or wreck.