The herald., 1915-02-11
HAS BAFFLED EXPERTS
FATAL FLAW IN RAIL IS CUM
NINGlY HIDDEN.
Even Microscopic Examination Has
Failed to Reveal Defect Which 10
Destined at Some Time to
Cause q Wreck.


Modern high-speed railroading faces |
a new and mysterious peril. Daily |
this danger grows greater. No one |
knows where next 1t may deal It's fatal
blow.
Through the night races a magnifl-
cent limited. With 300 human lives
aboard 1t screams along at 60 miles
an hour. All signals are set clear, the
track is free, the equipment perfect,
the engineer alert, everything runs
like a watch. Far ahead the signal
lights loom white, the rails CLEAN like
polished silver bands in the headlight
rays; the steady rhythm Of the throb-
bling steam chests and the rumbling
wheels finds no discord except in the
screech Of the whistle and the clang
OF the bell for a crossing.
Suddenly, without an instants
warning, there is a crash-a rail- has
given way and the whole magnificent
train is hurled into the ditch.
No power could have saved 1t. No
forethought, no inspection, no human
warning could have prevented that
disaster.
It seems terrible that a weakened
rail should deal such fearful destruc-
ton. And, more terrible yet, that the
flaw which caused 1t is mysteriously
hidden and microscopic. But worst OF
all is the fact that no human omnis-
cience could have foretold that fatal
weakness.
This great hazard is tiny, hidden
defect In the rails. At the start the
flaw probably was less than one-one-
hundredth of an inch in length and
deep within the rail itself. Only q
microscope could have discovered 1t,
even IL Il were at the surface. But 1t
was not at the surface. 1t was far
within the metal. 1t gradually grew
until It was as large as thumbnail,
and still 1t could not have been dis
covered from the outside Of the rail.
The experts call it transverse f1s-
sure" This Is the technical name for
q crack that starts In the center OF
the thickest part Of the rail and
grows within that center without the
slightest external evidence of its pres
ence-until the gail gives way. Until
recently this type of defect was al
most unknown. Higher speed. heavier
trains and harder steel in the rails are
responsible. The higher the speed,
the heavier the train and the harder
the rail, the greater Is this peril Of
modern railroading.
The experts of the interstate COM
merce commission have taken the
: initiative in a vigorous investigation
, of this new danger. They have been
aided by the railroad authorities, as
.. well as by the makers of the rails.
Thousands upon thousands of dollars
have been spent in a general effort
to discover just what II Is that causes
these assures, and even more import
, ant, how to detect their presence in
! the rail-
: For there lies the greatest danger of
this defect Originating as 1t does
in the head of the rail and away from
the surface. 1t grows to dangerous
: size before it reaches the surface to
reveal itself In a visible crack. But
5 long before 1t reaches that proportion
. It usually has done its work, when the
!, rail collapses under some severe
q strain.
$ There is nothing in the appearance
q of an affected rail to reveal such q
: flaw at any stage before 1t reaches
g the surface. Strike II and II has the
r same sound as a rail that is flawless
!, Even the most delicate experiments
: with electrical currents have failed t.
e reveal the presence Of these assures
What causes these assures is al
S most as great a mystery as the fac
: Of their existence Exhaustive investi
e cations of hundreds of affected rail!
( have shed but little light upon this dis
: puted subject The railroad author
: tiles blame the steel makers. TIL,
:. foundrymen lay 1t to speed and weigh
: of trains. The railroad authorities be
e lieve that hidden defects in the com
!, position of the rails themselves ar
e responsible for the flaws that develop
e in the service. The steel men insis
b that their rails are perfect, and poin
e to the fact that no such flaws hav,
: yet been discovered In unused rail-
: and that they have been found In al
portions of rails In actual use, no mat
r ter how perfect their chemical an,
! mechanical composition.-Chicago E1
sminer.