The farmer and mechanic., 1915-04-20

Aires TO ASunClOH dLc lei eAS'o
the Rio de Ia Plata and the Parana
rivers en- route.
Much of the railways Of Argentina
are we'll built. The most common
gauge is five and one-half feet ana
there are also seven thousand miles
Of track whose gauge is meter. ne
broad gauge originated from the fact
that the first road in the country was
built to fit an English locomotive
whose wheels were five and one-half
feet apart. The most Of the roads OF
the future have been kept that extra
ordinary width. Our roads are four
feet eight and one-half inches wide
or what is known as the standard
gauge The most Of the railways or
the Argentine are ballasted With DIRT
or clay Many Of them have steel ties
and in some the rails rest on disks
of iron connected by rods Of hollow
plates of pressed Steed SO fixed that
they fit down into the earth, the rails
being clamped to them. In one year
about $S,OOO,OO0 worth Of steel rails
were imported.
The question Of ties is important.
There are no trees on the great>pam-
pas and all kinds of lumber must be
imported. The hard woods Of the
Parana and Paraguay rivers will not
float and some woods are SO heavy
pounds. Some are SO tough that spikes
cannot be driven into it and holes have
to be bored for the spikes before the
rails can be fastened.
Nevertheless railroad building on
the pampas is comparatively cheap.
The country is dead fiat, and you can
run a roadbed for hundred miles or
so, without much grading to speak of.
| This is SO also in parts of Patagonia,
h,1tf ho 6Y1S StCt| n hat
they are liable to cover the tracks,
stopping the cars. They use dust ploWs
| DIS wAuse snow plOWs. During a storm
| Of a few years ago, it took two thou
| sand men to clear the track Of one
| road. There are also duststorms fur
ther north, and necessity Of the
| passengers travelling equipment is a
duster to keep his clothes clean.
| [ like railway travelling in the Ar
| gentine. The fares are dearer than
good and exceedingly comfortable. The
| seats are wider than ours. and those
| Of the first class are upholstered ir
leather. They have also chair cars
| and special sleeping compartments
On nearly every train tea is served in
the afternoon, and the passengers uni
| versally go to the dining car for theil
tea. Most Of the cars serve table
| d'hOte dinner at about / .. m. This
costs $1.25, and for that one may have
a soup, fish. steWed chicken, roast bee
with vegetables and ice cream, cheese
fruit and coffee. The dinner is mucf
like the Old-Style dollar dinner of the
American roads, save that it is serve(
, in courses.
, The compartment sleeping cars are
such that one has all the advanta ge
of the drawing room Of our Pullman
, coaches. If he is alone he can hav,
the upper berth put up and have
) good lying down place in the day
, time, and at the same time he has tn,
seclusion Of a room to himself. o.
some of the trains there is a sleepin,
car reserved for the ladies, and on al
the ears there are special comDart
! ments for smoking.
] AS to baggage; the trains usual
e carry 10 pounds free on each ticket
all additional Wight being charge
S for at nigh prices. | usually carr
9 several trunks with me, and my extr
s baggage has at times cost almost a
j much as my ticket. There are express
S companies by which one can forWar
his baggage, and have it taken frOr
IS ms MOTEL at the starting point T.
; the landing point for a fixed sun
1t Ihere are excursion tickets and sea
l. son tickets on many Of the roads. Th
Q one great objection to certain train
IS IS the lack Of heating apparatus d,,,
n ing the long winter Journeys, whe
the thermometers falls and the hig
winds increase the cold
, The two chief sources Of Arcen1in
SIS traffic are live stock and grain. Al :.
>, most any time Of the year ve,, NAV &C
> long trains of cattle and sheep movin
IS in caravans, as it were, across II
he country. The cattle cars are bettf
n than ours. They open at the ends ii
as stead or at the SIDES, and are so MAJ
a. that the whole train can be made in1
~ one street Of cars, SO that the catt
lie can be driven in single Me from or
Mt end of it to the other. This enahl,
W the stock to be" loaded in a NM
I'd shorter time than with us. The catt
it are started in 81 one end. AS soon
ad the first car is filled the platform h.
er tween it aud the second car is rails.
VS. and the second is filed. then the NJ