New Britain herald., 1916-03-23
HEAVY ORDERS F0|
 RAILS ARE PLAC|
Railroads Apparently Expect
 Make Big Extensions in i9l'

New York, March 23.-The IM Age says today:
 Rail buying on a large scale 1917 is the outstanding feature Of market. For the past week ChicM reports these contracts: 72,000 t@ for the New York Central. 15A tons for the Union Pacific, 40, 1000 fH for the Chicago & Northwestern, A 900 tons for the Burlington. 15. for the Missouri, Kansas x Teys 35, 900 tons for the Illinois Centd 12,000 tons, the Santa Fe, 15, ,000 ia for the Chesapeake & Ohio, 5000 t4 for the Alton. and 5000 tons for Minneapolis & St. Louis. In addits are 7G,000 tons for the B. & O. s5 an eastern tonnage for the New I'd Central. bringing it's total up to 4 900 tons. The Pennsylvania ordelI likely to come in within week. n Boston & Maine is fin the market 5000 tons, the Atlantic Coast n for 5000 tons, and the Erie about 10000 tons.
 The railroads pay no more for thl rails than they have paid for yea and the placing of their orders wolves no risk and no Judgment the duration of the double and trel prices current for other forms steel. Some of these rails will
 rolled in 1916, but largely they q for next year and for spring delfvei Probably the total of recent lettin is 450,000 to 500,000 tons.
 While the railroads are thus Tod ing ahead, and there Is heavy i'd ward buying for vessel work, no Id than 100000 tons, chiefly plates al shapes, having been taken for tf1 purposes in the past week, there al sGgns that not all manufacturiI buyers are being stampeded by Il rapid advances, At pittsburg. whI there is no less scrambling for ear shipments, some manufacturing col SUmers show more willingness to ho off and take a chance on the mark Of six to nine months hence. lid far the discussion of peace reporl has to do with this attitude is all coi lecture.
 Prices Still Go Up.
 Various advances in price ha% come in the week, and more ai looked for, increasing buyers dilemnl due to the disparity between cost d material now being delivered aul what must be paid in new contract| Cold-rolled strip steel is $5 a td higher; skelp, $2; wire rods, S3 to sd rivets, $2, and shaft:ng, s1O; nuts ar| bolts, 10 per cent, and tin plates 2d per base box to $4.50.
 More is heard of building plans lad aside of modified so as to use corI crete. But good deal of steel worl iH being given out for which steel figured on a 1.S0c basis by fabricatoT covered by contracts. Some pin work has been given up because d high prices, one New Jersey proied in this category calling for 1O,00 tons and one at St. Louis for 7.00| tons of plates.
 The award of 4.000 tons of sted work to the McClintfc- Marshall com| pany for the Donner Steel companyI Buffalo, indicates the large scope o| the extensions there Besides thu second blast furnace now under was1 Q third is to be built and battery oi coke ovens as well as new dock5 New rolling mill will follow.
 After three weeks of active buyind ihe pig-iron movement has tapered off. The market has worked up arl average of soc to $1 in the operationl and a good many furnaces are noHI sold for six or seven months aheadl March transactions in tho Chicagd district have reached a total beyond L50, ,000 tons. At Pittsburg a 15,000j on contract for foundry and mailed 4 yble iron has been closed, deliveries rom January to December, 1917, ad urrent prices. However, few fur1 laces are willing to sell for deIiveries ven reaching into next year.