HARDWOOD RECORD 



British car-wheel making, would not prove 

 rqually valuable here, as it is believed it 

 would not stand up under the dryness of 

 the American climate. The varieties of 

 teak most largely utilized for car and wheel 

 construction in Great Britain are the Moul- 

 mein and the Rangoon, of which the forrnqr 

 is said to be the better. Teak is strong 

 and durable, shrinks little, is moderately 

 hard and generally easy to work. It has a 

 strong, pungent, distinctive odor. Its only 

 fault is that it takes paint badly, especially 

 when new. 



Other woods frequently used for interior 

 work in Great Britain, but not much in 

 America, are Central American or .Jamaica 

 rosewood, satinwood from the East and 

 West Indies, sycamore and North American 

 maple. Marquetry is a feature commonly 

 seen in Pullman cars. White holly, tulip- 

 wood, satinwood. rosewood ami ebony are 

 drafted into this service. 



Floors of )>assenger cars are of quartered 

 pine, both in America and Great Britain. 

 Common poplar is utilized for the roofing, 

 except that the "lower deck" (a term 

 which refers to the lower part of the roof) 

 is properly of ash. Ash, poplar, oak, pine 

 and basswood are used in the framework, 

 standard practice giving to each of these 

 timbers its particular functions. Bass- 

 wood is employed for the "hoods"' or curv- 

 ing ends of passenger car roofs, this tim- 

 ber recommending itself because of its plia- 

 bility and toughness. 



Trucks arc mainly of oak, with yellow- 

 pine and basswood for certain parts, the 

 naming of which would not enlighten the 

 average lumberman. Wheels in the United 

 States are of steel or iron, usually with no 

 admixture of other material, tliough a 

 wheel with paper lenter wa.s at one time 

 widely popular, and is still nKuiiifiictured 

 to some extent. 



In freight car construction the prevailing 

 woods are yellow pine, oak, Norway pine, 

 white pine and Oregon fir. The last men- 

 tioned timber has come into extensive use 

 for sills and sidings. It is also stained to 

 imitate mahogany occasionally. Norway 

 and white pine are generally made up into 

 roofing stock v.hen used at all. 



In construction the freight car ranges 

 from the quite elaborate caboose and horse 

 car down to the logging car, which is hardly 

 more than an undcrframe. The caboose 

 and horse car follow the standard of the 

 passenger coach as to the manner, though 

 not as to the materials of construction. 

 That is, they consist of an outer sheathing, 

 a framework, and an interior lining. Re- 

 frigerator cars are very solidly built. Not 

 only arc the three sections above men- 

 tioned present, lint also an intermediate lin- 

 ing, and between this and the sheathing is 

 a heavy felt bnffing, while between the in 

 termediate and the ins'de lining is a buff- 

 ing of paper. The inside lining is properly 

 of Cottonwood. The average "box-car" or 

 full height freight with closed sides and 

 top has an interior lining for only one-half 



or two-thirds its height. Stock cars, on the 

 other hand, are generally little more than 

 a framework on the sides. From the point 

 of view of height, freight cars may be 

 divided into several classes, of which the 

 most important is the logging car, which, as 

 already said, is little more than an under- 

 frame; the flat car, underframe and floor; 

 the "gondola," poetic name for an ex- 

 tremely prosaic thing! with sides going up 

 tc one-half the full height; and the regula- 

 tion box car. The sides of the gondola car 

 are much like wagon sides, with generally 

 yellow pine instead of poplar or other wood 

 for the material, and with supporters known 

 as "stakes," .iust as the corresponding 

 timbers of wagons are called. As a rule, 

 the entire wood construction of the body 

 of the gondola is yellow pine. Tank cars 

 or "crocodiles" — as they are aptly nick- 

 named in England — hopper cars, hand cars, 

 etc.. are variations of one or another of 

 these classes. 



Street cars are of much simpler and cheap- 

 er construction. The woods used are pop- 

 lar, yellow pine. oak. ash. maple, and some 

 birch and cherry. Pine, oak and ash are 

 employed in the framework; poplar for 

 sheathing and interior lining; quartered 

 oak, cherry and mahogany occasionally, for 

 lining; maple, quartered oak and birch for 

 ceiling veneer. As a rule there is little ele- 

 gance in these vehicles, though parlor cars 

 are made for some roads and may be seen 

 in operation at various )ioints. The open or 

 summer car naturally consumes the mini- 

 mum of lumber. 



No article on woo<l construction in rail- 

 way and street cars would be complete with- 

 out some mention of the increasing favor 

 being shown to the all-steel and the steel 

 iinilerframe cur. The all-steel gonilola is 

 nov,- a familiar sight on all American rail- 

 roads, while every New Yorker knows the 

 steel electric cars in the subway. Hopper 

 ( ars are often entire!}' of steel, while tank 

 '•ars frequently have steel underframes, and 

 in flat cars sometimes the only wocdcn part 

 is the floor, all the rest being of steel, or 

 steel and iron. Steel electric cars are now 

 to be seen, and a recent event widely com- 

 mented on was the installation of steel 

 suburban cars by the New York Central. 

 Steel passenger cars for regular service, and 

 also Pullmans, have recently been manu- 

 factured, and the steel baggage and postal 

 car is an accomplished fact. As a side 

 issue, it may be mentioned that the copper- 

 sheathed electric passenger car has also 

 acquired some vogue. 



A number of advantages are claimed for 

 the all-steel and the steel-underframe car. 

 Worn or broken parts in cars of steel con- 

 struction are easily renewed; while the 

 lumberman does not need to be told the 

 situation as to repair and renewal of wooden 

 cars. Again, in case of a wreck, a steel 

 car will sueccesfully v.-ithstand punishment 

 which would mean the destruction of 

 wooden cars. Bent or torn steel can gen- 

 erally be put back into its original shape 



or replaced at reasonable cost. It is also 

 claimed by the friends of the steel car that 

 the life of wooden cars built today must 

 necessarily be shorter than those built 

 fifteen years ago. for at present, they say. 

 it is impossible to get lumber approaching 

 in quality that which was required in first- 

 class freight cars in 189'2. The justice of 

 this last claim the lumberman will know 

 how to decide for himself. 



But it is reasonably certain that, even if 

 the steel car is to be the standard of the 

 future, which is fav from being a certainty, 

 the lumberman will not be confronted with 

 the loss of a market. In freight cars it 

 has been demonstrated that the wooden 

 floor is for most purposes better than the 

 steel floor, while in steel passenger cars it 

 is believed by experts that the interests of 

 beauty will be best subserved, and those of 

 safety not injured, by the use of wood 

 wherever a decorative effect is desirable. 

 Chaules Klauber. 



New Hardwood Flooring Handbook. 



The T. Wilce Cnmpan.v. Chicago, tlie plont-ei 

 manufacturers of liardwood flooring, are out 

 with a liandsomo new booklet covering a good 

 many facts and Interesting particulars of 

 hardwood tloorlng. The pamphlet Is Illustrated 

 with a halftone portrait of the late Thoma.s 

 Wllce Sr.. founder of the hardwood flooring 

 Industr.v. 



The Introduction of the work tells of the 

 splendid facilities that the T. Wllce Company 

 hus for the production of hardwood floorlng. 

 In addition to their splendid machinery equip- 

 ment they have recently erected nine new dr>- 

 kiln.« of modern type, which give them a total 

 of nfleen kilns, in which all their hardwood 

 Is dried before being manufactured. 



In the set'onrt part of the article Is an analysis 

 of the proper sizes and kind of nail to be used 

 in laying all thicknesses of tloorlng, and man? 

 .suggestions are made to the carpenter for the 

 proper laying of the flooring. 



The superiority of modem hardwood flooring 

 Is dl-scussed in another article. This is fol- 

 lowed by the grading rules governing maple. 

 Iieech. l>lrch and oak flooring. Weights of 

 every thickness and kind are given. 



In conclusion the booklet has a very Inter- 

 esting article on the flnlsh and treatment of 

 hardwood tloorlng. It Is a work that should 

 be In the hands of every lumberman, builder 

 and contractor, and It will be supplied to them 

 on application to the T. Wllce Company. 

 Twenty-second and Throop streets, this city. 



New Southern Concern. 



The Dickson Luml)cr I'ompany Is the name 

 of n new company at Dickson. Tenn.. com- 

 posed of John M. Smith and others. Mr. Smith 

 Is particularly well known In the hardwood 

 trade. 



The basis of the business will be the pur- 

 chase of lumlier on a commission basis — rep- 

 resenting buyers only. Mr. Smith and his 

 associates are well posted on southern slocks, 

 especially in Tennessee hardwoods, and be- 

 lieve that by buying on the ground and know- 

 ing the locations of desirable stocks of lumber 

 that they can make better deals and at a 

 great saving of expense to the whole.iale 

 trade, than they could make for themselves. 



Trusted employes will handle ail purchases 

 out and individually supervise the loading of 

 all lumber. Mr. Smith's associates are C. I.. 

 Fnulkner. J. S. Sugg. J. B. Sugg and G. C. 

 McMurry. 



