HARDWOOD RECORD 



47 



Lambert T. Ericsou, assistant superintendent of the Port Reail 

 in>j Creosoting plant, presented a paper on tlie nieclianical liandling 

 of railroad c-rossties and timbers at preservation jilants. There are. 

 he said, a number of items to lie considered. The condition of large 

 quantities to be stored in limited areas and in limited periods of 

 time, is a eommou one. 



Besides the eommon conditions of limited areas for storage ami 

 the re<'eipt of great quantities of material in bunches, so to speak, 

 there is the common coordinate difficulty of obtaining the necessary 

 labor to meet the fluctuating demands. The problem of keeping down 

 the cost of handling comes in at this point. Where manual labor is 

 depended upon entirely, it is necessary to have men skilled in their 

 work, in order to keep the cost down to the regular piecework rate. 

 And when unskilled men are used, the cost of the handling goes up 

 very materially. That is true more on the railroads where 7x9x8^2 

 orossties are iised, than on those where smaller and lighter ties are 

 handled. 



The use of locomotive cranes, to switch and unload the materials, 

 has proven to be very economical and successful under certain con- 

 ditions. They are able to displace a locomotive in doing the shift- 

 ing and are able to pile twice as much material in the same area, at 

 less than half the cost of the manual method. The number of men 

 required is very small in comparison with doing the work by hand. 

 \ thirty-ton crane can shift ami stack, on an average. 3,.i00 to 4,000 

 ties per day, or 150,000 feet of switch timber. Including the cost 

 of shifting the cars from the docks to the yard, the cost of stacking 

 the ties with this method amounts to an average of .$0,008 per tie; 

 the cost of stacking switch timber promiscuous lengths together, an 

 average of $0.35 per 1,000 feet. 



The cost of loading treated ties from the trams for shipment with 

 the crane amounts to an average of $0.0045 per tie. 



In all these calculations the cost of operating the crane, including 

 operator, has been figured at $1 per hour. This allows for interest 

 on investment, depreciation, coal, oil, etc. 



An instructive paper ou "The Protection of Ties From Mechanical 

 Destruction" was read by Hffsvard F. Weiss of the Forest Products 

 Laboratory, lladison, Wis. Lack of space prevents its publication 

 in this issue, but it will appear in a future number. 



The scope of %vork of the Yale Forest School was explained in an 

 address by Samuel J. Record, who is a professor at Yale. 



The address by ,J. H. Waterman. sui)erintendent of timber preser- 

 vation, for the C, B. & Q. railroad, sunmiarized his observations dur- 

 ing a number of years, regarding treated and untreated ties. His 

 experience has been confined chiefly to the dry climate of the Da- 

 kotas, and southward and westward; but an interesting exception 

 was the laying of 35,000 red oak ties, treated with zinc chloride, in 

 1903, between Concord and Jacksonville, 111. There are still in 

 the tracks J1,000 of these ties after ten years of service. The ties 

 were laid in situations where they were subjected to excessive me- 

 chanical wear, and in most instances removals were not on account of 

 decay but wear. Tie plates were not used. In the drier climate 

 of South Dakota, 550 red oak ties, which had received the zinc treat- 

 ment, were laid in 1900. In 1913 only eighteen had been taken out 

 on account of decay. In Colorado a stretch of track in which pine 

 ties, treated in the same way, were laid in 1900 had only five per 

 cent of removals in thirteen years. The speaker strongly emphasized 

 the point that one of the mo.st sensible methods of conserving the 

 forests is to give preservative treatment to all ties cut from quickly 

 decaying species. 



A paper on "Methods of Keeping Tie Records" was read by K. T. 

 Howson, engineering eilitor of Railway Age Oazette. 



F. J. Angler, superintendent of timber preservation for the Balti- 

 more & Ohio railroad, addressed the meeting on the comparative 

 value of air pumps and hydraulic i)umi)S for injecting preservatives 

 into wood. The speaker was inclined to give the air pump preference. 

 A technical discussion of the various styles of tram cars used by 

 treating plants was contained in a paper read by .7. H. Grow, en- 

 gineer in wood preservation for the Allis-Chalmers Company, Mil- 

 waukee, Wis. The point most strongly insisted upon was that 

 strength is more important than cheapness in equipment of a treat- 



ing jdant with cars. The paper contained a nundier of Illustrations 

 showing various styles of cars. 



The committee on preservatives filed a lengthy report dealing with 

 technical matters relating to materials and tests. The following- 

 named men compose the committee: E. F. Bateman, chairman; 

 S. R. Church, E. B. Fulks, II. M. Newton, A. E. Hageboeck, G. H. 

 Davidson, and L. C. Drefahl. 



A paper on the ' ' Future Tie Material in the United States, ' ' by 

 Henry H. Gibson, was read. This paper appears in full elsewhere 

 in this issue. 



Chicago was selected as the place of next year's meeting. The 

 other cities figuring in the contest were San Francisco, New York, 

 and St. Louis. 



The following were unanimously elected as oflicers for the ensuing 

 year: 



I'RKsiDENT — George 1'^. Rex. manaeor treating plants. Sante !•> Kuilroad. 

 Topeka. Kan. 



Fiits-r VicE-l'UKsiDKXT — Carl O. Crawford, manager American Cri'osoting 

 Company, Louisville. Ky. 



Skcoxu Vick-Prksidext — R. S. Manley. president Creosoted Wood Block 

 I'avinK Company. New Orleans. La. 



'riiiKii VuF.-I'KKsiDEST — 1". B. Kid^eway. chemist. Internallonal Creosot- 

 inj; CompHuy. Texarkana. Tex. 



SKi"RKT.\KV-TKEAsrRER — F. .J. vVngier. superintendent timber preservation, 

 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Baltimore, Md. 



Among the resolutions presented by Chairman Trumbull of the 

 resolutions committee the two following are perhaps of greatest 

 importance. 



Whereas. The Forestry Troducts Exposition is to he held in Chicago 

 and New York in .\pril and May of this year, under the auspices of the 

 National Luniher Manufacturers' Association, this exhibition being the (Irst 

 and most important presentation of lumber and forest interests ever held, 

 and of great importance in establishing closer relations between producers 

 and consumers nf timber, and in establishing the fundamental and econom- 

 ical principles connected with wood and its use. therefore, is closely 

 related to that wood preservation : be it 



Resolved. Thai the American Wood Treservers' Association heartily 

 indorse the plans lor this exhibition and tender Its active cooperation 

 through a special committee appointed for the purpose of preparing an 

 exhibit representing the wood preserving industry. 



Whereas. The Interstate Commerce t^ommission is now giving considera- 

 tion to an Increase in the rates of freight charged by railroads: and 



Whereas. The granting of such increase is claimed by the railroads to 

 be necessary to enable them to make improvements in their equipment and 

 facilities ; and 



Whereas, The use of treated material is one of the fundamental features 

 of economic railroad maintenance ; he it 



Resolved, That the .\merican Wood Treservers' Association favors such 

 an increase in the rates as will enable the railroads to carry out their 

 plans for improved service. 



Other resolutions urged the technical schools to give great atten- 

 tion to the wood preservation industry; directed the executive com- 

 mittee to arrange for a bulletin to be prepared and circulated among 

 members; gave hearty thanks to the entertainment committee for its 

 excellent program ; to uonmembers who presented papers at the 

 meetings; to the special committee named to urge the retention of 

 creosote on the free list during the recent tariff revision ; to the 

 mayor and people of New Orleans, engineering society, the press and 

 others for courtesies extended. 



Sometimes when a man reaches the point of thinking himself a 

 failure he is just beginning to develop real strength and get in trim 

 to make good. 



The best thing to do with verbal qualifications in connection 

 with an order for lumber is to put them down in writing to pre- 

 vent error and misunderstanding. 



The man who habitually puts on an air of mystery when trade 

 matters are under disc'ussion generally hasn "t much else to put on 

 and is really just bluffing his way. 



If you are not happy at your work and in your present sur- 

 roundings make a study to see if the trouble is with yourself before 

 seeking some other pasture. 



The time to have a definite understanding of terms of sale is 

 when an order is placed — not after shipment is made. 



The fellow that watches his own business closely enough doesn 't 

 have to watch the other fellow to get jiointers for progress. 



