96 BULLETix 119, u. s. :n'ational museum. 



CAST-IRON BAILS MADE IN AMEEICA. 



In Johnson's " Notes on the Use of Anthracite " are described tests 

 of cast-iron rails made during 1841 at Lyman's foundry, near Potts- 

 ville, Pennsylvania. These rails were designed for colliery railways. 

 They were only 6 feet long. For three or four inches at each end the 

 rail had a section similar to the Stevens rail ; for the remaining five 

 and a half feet the rail was somewhat similar to the English bull- 

 headed rail. 



Previous to the year 1842, when Congress passed the celebrated 

 high-tariff law, all imported iron rails were admitted to the country 

 almost free of duty. The tariff on manufactured iron agreed upon 

 by that Congress increased the cost of English rails so much that 

 the railways were forced to seriously advocate the erection of Ameri- 

 can rolling mills for the special purpose of making rails. 



The first rail mill erected in this country was located at Mount 

 Savage, Allegany County, Maryland. The first rail was rolled in 

 the summer of 1844. In honor of that event the Franklin Institute 

 of Philadelphia awarded a medal to the proprietors in October, 1844. 



The rail was of the fl form, similar to the Evans (British) patent, 

 and the first few hundred tons manufactured were laid on the Balti- 

 more and Ohio Railroad between Mount Savage and Cumberland. 

 A section of this rail, which weighs 42 pounds to the yard, was 

 presented to the museum by the late Colonel James Randolph, for 

 many years consulting engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 

 Company. 



The Stevens rail had come into general use in America before 1845, 

 although several railway companies which had imported T-rails 

 from England continued their use on their tracks until the rails 

 were worn out. For this reason the T-rail without base was in use 

 on the Boston and AVorcester Railroad in 1850, and on the Hemp- 

 stead branch of the Long Island Railroad as late as 1855. Every 

 American road, however, without exception replaced the T-rail and 

 strap-rail by rail of the Stevens pattern as rapidly as their financial 

 condition permitted, continuing to import all rails from England 

 until 1845. 



In the " History of Iron of all Ages," Swank writes (p. 344) : 



"The Montour Rolling Mill at Danville, Pennsylvania, was built 

 in 1845 expressly to roll rails, and here were rolled in October of 

 that year the first T-rails made in the United States." Among other 

 early rail mills were the following, with the date when they began 

 to roll rails : Boston Iron Works, May 6, 1846 ; Trenton Iron Works, 

 Cooper and Hewitt, proprietors, June, 1846; New England Iron 

 Company, Providence, Rhode Island, September 1, 1846; Phoenix 

 Iron Company, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, November, 1846. 



