24. REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the State of New Jersey. Mr. 
Roberts made the collection for the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany. He was 30 years in making it. Full rails were shown at 
the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. ‘The first of these 
rails was laid in the year 1831, near Bordentown. 
Mr. Samuel L. Roberts, of Bordentown, N. J., who made the 
collection, has worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
for over 30 years, and, being over 70 years of age, has been 
retired on a pension. 
The first strap-rail, which was laid at Bordentown by the 
Camden and South Amboy Railroad and Transportation Com- 
pany, weighed 8% pounds to the yard. It was also used on the 
Delaware and Atlantic Railroad in 1832; also between Kinkora 
and New Lisbon. ‘The first strap-rail used in the Camden and 
Amboy in 1831 weighed 84% pounds to a yard. A small amount 
of T-rail was used in 1831 and weighed 36 to 40 pounds to the 
yard. In 1842 still another T-rail, weighing 62 pounds to a 
yard. In 1848, the large T-rail, weighing 92 pounds to a yard, 
was used, but the height of this rail made it undesirable, and it 
was soon discarded. 
Thus the collection shows the advancement of the rails and 
manner of fastening them up to the time the collection was made. 
At first stone was used instead of ties, as now, which is shown 
in the exhibit. There are only five of these collections—two kept 
by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, one by the Field Col- 
umbia Exhibit, Chicago, one by R. P. Showden, Engineer of the 
Amboy Division, and the other is in the New Jersey State 
Museum. 
The strap and T-rails first used were brought from England. 
In 1846 some of the rails used in the New Jersey Railroad were 
rolled in the city of Trenton, N. J., 62 pounds to the yard. The 
John Brown rail, 5714 pounds to the yard, used in 1866, was 
one of the best rails ever used by the New Jersey Railroad. 
The standard rail of 60 pounds to the yard was first used in 
1876. 
In 1893 a new standard rail was used of 100 pounds to the 
yard, and it is still the standard. Many different kinds of rails 
and of different weights are shown by this excellent exhibit, as 
