TRANSPORTATION ON LAND BY VEH1CLES:-THE ROADS 53 



corduroy consisting of balsam poles is met frequently. Discarded railroad ties form an excellent raw 

 material for corduroying. 



(c) Fascine roads, frequently constructed on wet clay or in swamps, corduroy fashion, consist of 

 alternating layers of sand and brush bundles, fastened together by stakes driven vertically. 



(d) In HUNGARY, WOODEN TRACKS are formed of poles 8 inches thick, placed parallel and lengthwise with 

 the road in two rows. The distance of the pole rows, from center to center, exceeds the waggon gauge, 

 measured from the outsides of the tires, by 1 inch. The inner and upper quarter of the poles is hacked 

 out, with ax and adz. The waggon wheels run in the grove thus obtained. 



(e) After this pattern, plank runs are constructed at Biltmore. Two lines of 10- inch plank are 

 placed lengthwise on the road surface. Each line carries a rail of 2" ■ 4 " scantling fastened in such a 

 manner that the outer edges of the scantlings are 4 feet 8 inches apart. The gauge of the waggon 

 between the tires being 4 feet 9 inches, the wheels running on the planks have a play of 1 inch. Plank 

 runs must be straight. In curves, the entire surface must be planked up. 



(f) Pole roads. A statistic of 1886 finds in the United States over 2,000 miles of pole roads, using 

 over 400 locomotives and over 5,000 cars. The rails are made of straight, preferably coniferous poles, 

 sufficiently trimmed to fit the double flange of the car wheels. No ties are required, the rail being gradually 

 pressed into the ground. 



The wheels of the cars should not turn with the axle. An oval concave rim is said to be inferior 

 to a flat rim with heavy flanges. Each wheel has about 2 inches room for side play. The reach should 

 turn like a swivel in hind and front set, allowing all wheels to stay on the track. 



All lumbermen agree nowadays that pole roads are impracticable for locomotives. 



(g) Wooden railroads use, in lieu of the steel rail, a sawn wooden rail. The rail consists of 

 2 layers, each measuring 2 by 4 inches in the cross section. The lower layer should consist of a species 

 lasting long in contact with the soil; the upper layer should consist of a kind resisting abrasion best. 

 Hickory, birch, maple, beech, and also white oak, are commonly used. In curves, abrasion is prevented 

 by nailing a strip of iron, Viinch in width and ' .inch in thickness, on the edge of the rail subjected to abrasion. 



Wooden railroads are frequently seen in the Southern Appalachians. The wheels of the logging cars, 

 light and low, turn round the axle, like waggon wheels, instead of turning with the axle, like those of railroad 

 cars proper. The tire of the wheel is 4 inches or more, and the flange 3 inches or more. The motive 

 power is supplied, usually, for the loaded cars by gravity. The empty cars are pulled up the hill by mules 

 or oxen. 



The wooden rails are fastened to rough ties by 10-penny nails. During wet weather the ties are 

 slippery, and the cars are apt to run away on grades exceeding 10 per cent, in spite of sanding. Grades 

 exceeding 15 per cent are impracticable, for the reason that the animals find it difficult to haul the empties 

 up the hills. 



Obviously, wooden rails are not compatible with the use of locomotives exceeding a weight of 15 tons. 

 On the other hand, during dry weather, a locomotive will slip less on a wooden rail than on a steel rail. 



(h) Wood pavement. Wood pavement is noiseless, dustless, and soft. It is used particularly on such 

 streets as are in the heart of the business sections of large cities The leading raw materials used abroad 

 are teak (in London) and creosoted beech (in Berlin, Paris, Frankfort). 



In the United States, wood pavement has not been very successful, for the reason, that round blocks 

 of white cedar and of pine were used, rudely placed on a surface insufficiently prepared. Where im- 

 pregnated Douglas fir was used, the heat of a hot summer has caused the creosote to ooze out, much to 

 the annoyance of the public. The fault does not lie, however, with the wood pavement as such: -It 

 lies in the misapplication of wood pavement. Wood pavement, to be serviceable, must be sawed into small 

 blocks of regular size, shaped in such manner as to conform to the curvature of the surface of the road. 

 For impregnation, no more creosote must be used than the wood will hold at the temperatures prevailing 

 in the hot season (Rueping process). On steep roads, wood pavement becomes slippery and therefore 

 dangerous during wet weather. 



A good wood pavement is laid on asphalt, with tar acting as a cement to join the blocks. 



