68 



at the least ; assuming that the larger size of sleepers 7ft. x lOin. x 5in. will be used for 

 the heavy rails now required, the quantity of wood consumed annually would be about 

 303,380 cubic feet. 



Yellowwood is the most abundant of our woods, and upon its suitability for railway 

 sleepers depends the capability of our forests to supply a sufficient number of sleepers for 

 industrial working. To ascertain the value of Colonial woods for railway purposes, the 

 Cape Government sent, in 1883, about one hundred sleepers, mostly Yellowwood, to be 

 tested in England ; the best professional opinion was obtained on the wood, and is 

 recorded in Papers A. 1. 84, which contain Reports by Sir Charles Gregory, Consulting 

 feailway Engineer to the Cape Government ; Mr. H. Wakefield, Inspecting Engineer ; 

 Messrs. John Bland & Co., and R. Lander & Co. ; Mr. C. Besley, Inspector of Timber for 

 the Great Western Railway Company, and Mr. E. E. Niblett. These reports, all the 

 material points of which are reproduced in Appendix III., prove conclusively that 

 Yellowwood, properly impregnated, furnishes an excellent and lasting sleeper, much 

 superior to the ordinary Baltic sleeper. Its chief merits are, that it can be impregnated 

 more easily and thoroughly than most other woods, and therefore rendered more lasting, 

 and that it can hold rail fastenings, or resist the spreading action of the rails about twice 

 as well as Baltic Fir, a property of great value where heavy gradients and sharp curves 

 make the life of a sleeper depend sometimes more upon the resistance of the tissue of the 

 wood, than even upon its durability. Yellowwood has all the qualities that a good sleeper 

 wood should possess, and practical men consider that it is not only suitable for railway 

 sleepers, but also not excelled by any of the other pine woods in use. 



Other woods were also tested in England at the same time, and there is reason to 

 believe that the great majority of species of Colonial timber are suitable for making 

 sleepers by careful preparation. Yellowwood is one of the softest and weakest of our 

 woods, and it may be taken that other woods with better mechanical properties would 

 answer equally well, when properly prepared, as far as strength and durability are 

 concerned. Some of our woods are unquestionably so durable, that they could be safely 

 used without any preparation. Thus, Stinkwood may be reckoned to last at least twelve 

 years, while Sneezewood and Hard Pear would certainly outlast in their natural state any 

 creosoted pine wood. 



The very satisfactory results arrived at in testing Yellowwood for railway purposes 

 had for effect to remove much of the prejudice that existed at the Cape against the use of 

 Colonial woods for public works. In 1884, a Select Committee was appointed to con- 

 sider the whole question and make practical recommendations. It reported that " in 

 order to utilise Colonial Timber for Railway Sleepers, on a scale at all commensurate with 

 our future requirements, it is absolutely necessary to subject the wood to some pre- 

 servative process so as to prolong the life of the Sleepers," and recommended " the 



