CROSS TIES 



267 



NUMBER OF CROSS TIES REPORTED PURCHASED, 1907 TO 1911 AND 1915, BY 



KINDS OF WOOD 



1915- 



1908. 



Kind of Wood. 



' ' ' ' ! 



Oak 49,333,881! 59,508,0001 68,382,000 57,132,000 48,110,000! 61,757,000 



Southern pine 14,115,681 24,265,000! 26,264,000 21,385,000 21,530,000! 34,215,000 



Douglas fir 6,950,910 11,253,000 11,629,000 9,067,000! 7,988,000 14,525,000 



Cedar 5,122,103 8,oi5,oooj 7,305,000 6,777,000; 8,172,000 8,954,000 



Chestnut 4,548,352 7.542,0001 7,760,000 6,629,000' 8,074,000 7,851.000 



Cypress 4,478,612 5,857,000 5,396,000 4,589,000; 3,457,000 6,780,000 



Eastern tamarack.. 2,606,794 4,138,000 5,163,000, 3,311,000 4,025,000 4,562,000 



West'n yellow pine 1,402,836! 2,696,000 4,612,000 6,797,000 3,093,000 5,019,000 



Lodgepole pine.. . . 1,316,819 



Western larch 1,251,304} 



Beech i, 173,4901 1,109,000' 798,000 195,000 192,000 52,000 



Maple 1,069,547 1,189,000; 773,000 158,000 151,000 



Hemlock 859,662; 3,686,000; 3,468,000 2,642,000 3,120,000! 2.367,000 



Redwood 563,685! 1,820,000; 2,165,000 2,088,000 871,000 2,032,000 



Gum 485,4661 1,293,000 1,621,000 378,000! 262,000 15,000 



Birch 465,815 



All other 1,361,694 2,682,000; 2,895,000 2,6o3,ooo| 3,421,000!' 5,574,000 



All kinds l 97,106,6511135,053,000 148,231,000 123,751,0001112,466,0001153,703,000 



1 Mileage of railroads reporting ties represent 78.46 per cent of total mileage. Mileage represented 

 of former years not obtainable. 



REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD TIE 



The selection of tie material to satisfy the various requirements of the 

 railroads is of large importance. Altogether the following are the prin- 

 cipal points which determine the desirability of any wood for use as 

 cross ties: 



1. Durability. This is of prime importance. It is estimated by 

 various railway officials that the average tie of all species used by the 

 railroads in this country does not last, untreated, more than five years. 

 White oak ordinarily lasts from eight to ten years, untreated. The life 

 of untreated ties will be discussed later. 



2. Ability to resist impact. The crushing of ties by heavy rails and 

 rolling stock, resulting in serious checking and splitting, precludes the 

 use of soft woods such as cedar, redwood, cypress, etc., where the rolling 

 stock is heavy and trains are frequent. The American Railway Engineer- 

 ing Association announced in 1907 that a maximum of 75 per cent of 

 cedar ties used by one railroad failed because of mechanical destruction. 

 Other railroads report failures of from 10 per cent to 75 per cent due to 

 that cause rather than to decay. 



