248 Turnouts in Railroads with flexible moveable Rails. 
Arr. VU.—On Turnouts in Railroads with flexible moveable 
Rails; by THomas Gorton, Civil Engineer. 
Av a time like this, when Railroads are being rapidly introduced 
in various parts of the United States, itis believed that any improve- 
ment relating to the various parts of their construction will be accep- 
table to the public. 
Up to the present time all turnouts upon railroads, (so far as the 
writer’s knowledge extends,) have been constructed with stiff move- 
able rails. When these stiff rails are moved round so as to make a 
communication with the turnout and main line a rectilinear angle of 
several degrees is formed by the stiff rail and main line, which sub- 
jects cars passing through the turnout, to much jar and lateral fric- 
tion. This friction is so great as to injure both cars and railroad. In 
a late conversation with Mr. E. Miller, Superintendant of machinery 
on the Portage railroad, he informed me that they proposed using 
flexible moveable rails for their turnouts. The rail adopted on that 
road is the parallel edge rail, eighteen feet long, and weighing forty 
pounds per yard. I understood that the plan of their turnouts was 
not fully matured, but that it was contemplated to have about three 
feet of the rail made fast in two heavy chairs, and the other fifteen 
feet to be sprung into a curved form, when it was desired to pass into 
the crossing or turnout. 
This, at once appeared to me to be a decided improvement, in as 
much as turnouts might be made on this principle, so that cars might 
pass through them with the same facility as in the curved parts of 
the main line. In examining the subject, the first requisite is, that 
the rail at the moveable end should be deflected so as to leave a suf- 
ficient distance between the rail of the main line and the fixed part 
of the turnout. Then secondly, let the radius of curvature for the 
turnout be determined. It will be seen that these two requisites de- 
termine the length of the moveable rails. ‘These rails may then be 
laid down in the following manner. 
Let about one foot of that part connected with the main line be 
made fast in a heavy cast iron chair, by a wedge and by a bolt pas- 
sing through the chair and rail. ‘The moveable part of the rail may 
be supported on chairs ; these chairs to rest on cast iron seats having 
a ledge on one side for the chairs to slide against when the rail is 
sprung round into the turnout. The seats consequently must be laid 
