WORK OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAIL- 

 ROAD IN PLANTING TIMBER 

 FOR CROSS TIES 



BY 

 JOSEPH T. RICHARDS 



, Chief Engineer, Maintenance of Way, Pennsylvania Railroad System. 



I T has been largely through the instrumentality of the 

 American Forestry Association that the railroad 

 companies of the United States have been brought to 

 realize the gravity of the situation with reference to 

 a future timber supply, from which is to be furnished 

 the large quantity consumed by the railroads in the 

 production of cross ties. The rapid spoliation of our 

 forests — the sole source of our supply — and the immi- 

 nence of its entire depletion, are only too strongly 

 presented to us by those familiar with the subject. It 

 would take more time than I have at my disposal to 

 obtain statistics to cover the entire field of timber 

 consumption in the United States, or to make any 

 reliable computation of the amount of timber still 

 standing, and available for future supply; but a few 

 figures illustrative of the general character may be of 

 interest as an introduction to what more particularly 

 concerns the Pennsylvania Railroad System. 



During the past year the Pennsylvania Railroad 

 Company has had the subject considered and a report 

 made by a committee of our transportation association, 

 and I will draw from this report some data for my 

 remarks to-day. The number of cross ties in use on 

 the railroads of the United States is estimated to be 

 about 620,000,000; the number used annually for 

 repairs, and for extensions of track, is estimated to be 



