FUTURE DEMAND FOR TIMBER 



399 



Table 230. — Reported number oj crossties in tracks 

 maintained by Class I line-haul railroads, esti- 

 mated number in all railroad tracks, and distribu- 

 tion as to treated and untreated, 1940-55 



[Million crossties] 





In maintained tracks 



Distribution 3 



Year 



Class I 

 railroads ' 



In all rail- 

 road tracks^ 



Treated 



Untreated 



1940 



1941 



1942 



1943 



1944 



1945 



1946 



1947 



1948 



1949 



1950 



1951 



1952 



1953 



1954 



1955 



1,008 

 1,004 

 995 

 995 

 994 

 991 

 992 

 992 

 993 

 992 

 992 

 992 

 991 

 991 

 988 

 983 



1,087 

 1,077 

 1,067 

 1,067 

 1,065 

 1,061 

 1,062 

 1,060 

 1,059 

 1,058 

 1,058 

 1,057 

 1,054 

 1,054 

 1,049 

 1,045 



895 

 901 

 900 

 919 

 930 

 936 

 948 

 957 

 964 

 973 

 982 

 988 

 991 

 996 

 998 

 1,002 



192 



176 



167 



148 



135 



125 



114 



103 



95 



85 



76 



69 



63 



58 



51 



43 



' U. S. Interstate Commerce Commission. Statistics of 

 Railways in the United States (annual issues 1940-53); 

 Transport Statistics in the United States (1954, 1955). 

 Washington, D. C. 



2 Based on miles of track operated by Classes I, II, and 

 III line-haul railways, by switching and terminal com- 

 panies, and by electric railways reporting to the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission. Does not include the com- 

 paratively small mileage of track maintained by intrastate 

 railroads not required to report to the ICC. 



' Estimate based on the percentage distribution of 

 treated and untreated crossties in tracks maintained by 

 Class I line-haul railways. References cited in footnote 1 

 above. 



Crossties Are Needed Both for Replacement 

 and for New Track 



The number of crossties laid by railroads in- 

 cludes the number laid in replacement plus the 

 number laid in new track (table 231). The 

 replacement rate can be expressed as either the 

 average number of crossties replaced per mile of 

 track maintained or as the number of j'^ears 

 required for full replacement of all ties in place. 

 During the period 1940-55 the Class I railroads 

 annually replaced 103 crossties per mile of track 

 maintained. At such a rate, full replacement 

 would have been accomplished in 28.9 years 

 (table 232). Because a considerable part of 

 1940-55 replacement resulted in the elimination 

 of untreated ties, future replacement may be 

 lower than this 1940-55 average. It is therefore 

 expected that by 1975 and 2000, the railroads will 

 be on a 33-year replacement basis. 



About 93 percent of the track mileage in opera- 

 tion is laid on crossties. If the average mile of 



track on crossties will contain 3,050 ties by 1975 

 and 3,100 by 2000, the corresponding average 

 mile of all track mav contain around 2,840 cross- 

 ties by 1975 and 2,890 by 2000. The 1955 average 

 for all tracks maintained by Class I railroads was 

 2,813 crossties per mile. 



An average service life of 33 years would imply 

 average annual replacement at the rate of about 

 86 crossties per mile of track operating in 1975 

 and about 87 per mile in the year 2000. At these 

 rates tie replacement can be calculated as follows: 



ms sooo 



Miles of track in operation 360, 000 400, 000 



Average number of crossties per 



mile 2,840 2,890 



Number of crossties in place, 



thousand 1,022,400 1,156,000 



Annual replacement, 33-year 



basis, thousand ties _ 30, 980 35, 000 



Average volume per crosstie, 



board-feet 42 46 



Volume of annual replacement, 



million board-feet 1,300 1,600 



The information available on mileage of new 

 track laid by the Class I railroads during the 

 period 1940-55 indicates that about 82 percent 

 was laid with crossties and 18 percent with switch 

 and bridge ties. The average number of crossties 



Table 231. — Crossties laid by all railroads reporting 

 to the Interstate Commerce Commission, 1940-55 



[Million crossties] 



Year 



All ties 

 laid! 



Laid in re- 

 placement 2 



Laid in 

 new track ■' 



1940 



49. 2 

 53.9 

 56. 7 

 .52.4 

 54. 4 

 49. 5 

 43. 1 

 43.3 

 43. 6 

 35.9 



35. 6 

 34.8 



36. 5 

 35.8 

 27.6 

 29. 



47. 5 

 51.0 

 52. 1 



48. 5 

 51.2 

 46. 8 

 40.5 

 40. 4 

 40.0 

 33.3 

 33. 

 30.4 

 33. 

 32. 1 

 25.0 

 26.0 



1.7 



1941 - - _. - 



2.9 



1942 



4.6 



1943 - - 



3.9 



1944 _. _ - 



3.2 



1945 



2.7 



1946 - -- 



2.6 



1947 



2.9 



1948 - -- - 



3.6 



1949 



2. 6 



1950 



2.6 



1951 -- - 



3.4 



1952 -- - 



3.9 



1953 -- 



3.7 



1954 



2. 6 



1955 - 



3.0 







1 Does not include the comparatively small number of 

 ties laid in new track by Classes II and III line-haul 

 railroads, and by switching and terminal companies, nor 

 any of the ties laid by electric railways and by intrastate 

 railroads not required "to report to the Interstate Commerce 

 Commission. 



2 By Classes I, II, and III line-haul railroads and by 

 switching and terminal companies. 



3 By Class I railroads only. 



Source: U. S. Interstate Commerce Commission. Sta- 

 tistics of Railroads in the United States (annual issues 

 1940-53); Transport Statistics in the United States (1954, 

 195.5). Washington, D. C. 



