METAL RAILWAY TIES. 401 



its expense account almost double the cost for material, besides the additional track labor required 

 to do the work, while during the interval it can not have as good a track as the latter. 



Although the practical economies resulting from the use of preservative processes have been 

 amply proved, both in this country and abroad, and although such processes are very extensively 

 employed abroad, they have been but indifferently regarded here by railway officers, with some 

 important exceptions. The economy results not only from the increased life of the ties and the 

 possibility of making cheaper and inferior timber give as good service as the higher grades of 

 timber, but also from the reduced labor and cost of maintenance and the improved surface of 

 track due to reduction in tie renewals. Under ordinary conditions the track has hardly been got 

 into good surface on a settled roadbed before it is disturbed again by renewing ties. In view of 

 these facts, and of the further fact that so many important railways are now spending enormous 

 sums of money in the improvement of their lines, it is strange that so tew railways have taken up 

 this matter on a large scale. 



One of the most important and practical of modern improvements in American railway track 

 has been the wide introduction of metal tie plates, which are placed between the rail and the tie. 

 Their purpose is to prevent the cutting and wearing of the tie, which frequently necessitate the 

 removal of sound ties from the track. The .small cost of these plates and the undoubted advan- 

 tages which they insure in ecouomy in ties and in track work have ]ecl to their use on many 

 hundreds of miles of track. They not only lengthen the life of the ties, but also give a better and 

 more permanent bearing for the rails. Similar plates, but of much heavier construction and 

 secured by bolts or spikes, have for many years been used in Europe. The special feature of the 

 small and light American plates is that they have ribs or points which are pressed into the wood, 

 so that the plate becomes practically a part of the tie, independent of the rail fastenings. 



The greatest economy in track with wooden ties will in general be insured by protecting the 

 ties from decay by means of a chemical treatment, and protecting them from abrasion or wear by 

 means of the application of metal tie j)lates. 



In conclusion, two statements may be presented, based upon the information given in my 

 reports and upon the present review of the situation. 



First. The advantages and economies resulting from the use of metal ties are such as to make 

 it advisable to consider their application to American railways (in special cases, at least) in the 

 near future. 



Second. The advantages and economies which may be obtained by the application of tie 

 plates and preservative processes to wooden ties are so great that the use of such methods should 

 be considered as a matter of immediate importance. 



H. Doc. 181 26 



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