15 



nected by transverse tieroils. The Delagoa Bay Railway, one of the 

 new lines opening np the interior, is laid principally with steel lies. 



iSenegal. — Abont 5,000 ties of the " Severac" type have been ordered 

 for the railways in this French colony. Gast-iron bowls are used on the 

 French island of Reunion. 



Egypt. — On the Ef^yptian Agricultural Railways, vTrought-iron plates 

 connected by tie rods have been used, and also cast-iron "pots" or 

 bowls. In the English campaign of 1885 a short length of light rail- 

 way of 18-inch gauge, with corrugated steel cross-ties, was laid at fSua- 

 kim, but the line was soon taken up. 



Algeria. — Metal ties are used on the Algerian lines controlled by the 

 Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Railway Company (France) ; 10,000 

 ties were laid in 1870, and have given good results. In 18j7-'G9 the 

 Algiers and Oran line put down 90,000 iron ties of the "Yautherin" 

 typej the Bone and Guelma line put down 3,500 ties of the ''Severac" 

 type and 2,500 of the ''Boyenval-Ponsard" type. It is estimated that 

 the use of metal ties has saved one-fourth of the labor formerly required 

 for maintenance, or about $60 per mile per annum. 



ASIA. 



India. — In this country, steel cross-ties and cast-iron bowls and ])lates 

 (the latter types arranged in pairs) are very extensively used, and the 

 use of metal track is extending very rapidly, large contracts biing iVe 

 quently awarded for the companies' and the Government lines. E\ e.j 

 in Burmah, where wood has been generally used till recently, steel Ue:s 

 are beginning to be introduced. 



About 525,000 tons of steel ties have been sent out from England 

 during the last few years, and there are nearly 300 miles of (he State 

 lines now laid with this form of track j a large number of miles of private 

 companies' lines are also laid with steel ties. The general results are 

 reported to be good, and the ties give, on the whole, much satisfaction. 

 They are used for lines of 1 metre and 5 feet G inches gauge. 



There are over 1,G00 miles laid with cast-iron track of different types, 

 and these also give satisfactory results in general. Such tracks have 

 been in use for twelve or fourteen years. Of the '' Denham Olpherts " 

 type alone more than 2,000,000 pairs have been made for double-headed 

 rails and about 600,000 pairs for flange rails. On the East Indian Rail 

 way there were 1,311,000 of these '' Denham-Olpherts" plate sleepers 

 at the end of 1887, and the breakages since 1885 had averaged only O.SI 

 per cent, per annum. They give good results in reducing the work o! 

 maintenance, there being a saving of about 6^ per cent, of renewals p( r 

 annum. In some of these sleepers wooden cushions are used for the rads 

 to rest on. On one division of the Indian Midland Railway the perciMit- 

 age of renewals of the •' Denhani-Olp'ierts" i)late sleepers was 0.3!. 



Japan.— A few cast-iron '4)ot" sleepers were laid when the first lines 

 were built, about 1871, but they liave nearly all been taken up again and 

 hardly any now remain in the track, while for new^ lines timber ties are 

 used exclusively. 



