20 



Appendix B. 

 SOME AMERICAN METAL TIES. 



The Zntsrimtional tie. — This is a rolled steel tie, the section of which 

 resG-mMes a printer's "brace" (.-w'^*^)^ originally it was made in two 

 pieces, riveted together at the middle flange, but it is now to be rolled in 

 one piece. The dimensions are as follows: Length, 8 feet ; width, 10 

 inches; side flanges, 2} iuclies deep; middle flange, 2 inches high; thick- 

 ness, from -f^-iiich at the lower part of the side flanges to -5% inch at the mid- 

 dle. The middle flange is cut away in two places for the rails. The 

 fastenings consist of flat wrought-iron clips,, one on each side of the rail, 

 which are bolted to the flange of the tie and have projections which 

 bear upon the rail flange. Some of these ties have been in use for more 

 than two years on the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Maine Central 

 Railroad ; the Long Island Railroad is now giving them a trial. 



The Hartford tie. — This is a rolled steel tie, of inverted trough sec- 

 tion, with a channel or groove along the whole length of the top table, 

 and having the ends curved down to hold the ballast. The dimensions 

 are as follows: Length, 7 feet G inches; width at top, 8 inches ; width 

 at bottom, 10^ inches ; depth, 2 J inches; thickness, f inch at sides and 

 ■f^ inch at top ; the channel or groove is 2h inches wide and g inch deep. 

 The weight is about 120 pounds. The fastening for each rail consists of 

 two clamps |-inch thick, with a hooked projection at the broad end, 

 which holds the flange of the rail; these clamps are wedge shaped in 

 plan, and lie in the channel above mentioned. A bent bolt, with its head 

 at an angle of 53 degrees with the body, is used on each sideof the rail ; 

 the iiead is on the under side of the tie and the body i)asses u[) ihrougli 

 the tie and clamp, the nut bearing on the inclined face of the clamp. 

 This is the fastening as improved by Mr. Katte, the chief engineer of 

 the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. By this ariange- 

 ment, the bolt being at an angle, a strong grip is secured, and there is 

 little tendency to jar the bolts loose; to prevent such loosening, how- 

 ever, the bolt has the Harvey grip thread, which forms a nut-lock in it- 

 self. The fastening permits of a very wide rangeof adjustment of gauge. 

 These ties have not yet been tried, but the IS'ew York Central and Hud- 

 son River Railroad will lay 800 of them in April, and careful observations 

 -will be made as to the results. 



The ^Standard tie. — This is a steel tie of channel section (LJ) stamped 

 to shape from a plate. The bottom is cut away at the middle, and is 

 bent up at an angle to ofl'er resistance to lateral motion, the ends being 

 open. The rail does not rest upon the vertical sides of the tie, which 

 are cut away for a depth of three-fourths of an inch under the rail, but 

 rests upon a block of preserved wood (placed with the grain vertical). 

 The tie is intended to be fllled with ballast. The iiistenings consist of 

 Z-suaped clips, the upper part holding the rail flange and the lower 



