24 



the cost of manaf:fement — tliisis wliat railroad companies are most bent 

 oil obtainiug. Especially in our country, where the present account- 

 ing outweighs in importance all future possible profits, this considera- 

 tion alone, of reduced first cost, may be sufficient to work a revolution 

 in the use of railroad ties. On the other hand, the bugbear of cheap- 

 ness, which is often mistaken for an equivalent of economy, is apt to 

 mislead the inventor into risking the factors of safety and strength iu 

 order to attain cheai)ness. 



'' If a man wants a ^ cheap' track he had better continue to pay 50 

 and 75 cents for wooden ties. And if he wants an economical track lie 

 must use steel ties with enough metal in them to insure permanency." 



There is also no doubt that the metal tie which is suitable for one set 

 of conditions is not suitable for others. The amount of traffic, and es- 

 pecially the condition of track and ballast, will dictate changes in shape, 

 weight, etc. 



It had been the intention to review all the i)atents which had con- 

 cerned themselves with introducing metal for railway tracks, but the 

 large number — not less than 256 patents so far, very many of which 

 are obviously impracticable — made the task too laborious for the prac- 

 tical result to be expected from it. Therefore, only a brief reference 

 list to these patents has been prepared by Mr. Tratman. 



The first suggestion for the use of metal track seems to date back to 

 the year ISSOj a patent by J. Stimpson, proposing a construction of 

 metal and wood combined, similar to a construction now much used in 

 street railwaj^s. Tiie next attempts did not follow until 1857, 1858, 

 and 1861. 



The flood of i^atents begins with the year 1883, the last five years hav- 

 ing produced not less than one hundred and sixty devices. 



Some of the more prominent devices, which have been actually manu- 

 factured in the United States, are briefly described in Appendix B. 



B. E. Eernow. 



