246 University Geological Survey of Kansas. 
Track.—The rail used is the ordinary T rail generally em- 
ployed, with light rolling stock, and is used both above and 
below ground. The weight is from 14 to [6 pounds per yard. 
The rails are placed three feet eight inches apart on tramways 
and from fourteen to eighteen inches apart in the pit. The 
dimensions of the rails are as follows: Breadth of base, 14 
inches; of top, ¢ inch; of the web, ¢ inch; height of rail, 
2y inches; average thickness of cap and base, + and ¢ inch. 
Rails come in even lengths of ten, twelve and sixteen feet, but 
are cut in any desired length to adapt the track to special 
conditions. 
The reason that the track is so wide gauged on the tram- 
way is that the rails must pass on either side of the manhole 
in the derrick platform. When the bucket is raised, the cars 
run over the manhole, thus covering the shaft and bringing 
the car directly under the bucket, which when lowered will 
rest uponit. Thecable is then unhooked and the car, together 
with the bucket, may be run along the tramway leading to 
the mill or the dump. 
The cars in the pit are just large enough for a bucket to 
set upon them, and often enclose the top. 3, figure 45. 
The cars are so constructed, 2. e., the wheels are under or in- 
side wheels and the wheel base is so very short, that an ex- 
ceedingly narrow gauge is necessary— usually eighteen inches. 
The rails are spiked to the ties, which consist of planks or 
most any kind of rough timber strong enough to hold them 
together. ‘The side tracks are connected with the main track 
in the ordinary manner, and are furnished with switches and 
crossings. The tracks are made approximately level, a slight 
inclination being allowed in the direction the load is to be 
hauled, so as to facilitate the passage of the loaded cars. 
HOISTING APPARATUS. 
The hoisting apparatus consists essentially of the derrick, 
the hoisting engine, cages, buckets, cables, ropes, and dump- 
ing appliances. : 
The methods of hoisting are very varied, and range from a 
double armed windlass to the latest improved friction and 
