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WASHINGTON: OOVBRNMBNT PRINTING OFFICE. 1866. iWmWb^m«i% REPORT OF BO^RD COKTICNED TO DETERMINE OK A STANDARD ron COmuCTM OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD MADE TO HONORABLE JAMEB HARLAN, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR FEBRUARY 34, 1866. WITH ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS. WASHINGTON: «OVERNIVIENT PKINTINO OFFICE. 18G6. / s -it. u -,*^> / CONTENTS. ■'-■it Letter from Colonel Simpson, cLairu.an of board, transmitting report of its proceed- """^ inga to honorable Secretary of the Interior » P "' "s proceeU- Letter from Secretary of Interior approving report.'and dir"eVtin.^'it" to' be used' fo^ ^ guidance of commiosioners and directors o 't to be used lor Journal of proceedings of board ^ ^ ^ Appendix A,-Orders for government comm'isiioners' and dVrectoVs'to meet' in Wash ^ ington as members of board "^"' "^^l;:^;^^^^^ ;« p-'^-'^""f'n>ad;";nt.;;;;;rt;L;;p;j;ju;«;;n;e;i;;g '' Appendix C-Leiter of 8e^:;a;y ;^'{,u^;;; ^ ^'^^ ^ ^i^atlon '^ li^a "" H Ipp ndix E -R T f '"'■ m' "'>" "^'"•"'^•^ '"' ""-"^ "^''''^ «^- construction;:;; 5 cCular N.?'.^.. "..':'' " ^- ^^ ''"'^■'' Q"-termaster General, to Appendix F.-Reply from' 'n^r'man "Haupt", 'ci;;; "o'ngi'ne;;; to'ci'rida; N^ ' 2 If Append.x H.-Letter from T. Swinyard, transmitting remarks of George L^vV Reid civil engineer, on circular No. 2. . """igi^ uow e iteia, Appendix I -Reply from Ashbel Welch," d;i"r;;g;ne;;;Vo"c"ir'c'ula'r'No"8 S Appendix J.-Reply from Benjamin H. Latrobe, civil engineer, to c^c" la^No '2'"' ^ Appendix K.-Reply from G. A. Nicolls to circular No « ^ Appendix L._Reply from W. W. Evans, civil engineeV. "t'o' d'r'c'ula;'N;"2 fn Appendix M.-Reply from Silas Seymour, civil engineer, to circular No 2 L rr^d ^;;;^:^'--^^^^^-y^^^ to Hofi. Springer Ha^f^gh'i'n ;.;.;■„ '' Appendix O.-Letter from William"p.'shinn to Hon. M." We'lker *i'n' rel'a'tio,; "f'n* fi' 1 " ^^ joints.. With letterfr.nHo^^ Appendix P.-Letter from t! 'c; Dumn't" 't'o'co'bnd' 'sim'ps'o'n ; t Appendix Q.—Telegram from H. H. Gardner to T T w.-iii *•■■'■,■"." ''" joints Gardner to J. L. Williams in relation to fish- ""Tc""!' .^7!^!'^'' "' ''"'""""^ '' ''''' recommended" "by 'di'ffe;;n; '^ngin^eV;, '' ^ no s / s REPORT or BOARD OX COxVSTRUCTlON OF PACIFIC RAILROAD. Department of the Interior, Enqinker Office, Was/tington, D. C, February 24, 1866. Sir: I have the honor to submit, herewith, a report of the proceedings of a bo«n of government commissioners, directors, and engineer, convened by your direction, to determine on a standard for the Pacific raihoad and branches, with the accompanying documents. The replies from eminent engineers and others to a circular sent, asking their view, ou crtain points of railroad construction, and which are included with these papers, will be found to contain much valuable and interesting inform- ation. " Their views and suggestions have been of much service in establishing the standard recommended by the board, since, although not practicable to give this road the solidity and perfection recommended by these replies, from the outset, without preventing its rapid progress and completion at an early date, as required by luw, yet as the character of road they all recommend is clearly that which will be needed when it is fully opened and doing a heavy business, the board bave endeavored to make such a standard as will secure a good track without retarding the progress, and advise that every step of the w:rk be made ^th a view to ultimate perfection. Thus while the board deem it essential that the work shall be thoroughly ballasted, and all the bridges provided with masonry piers and abutments, yet knowing that the high embankments will require some time to settle before the track IS finally adjusted, and that, in many cases, both ballast and stone fo masonry must be brought by rail, they have thought best not to make the acceptance of any section contingent on the completion of its masonry and bal- asting, but prefer, that such parts of the road be accepted in case this work sectLlr """""' "^' ^^ P''^«""^^'"^ vigorously on the preceding It has been the aim of the board to give due and impartial consideration to the questions of economy, of first cost, and of ultimate working, as well as to the ^api^ progress and final adaptation to the traflic to be expected from this great I am. sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. H. SIMPSON, „ J „ ^'^''^''''''"tCo'onelEvgiTteers, Chairman of Board. Hon. James Harlan, '^ Sccre'ary of the Interior. ' i 11 6 / N Dkpartmr\t ok thk Interior, Washington, D. C, February 24, 18C6, CoLONKii : The report of tlio proceedings of the board to determine on a Htiuid- ardfor the construction of the Pacific railroad, with the accompanying documents, has been received. The results arrived at by the board, as embodied in the report it has adopted in regard to the construction of the road, are approved, and it is hereby directed that said report be used by the directors and commissioners as a guide for their action in directing or accepting the work. To this end you will cause copies to bo furnished these ollicers as soon as printed. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES HAIfLAN, Secrctarij of the Interior. Colonel J. H. Simp.son, Corps Engineers U. S. A., Ch'n of Board, Chief Eng. Dep. Interior. Journal of j^rocccdings of hoard convened to determine on a standard for con- struction of the Pacijic railroad, Washington, D. C, February 1, 1866. The first meeting of a board to determine on a stand.nd for the construction of the Pacific and other railroads in which the government, has an interest, con- vened by order of the Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Interior, was held at 12 o'clock m., in the Washington Aqueduct ofiice. The board was organized in compliance with the following instructions, &c., from the honorable Secretary of the Interior : 1. Orders for the government commissioners and directors to report in Wash" iugton, as members of the board. — Appendix A. 2. Invitations to presidents of several companies interested to be present in person or by proxy. — Appendix 13. 3. Order appointing as chairman of the board Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Simpson, corps of engineers, and as secretary Mr. John R. Gilliss, assistant engineer. — Appendix C. In compliance with his instructions, Colonel Simpson took the chair and called the board to order. The board of government commissioners, directors, and engineer were present, as follows : Government Commissioners. — Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Simpson, corps of engineers U. S. army, chief engineer Department of the Interior, and commis- sioner for Union Pacific railroad and Union Pacific railway, eastern division ; Major General S. R. Curtis, of Iowa, commissioner for Union Pacific railroad and Union Pacific railway, eastern division; Hon. Wm M. White, of Connecticut, commissioner for Union Pacific railroad ; Hon. P. H. Sibley, of California, com- missioner for Central Pacific railroad ; Hon. Wm. P. Smith, of Maryland, com- missioner of Union Pacific railway, eastern division. Government directors on Union Pacijic railroad. — Hon. George Aslimun, of Massachusetts ; Hon. Jesse L. Williams, of Indiana ; Hon. Springer Harbaugh, / of Pennsylvania ; Hon. Timothy J. Carter, of Illinois ; Hon. Charles T. Sher- man, ot (Jhio. 'J'he following gentlemen were also jircsent as reprcHentntivca of the several corapames engaged in constructing the Pacific road and branches : C. 1 . Huntington, eso., vice-president Central Pacific railroad ; Hon 8. C 1 omcroy, president Atchison Jiranch Pacific railroad ; Hon. Wm, H Allison vice-president Sioux City and Pacific railroad ; Hon. Oukes Ames. Sioux City' and lacihc railroad; II. M. Shoemaker, chief engineer Union Pacific railway, eastern division ; (ko. W. McCook. esn.. attorney Union Pacific railway, east- ern^ division ; HughL. Jewett, esq., director Union Pacific railway, eastern The chairman then stated that to obtain information on some points havine an important bearing on the subject before the board, he had, by direction of the Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Interior, addressed a circular (No. 2) to eminent railroad engineers and others, asking their opinions on certain im- portant details of railroad construction. Circular No. 2 and the replies to it were then read. (See appendices D to M, inclusive.) ' ^ On motion of General Curtis, these papers wore referred to a committee of five, to be appointed by the chairman. The following named gentlemen were appointed on this committee : 8. R. Curtis. Jesse L. Williams, P. H. Sibley, Springer Harbaugh, and 'l^imothy J. On motion of Mr. George Ashmun. it wa.s resolved that the Pacific railroad committees of each house of Congress be invited to attend t>'" meetin-s of the board. " Invitations to this effect were accordingly sent by the chairman On motion of Mr. Charles T. Sherman, it was resolved that when the board adjourn, it be to meet at 10 a.m., February 2, that early hour being selected to accommodate the congressional committees On motion of Mr. Charles T. Sherman, it was resolved that a committee oi' three be appointed by the chairman to report whether any additional con- gressiona legislation be desirable in connexion with the action of the board. Ihe loUowing named gentlemen were appointed on this committee : Charles 1. Sherman, George Ashmun, Wm. M. White. A debate then ensued as to the organization of the board, especially as to whether those present who were not government ofScers, but only represented the companies, were authorized to vote. The question was decided in the negative by the chairman, who referred to the instructions under which the board was organized. A debate as to the character of road that should be built then ensued, par- ticipated in by Messrs. Shoemaker, Ames, Williams, the chairman and others. At half past two o'clock p. in. the board adjourned, to meet again at 10 o'clock a. m., February 2. Washington, February 2, 1866. In pursuance of adjournment, the second meeting of the board was held at 10 clock a. m. In addition to members at the previous meeting, the Hon. Hiram Price, of Iowa, chairman of House committee on Pacific railroad ; Hon. J. P. Usher attorney for Union Pacific railway, eastern division, and others, were present! Atter the board had been called to order the minutes of the last meeting were Mr. Huntington called attention to the fact th.-jt the Central Pacific railroad was not represented in the committee on legislation. n 8 / \ On motion of Mr, Sherman, it was resolved that the committee on legislation be increased to four membero by the addition of Mr. Sibley, commissioner on Central Pacific railroad. A debate then ensued, participated in by General Curtis, Mr. Williams, and others, as to the duties of the committee to whom replies to circular No. 2 and other papers had been refened. On motion of Mr. Williams, it was resolved that flaid committee be the busi- ness committee of the board, and that the chairman be ex officio a member of it. A debate then followed on the subject of establishing a standard— the prac- tical objections to it on the one hand, and the importance of securing a good road, and of uniformity of action on the part of all concerned, on the other. It was participated in by nearly every member of the board. On motion of Mr. Ashmun, at 1 p. m., it was resolved that the board adjourn, to give the committees an opportunity to prepare their reports. Washi.\gto.\, February 3, 1866. The third meeting of the board was held at 11 a. m. After it had been called to order the minutes of the last meeting were read. General Curtis, aa chairman of the business committee, then read its report on a standard to be recommended for tbe construction of the Pacific railroad. Mr. Shoemaker suggested that the report be so amended that bridges could be accepted if the masonry had been commenced. After some discussion the following proviso was agreed upon and inserted in the report : " Provided, That temporary trestles may be adopted upon assurances, to the satisfaction of the commissioners, that stone abutments will be substituted im- mediately after the lines shall be opened, so that stone can be transported thereon." A debate followed as to the credentials of some of the representatives of com- panies present, participated in by the chairman, General Curtis, and others. On motion of General Curtis, it was resolved that technicalities be waived, and that representatives of the companies present be allowed to give their opin- ions. ^ A clause in the report of the business committee recommended that the com- missioners inspect the location of the work before construction was commenced. Messrs. Curtis,. Pomeroy, Sibley, Shoemaker, and others, gavb their views at some length on this clause. It was finally resolved that it be left ont. On motion of Mr. Ashmun, it was resolved that the report of the business committee be read and debated by sections. The preamble and succeeding sections on grades and curves were then read and adopted. The section on embankments and excavations was then read. It was ob- jected to by Mr. Shoemaker, and a debate followed as to the proper width for cuts at the grade line, participated in by Messrs. Curtis, Williams, Sibley, and the chairman. A motion was made that the section on embankments and excavations be amended ; which was not agreed to : Yeas, 4— Messrs. Curtis. White, Sibley, and Smith. Nays, 6— Messrs. Simpson, Ashmun, Williams, Harbaugh, Carter, and Sherman. The next two sections, relating to mechanical structures and ballasting, were then read and adopted without dissent. The section relating to cross-ties was then read. One paragraph in the report recommended that "sawed ties should not bo less than 6 inches thick, 8 inches wide, and 8 leet long, nor less than 2,400 to the m.ile." This was objected to by Mr. Shoemaker, and the subject was discussed by Messrs. Williams, Shoemaker, Sibley, Carter, and others. / \ 9 '. During this debate Mr. Smith stated that it was necessary for him to leave- that he was satisfied with the report; that it was a reasonable common-senso document, and that he wished his name recorded on the vote in its favor. He then proposed the following as a conclusion to the report, which was agreed to and added to it : ° " It is the aim of this board to secure all these objects, and it is also our belief that they are not incompatible, it being only necessary, on the part of the govern- naent, to insist upon the reasonable requirements embodied in this report, to hasten the completion of the great work, and at the same lime adapt it to the hit'h public interest which it is intended to subserve." * On motion of Mr. Williams, it was resolved that the paragraph be amended so as to require 2,500 ties per mile, of not less than 7-inch face, if sawed : Yeas, 6— - Messrs. Simpson, Ashmun, Williams, Harbaugh, Carter, and Sherman. Nays, 3— Messrs. Curtis, White, and Sibley. The section relating to rails was then read. One paragraph recommended that if found impracticable to use the fish-joint immediately, holes should be punched in the ends of the rails so that fish-plates might be used afterwards. ^ This was objected to by some of the members ; and on motion of Mr. Harbaugh, 1? u^^ '■^solved that the clause recommending holes to be punched in rails for fish-plates be left out. The section relating to rails was then adopted. The section relating to side tracks was, after some debate, amended to read "eight feet apart in the clear between the rails," instead of " ten feet," as at first written. On motion of Mr. Sibley, the section relating to rails was reconsidered, but after being debated by Messrs. Sibley, Williams, Curtis, and Huntington, was not altered. The next two sections, on sidings, as previously amended, and on rolling stock, were passed without debate. The section relating to buildings was then read, and, at Mr. Shoemaker's re- quest, after "engine-houses and repair shops " the words "at the principal sta- tions " were inserted. As thus amended the section passed. The concluding section was then read. At the suggestion of Mr. Shoemaker, an amendment was proposed by the in- sertion of a general proviso, as follows : "The limitations contained in this report are not intended to interfere with the work already commenced, or materials delivered or in transitu, but all such cases are left subject to the inspection of the commissioners, whose duty it shall be to inspect the work " Messrs. Williams, Harbaugh, and the chairman objected to the ameinlment, and it was lost. The concluding section, with the additional paragraph proposed by Mr. Smith, was, after some further debate, adopted. On motion of General Curtis, it was resolved that where the v/ord "shall" occurs in the report, it be made to read "should" or "may," and that for the word "convention" be substituted the word "board." On motion of Mr. Ashmun, the report was recommitted to the business com- mittee to engross and present ut the next meeting. On motion of General Curtis, at 4 p. m., tlie board adjourned to meet again at 10 p. m., February 5th. * Washington, February 5, 1866. The fourth and last meeting of the board was held at 11 a. m. After it had been called to order the minutes of the previous meeting were read. General Curtis, as chairman of the business committee, read its report as amended at the previous meeting. Mr. Williams suggested that the paragraph relating to sawed ties be amended '■ 1 f 1 ] 10 / \ to read, "If sawed, tliey should not be less than eight inches wide, and not less than 2,400 per mile, or such number as will have the same bearing surface, pro- vided that if any sawed ties have been already delivered or contracted for, only seven inches wide, they may be laid down." On motion of Mr. White, the amendment was adopted unanimously. At the suggestion of Mr. Harbaugh, and on motion of Mr. Williams, the follow- ing addition was made to the report : "Wherever cattle-guards and road-crossings are necessary they should be made." On motion of Mr. Sherman, the report of business committee, aa finally amended, was then adopted unanimously by the board. REPORT OF BUSINESS COMMITTEE. Your committee, to whom were referred various communications of ex- perienced and scientific engineers concerning a suitable standard for the work on the Pacific railroad and its several branches, and to whom was also assigned the duty of presenting to the board proper subjects for its consideration, as contemplated by the call of the honorable the Secretary of the Interior, have the honor to present the following report : The various locations through which the Pacific railroad and its branches are destined to run occupy such a variety of country as to render a specific style of work suited to all localities extremely diiHcult. The topographical features of the surface, the great variety of soils and lower strata of the earth, the singu- lar variety of climate as to cold and heat, wet and dry, all have to be con- sidered' indetermining details of location, materiat, '^nd form of the work. It was, probably, because of these difficulties the laws of Congress authorizing the construction give only general or very meagre specifications as to the details of the Pacific railroad. But your committee, after availing themselves of the views expressed by the several engineers to which they have referred, and in contemplation of the reasonable construction of the law of Congress, recommend to the board the adoption of the following general rules as those which should govern all parties engaged in directing, constructing, or accepting the work: Every step taken in the work, and especially in the location of lines and grades, should be adapted to ultimate perfection, whatever may be immediate interests or necessities, so as to secure to the nation a grand and complete structure, every way worthy of our country and honorable to the distinguished men who involve their capital and energies in so vast an enterprise. LOCATION. Great care should be observed in the determination of the general and de- tailed location of the main line and branches, so as to secure th^ shortest lines consistent with economical grades to the most desirable passes oi ihe mountain ranges. The law names but few points ; still it is clearly the interest of the government and not prejudicial to the companies to determine such points as a great general line should have, so as to unite, as far as possible, all the great ultimate purposes of a central and convenient channel for the commerce of nations that is likely to traverse the road. With this general view of the work, careful and extended surveys should be made and well considered. GKADBS AND CURVES. While the law makes the grades and curves adopted on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad a standard, this is only to be considered as a limit to be adopted lU / N 11 in mountain districts. To introduce grades of 116 feet per mile, or curves as sharp as 400 feet ladiua, on other parts of the road, would manifestly violate the spirit and intent of the law. Grades and curves should be settled upon principles of true economy and adaptation, based upon careful scientific and practical investigations, having due regard both to cost of construction and future working of the road. It is safe to say, in advance, that on the Platte and Kansas valleys, and on similar smooth valleys or level plains, no grade should exceed thirty feet eleva- tion per mile. EMBANKMENTS AND EXCAVATIONS. In all parts of the main line of road or branches, embankments should not be less than fourteen feet wide at the grade line. Excavations, if the cuts are lengthy, should be twenty-six feet wide, and in shorter cuts at least twenty- four feel ; thus leaving in all cases room for continuous side ditches of ample depth and wi3th, so as to secure that most essential requisite, a well-drained road-bed. Rock excavations should be not less than sixteen feet wide, and all tunnels should be excavated for a double track. Slopes of earth embankments should be one and a half base to one rise. Excavations, except in rock, should Lave slopes from one to one and a half base to one rise, depending upon the material ; or if steeper, tlien to have increased width at grade, so as to remove the same quantity of earth contained within the slopes. MECHANICAL STRUCTURES. Culverts and abutments for bridges and drains should be of stone, whenever a durable article can be obtained within a reasonable distance — say from five to eight miles, depending upon circumstances ; provided that temporary trestles may be adopted upon assurances, to the satisfaction of the commissioners, that atone abutments will be substituted immediately after the line shall be opened, so that stone can be transported thereon. But if good stone be too remote, then hard-burned brick or wooden trestle work may be adopted. The wood to be of the most durable character the country will afford ; and the wood or brick to be replaced by stone when that material can be conveyed conveniently by rail. Bridges of stone, or iron or wood, (such as the Howe truss, or other equally good structure,) should be used at the discretion of the company. BALLASTING. A railroad cannot be considered complete until it is well ballasted. If com- posed of gravel or broken stone it should be from 12 to 24 inches thick, depend- ing on the lower material. In view of the settling of new embankments, which require time and rains before ballasting can be properly placed, and also in view of the number of miles required by the law to be constructed annually, the perfect finish of the road-bed in this respect must be progressive and the work of time. Yet it is the opinion of the board that such work of perfecting the ballast must proceed as usual on first-class railroads ; otherwise subsequent sec- tions should not be accepted, because the whole work is not then being carried forward as a great Pacific railroad, such as the law contemplates. CROSS-TIES. Oak or other suitable timber should be used, where it can be obtained with reasonable tvanppnrtatinn. "When such timber cannot be had for all the ties at reasonable cost, then the best the country affords may be adopted ; but if it be Cottonwood, or similar soft material, itmust be Burnettizcd or kyanized thoroughly 12 80 as to increase its durability. But in all cases the joint tie should be of oak, or other suitable timber, the better to hold the spikes at these points. There should be at least 2,400 ties to the mile. They should be eight feet long, six inches thick, and, if hewn, six inches on the face. If sawed, they should not be less than eight inches wide and not less than 2,400 per mile, or such number as will havci the same bearing surface, provided that if any sawed ties have been already delivered or contracted for only seven inches wide, they may be laid down. RAILS. These are to be of American iron, as required by law, of the best quality, and should weigh sixty pounds to the yard. But in. consideration of the great cost of transportation from the present location of rolling mills to the remote sections of this road, iron may be adopted which weighs only fifty-six pounds to the yard. In mountain districts, however, where heavier engines will be used, not less than sixty-pound rails should be adopted; provided that if any of the companies have on hand or in transitu, or contracted for, any rails of different weight from that herein specified, and not under fifty pounds per yard, such rails may be used. The rails should be attached to each tie by spikes driven on both sides of the rail. As the nearest approximation to a continuous rail, the so-called fish-joint is preferred and recommended; but if found that it will retard the progress of the work, the common American wrought-iron chair may be used. SIDINGS. The length of side tracks should be at least six per cent, of the line completed, to be increased as the number of passing trains shall demand. Side tracks should also be laid eight feet apart in the clear between the rails. Wherever cattle- guards and road-crossings are necessary they should be made. / ROLLING STOCK. Locomotive engines and cars must be provided in liberal proportion to the traffic and the convenient construction, to be increased from time to time as the completion of additional flections and the increase of business seem to require. BUILDINGS. Engine-houses, repair shops, and station buildings should be adapted to the wants of the service. At the opening of business, the extent and capacity of buildings may be only such as to provide liberally for the existing rolling stock and the business of the road, and such probable early increase as may seem likely ; yet the plans in all cases, both as to the buildings and grounds, should be arranged for prospective enlargements and extensions equal to any future business of the road, the buildings at first erected forming appropriate parts of a complete and systematic whole. Engine-houses and repair shops at the principal stations must in all cases be- of stone or brick, with good stone foundations. The covering should be slate or metallic, to guard as far as possible against fire. Water stations should be erected at convenient distances to suit the wants of the trains. Extensive and convenient locations of ground should be procured to accom- modate a future large business, and the proper titles should be carefully secured. All this is the more desirable, .ia lands are now easily obtained at moderate prices. / 13 In these specifications it ia believed that nothing is required which may not be regarded as essential to a commodious and complete railroad. Nothing is proposed to retard the progress of the companies. The importance and public desire for accelerated movement have been fully appreciated, and the board earnestly desires to favor and foster the energy and fidelity which now seems to animate those engaged in the construction. But while guarding against delay on one hand, the public interests require, on the other, a substantial and complete work, and the highest perfection of track reasonably attainable on a new road is expected and projected as the standard to which the workmen are to arrive. The argument in favor of speedy construction must be subordinate to the substantial objects of the road, and the government must be certain to have a work that will convey her mails, troops, and munitions of war, and com- merce of the country with entire certainty, celerity, and convenience. It is the aim of this board to secure all these objects, and it is also our belief that they are not incompatible, it being only necessary on the part of the government to insist upon the reasonable requirements embodied in this report to hasten the completion of the great work, and at the same time adapt it to the high public interest which it is intended to subserve. Mr. Sherman, as its chairman, then read the following report of committee on legislation : " The committee to whom was referred the subject of legislation on the matters under consideration by this board respectfully report : That the results arrived at cannot properly be enacted in the form of a statute, and we therefore do not deem it advisable for us to ask any legislation from Congress at the present time. " We, however, deem it proper to suggest that it is possible legislation may be proposed hereafter, and, in that case, this committee should be chai'ged with the duty of giving its attention to the proposed action." On motion of Mr. Ashmun, this report was adopted. The following papers were submitted by different members of the board, and their motions to have them filed with its records were adopted : Letter from Philip S. Justice to Hon. Springer Harbaugh in relation to steel rails — Appendix N. Letter from Wm. P. Shinn to Hon. M. Welker in relation to fish joints, and letter from Hon. M. Welker to Hon. Chas. T. Sherman transmitting the same. — Appendix 0. Letter from T. C. Durant, esq., vice-president Union Pacific railroad, to Colonel Simpson — Appendix P. Telegram from H. H. Gardner to J. L. Williams in relation to fish joints — Appendix Q. On motion of Mr. Ashmun, it was resolved that the remarks made during debates be omitted from the minutes of the board. Messrs. Shoemaker and McCook then expressed their appreciation of the courtesy shown to representatives of the various companies by the chairman and board. On motion of Mr. Ashmun, the following resolution was passed unanimously: " Resolved, That we desire to express the thanks of this board to the officers and representatives of the diU'erent companies engaged in building the Pacific railroad, who have attendt'd our meetings, and have given valuable information to enab!? Am board to arrive at its results ; and also to express our great satisfactio .. i the earnest and vigorous efforts which the several companies engaged in the prosecution of the great work they have in hand are making to press it forward to as speedy and creditable completion as the means within their power will justify." \ 14 Tho board then called, ia a body, on the Hon. Secretary of the Intterior to pay their respects. After btating to him, through their cimirman, that their labors had been ended in a manner mutually satisfactory, and his expressing gratification at the result, the convention adjourned sine die. J. H. SIMPSON, Lieut. Col. Corps Engineers, Gov't Com'r and Chairman. S R. CURTIS, Com'r U. P.R.R, and U. P. R., E. D. WM. M. WHITE, Cofnmissioner U. P. R. R. P. H. SIBLEY, Com'r Central P. R. R. P. SMITH, Com'r U. P. R., E. D. ASHMUN, Gov't Director U. P. R. JESSE L. WILLIAMS, Gov't Director U. P. R SPRINGER HARBAUGU, Gov't Director U. P. R. T. J. CARTER, Gov't Director U. P. R. R. CHAS. T. SHERMAN. Gov't Director U. P. R. R. John R. GtLLiss, Secretary. / WM. GEO. R. R. R. APPENDIX A. Dkpartmbnt of the Interior, Engineer Office, Washington, D. C, September 8, 1865. Sir : A board, to consist of the government commissioners, directors and engineer of the Pacific railroad, will convene in this city, at 12 meridian on the 10 th day of January next, at this office, for the purpose of adopting some uni- form standard of road to which the several companies organized under the acts of July 1, 1862, and July 2, 1864, shall conform. You are hereby respectfully requested to attend at the time and place desig- nated, and the Secretary would bo pleased to be informed, both by telegraph and letter, if you will be able to comply. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. H. SIMPSON, Lieutenant Colonel Engineers, in charge Hon, P. H. Sibley, Government Cotn'r Central Pacijic R. R. Co., \ San Francisco, California. Same as the above sent to Hon. Josiah Johnson, Sacramento, California, and Hon, F. F. Low, San Francisco, California, commissioners Central Pacific rail- road. Subsequent to this letter similar requests were sent to the government commissioners and directors of the Union Pacific railroad, and to the govern- ment commissioners on the Union Pacific railway, eastern division ; and the day for the meeting was postponed to February 1. / s 15 APPENDIX B. Dkpautmkxt ok thr Interior, Enoixbbr Office, Washington, D. C, January 24, 1866. Sir : The honorable Secretary of the Interior has instructed me to inform you that a convention of the government directors, commissioners, and engineer will be held in this city on the first proximo, to fix a standard for the Pacific railroad and branches, and that you are invited, by proxy or otherwise, to attend. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. H. SIMPSON, Lieutenant Colonel Engineers. Hon. S. C. POMBROY, President Atchison Branch Union Pacific Railroad, United States Senate. A similar letter to the above was sent to the following persons : Jno. D. Perry, esq., president Union Pacific railway, eastern division, St Louis, Missouri ; and John J. Blair, esq., president Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company, New York city. APPENDIX C. Department of the Interior, WasJiington, D. C, Fchrnary 1, 1866. A board, consisting of the government directors, commissioners and engineer' will meet to-day at 12 m. in the Washington Aqueduct building, for the purpose of consulting together and fixino" a standard to which the Union Pacific Rail- road Company and branches and the Central Pacific Railroad Company shall conform. Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Simpson, corps engineers, government engineer, will preside over the board, and Mr. John R. Gilliss, assistant engi- neer, will record the proceedings, which will be reported to this department. JAS. HARLAN, Secretary. APPENDIX D In order that the deliberations of the board might be aided by the experience of the best engineering talent of the country, cop es of the following circular were sent to forty-five of the leading engineers, railway superintendents, &c. It is much to be regretted that the majority of the engineers to wliom the circular was sent either did not receive or did not find time to reply to it ; since the answers from thdse who did reply contain an amount of information on railroad construction seldom met in suth a condensed form. Certain questions were asked in the circular to indicate points on which information was especially desired; but it was not intended to confine the replies to these questions, and it will be seen that most of the engineers used the questions simply as guides for the general arrangement of their answers, and (complied with the request that they would give their views on other points having an important bearing on the subject. 16 ( CIRCULAR No. 2.) Department of the Interior, ENorNEER Office, Washington, D. C, December, 1865, It being desirable to estab'ish a standard to which the Pacific and other railroads in wluch the government has an interest shall bo made to conform, I am instiuctcd by the Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Interiur, to solicit your opinioiia (.n any of the following points which your expoiieiice and obser- vations will enable you to give : 1st. Weight of rail for a firtst-class road, relative durability of rails of differ- ent weights with same traffic, best cross section for same, and merits of different varieties of American iron. 2d. Best plan for chairs, spikes, or other joint fastenings. 3d. Dimi.nsions of and distances between ties. 4th. Width of road-bed at grade, in excavation and embankment, dimensions of side ditches in the former, depth of ballast, and expense per mile it would be worth mcurrino to get it. 5th. Rtlative advantages of differ(>nt plans and materials for railroad bridges btli. Weight and other characteristics of engines and rolling stock suitable tor a large business and different grades 7th '^ ties. In the above, interest on first cost is to be considered in connexion with expense of repairs and deterioration, so that their annual sum shall be a minimum. Your views on these points, as well as on any others having an important bearing on the subject, are desirable, in order that they may be laid before a meeting of the government commissioners, directors, and engineer of Pacific railroad, early in January next, and should, if possible, be sent to this office belore the first of January. They will be very valuable in aiding the govern- ment in establishing such a standard for these roads that, when finished, they will subserve the purposes for which they are built, and be a credit to the nation. Please address me under cover to the Secretary of the Interior. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. H. SIMPSON, m J^f' Col. Engineers. . Ratio in which rails and rolling stock deteriorate with different veloci- APPENDIX E. Quartermaster General's Office, Washington, D. C, December 26, 1865. Colonel : I have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of circular Vo. 2, soliciting on the part of the Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Interior, my opinion on any of several points in relation to the construction of a "first-class railroad, with a view to establish a standard for the construction of the Pacific railroad. •i^^^^u^^-^jP""'*' *''^ '•'^^''t'^'e advantages of different plans and materials for railroad bridges, is the only one upon which I have time to offer any opinions. Upon all the others you will doubtless receive information from persons engaged in the construction and w-rking of railro.^ds. Most of them are indefinite. Itie heavier and stronger the construction, th". better and more durable. Finan- 17 cial cmsi.lorationa finally fix tlio limit of wei-ht and excellence of track, boyond which even the govrriiincnts of the Old World, in railroad conf-trnction, do not iro I cannot, however, t). ntron-ly urge the ifui)ort;incn, in view of safety and nltimnte economy, of requiring all the bridges t) be built of ptTma- nent anrl durable mateiialrf. Stone, brick, wrought and cast iron alone should be p. rmUt .(1 to enter int . th.- main features of constniction, wood being admit- ted only under the rail.s for the a.ike <.f giving elasticity to the track. Ihe experience v.i' the French engineers has shown that it is not nece83*ary, in Older to budd stone arclied bri.lgcs of considerable span, to use expensive cntstone masonry. There are arches of ninety feet span, and even longer, built ot brick and of rubble masonry, which stand secure. There is no difficulty with a sound, strong stone, breaking into reasonably good shapes, in constru-t- ing a stone bridge with arches of 120 feet span entirely of rubble masonry, ' nd in a strong cement mortar. Cast and wrought iron bridges can be prepared in the workshops of the settled districts ot the country, and sent bv rail t.) their destination. Temporary, cheap trestle bridges, sufh as served to supply the armies in the field duri/- 1 ^on''^'' •1'^'"" "'' **'^ raili'oads operated by the Quartermaster's de{)artme.:t! 1,700 rnihsm extent, can be erected and used to forward the necessary material tor erecting permanent stone or iron structures. I prefer, when it is possible to erect without too great expense proper abut- ments, bridges supported upon arched ribs of cast or wrought iron, tolhefi-amcd structures so generally used in this country and Great Britain. The French have many such, of which the later wrought-iron bridges over the Seine at Paris, and the Tarascon railroad bridges, are good examples : tue latter has cast-iron arches. The Fink fram -d or truss bridge, and the BoUman bridge used on the Balti- more and Ohio railroad, and on tlie Louisville and Nashville railroad, are gzod forms of truss bridges, in which the roadway is suspended by oblique suspen- sion rods, and the thrust is taken by a horizontal top chord of cast or wrou'^ht iron. '-' In both these bridges the details are wrought out and proportioned in a rr.r.s- terly manner. They are good bridges when a sufficient abutment to support the thrust of an arch would be too costly. I place the railroad bridges, then, in the following order : Masonry arches, for all spans up to 120 fo.et.—l. Cut stone. 2. Rubble stone. 3. Brick. Iron bridges.— \. For spans not exceeding twenty feet, wrought-iron H beams or girders. 2. For spans exceeding twenty feet, and not exceeding two hun- dred feet, arches of cast or wrought iron, spandrel filling wrought iron. 3. For spans below two hundred feet, when good abutments for arches will bo too cost- ly, trussed or framed bridges of wrought iron, in which cast iron may be admit- ted for the posts and struts, and horizontal beams subjected to compression. 4. For spans much exceeding two hundred feet, either wrought-iron arches or framed bridges entirely of wrought iron should be used. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, ' Quartermaster General, Brevet Major General. Lieut. Colonel J. H. Simpson, Cor2>s Engineers, United Slates Army. 2s )M i: 18 APPENDIX F. Philadklimiia, December 27, 1865. Colonel : I proceed briefly to notice your interrogatories in circular No. 2. 1. I have no very recent experience in the practical operation of firat-class railroads, and cannot give tlie relative durability of rails of different weights from my own experience. My general id(!a if, that the rapid deterioration of the permanent way, so called, arises from the enormous increase in the weight of engines without a corresponding increase in the wearing surface of the rails, When the engines weighed only from six to ten tons, the durability of the rails, which were then chiefly of English manufacture, appeared to bo almost unlim- ited. Attempts have been more to increase the durability of rails by the sub- stitution of a better material, and sfeel-hcadcid rails have been tried. Half a mile of such rails were laid on the Pennsylvania railroad, but the result, I be- lieve, was not entirely satisfactory, th(! difficulty arising from the imperfect con- nexion between the steel and iron. Steel rails also have been proposed, and I believe used to a very limited extent. As at present manufactured they are too expensive for ordinary use. I have great confidence that the processes for the manufacture of steel will be Bo far improved and simplified that this superior material will be used univer- sally in rails, resulting in a great increase of durability. In regard to the shape of section, I will say that as large a portion of the material as possible should be placed in the head ; and the stem may be thinner than is usually made, with- out injury to the strength of the rail. I have never known a case of failure by the thinness of the stem, but I have seen a piece of an old rail taken from the Philadelphia and Columbia railroad, the head nearly worn off, and the stem very high and thin, with parallel sides. With the present class of engines I am satisfied that no iron can be found that will long stand the excessive pounding and rolling of a heavy traffic with high velocities. To increase durability, the surface of the rails and the diameters of the drivers should be as large as practicable, and the speed of freight trains lim- ited to, say, twelve miles per hour. Kails are manufactured at the Cambria Iron Works, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the Phoeuixville Works, and the Rensselaer Iron Works, Troy, fully equal to any imported. 2. As to the best form of joint fastening, the smoothest and most perfect surface when first laid is given by the compound rail, but experience condemns it for want of durability. It will only answer for light engines and trains. The best joint, everything considered, is a fished joint, with a long splice extending over the next tie on each side of the joint. I do not like a chair at any time. It acts as an anvil and the wheels as sledges to hammer out the ends of the rails. I obtained a very good result on the Southern Vermont railroad by put- ting the joint between the ties, and the ties at the joint about one foot apart. A cast-iron splice abuut eight inches long was fitted close to the outside of the rails. Holes were punched in the rails about two inches from the end, and a U-shaped bolt (of seven-eighths inch round iron) connected them. The joint cost no more than the ordinary chair, and was very smooth and strong. On one occasion 150 feet of trestle-work was carried away by a flood, but the rails and cross-ties hung as a catenary, and hand-cars were run over without break- ing the connexion. 3 . I use ties eight feet long and as large in cross-section as can conveni- ently be procured, not less than six inches surface and six inches thick, but eight inches would be preferable. The distance apart two and a half feet from middle of ties, but with heavy engines it is better to reduce the distance to two feet. r, 18G5. liar No. 2. firHt-class it weights tion of the weight of ' the rails, P the rails, ost unlim- r the 8ub- I. Haifa suit, I be- frfect con- 3etl, and I I they are eel will be id univer- the shape [)le should iide, with- failure by 1 from the the stem Pound that with high imeters of trains lim- nsylvania, Y equal to St perfect condemns ins. The extending any time, ids of the id by put- apart. A Ue of the ]d, and a The joint ong. On ; the rails ut break- i conveni- thick, but feet from ice to two 4. The width of road-bed, even on the siuno lino of road, should not be con- flidcrcd a fixed and invariable dimension. The elemeiitH which determine the width of road-bed are the gauge of the truck, the distance between tracks, and the width of tli(! side ditches. . * The dimensions of the ditches depend on the character and extent of the slope, the quantity of water, and the greater or less teiuleney to slides and washes. Ihe slope of an excavation should correspond to the natural angle of repose of the material. If too Hat, the surface ex|)osed to rain and frost is unnc cessarily increas(;d and the side ditches rapidly filled. In the south, where the frost does not act severely, clay cuts are best finished and made durable when the slopes are perpendicular. The rain has in this case very little effect, while with flat slopes the wash is excessive. On steep hillsides, covered with shrubs and bushes, the roots form the best protection against washes, and it is often good practice in such cases to wideu the road-bed and leave the upper slope vertical. After this statement, it is scarccdy necessary for me to add that in my prac- \ tice I conform to no prescribed d imensio ns for aidfi dJLcliCS aud no unilbjiBJ augle for slopc,-^, but leave ail such details to the judgment of the engineer in charge. ^ li' uieslopes are found too steep they are easllj> flattened after the track is laid. ATTTHrViiKtrrrcmi Ihe side slopes is in proportion to the length, or possibly ill a still higher ratio, since the velocity and degrading power of currents are increased by distance of fall, it would not be good engineering to make the side ditches in a shallow and dry cut the same as in a very deep one. As a mini- mum, it may be stated that in a shallow excavation in dry earth, in the latitude of rennbvlvania, I would give a width of five feet at top, three feet at bottom, and slopes of forty-five degrees. And in this case, allowing the gauge of tracks to be four feet eight and a half inches, the distance between tracks six feet, the length of cross-ties eight feet, and two feet from ends of ties to edge of ditch, the minimum width would be twenty-two feet eight and a half inches ; but twenty- four feet is better. On the subject of ballast my opinions are very decided. 1 prefer broken stone to gravel. The drainage is more perfect, the ties last much longer, and there is far greater freedom from dust. Before placing the ballast the road-bed should be sloped from the middle to the side ditches. No trenches whatever should be made for the hallast. Two parallel walls should be built of dry stone, twenty-two feet apart from out to out, and about one foot high. Stones equiva- lent to about four inches cube should be thrown in to a depth of one foot. The surface should then be broken and six inches more of stone added and broken into two-inch cubes. On this surface the ties are laid. This will make a first- class road-bed. Where stone cannot be procured it may be best to lay the track without bal- last and haul it in cars afterwards. Ballasting can very readily be done in this way. Without ballast in a soil subject to wet and frost a good road-bed cannot be obtained, and any reasonable expenditure to obtain it would be justifiable. 0. I am decidedly in favor of iron or stone for railroad bridges. As to plans, my ideas are given in my general theory of bridge construction, published by Appleton. There are many plans in general use which give good bridges if properly proportioned. The Howe, Pratt, Fink, and Boliman are all good bridges. 1 will state hero that in planning bridges for a long line of road I would seek for uniformity in plan and dimensions. A series of spans — say 50, 75, 100, \2C), and 150 feet — will suit almost every locality, and the parts can be made of exact dimensions and interchangeable. If desirable, I may commu- nicate further with you on this subject. 6. Independently of injury to permnnent way, heavy engines are most economical for a lieavy business. They transport a greater number of tons at a given expense, and by reducing the number of trains reduce the liability to acci- 20 s (lent. There Ib a limit, however, to the incroaso of w("i},'lit in oiif Enghtccrs. Ti 1,1 APPENDIX G. Chicago, Drconhcr 28, lSG/3. Colonel : Yours of the 22d instant reached me last evening. I have con- cluded to catch a little time for some general remarks on your circular No. 2. 1 will take your circular in order. No. 1. As to weight of rail. — I consider GO pounds to the yard of rail a fair weight for a good railway. In form I would put as little material in tin; waist as would u..8wer, and the web or bottom as light as could be well rolled, and get all the material practicable in the head. The top to have at least one and a half hich flat, with rounded corners, height about four inches, not to exceed four and one-eighth. As to American rails there is great range. The best American rails I have known were made by Cooper & llewett, of Trenton, N. J., and Wheeler & Co., of Boonton, N. J. Some American rails are hard and brittle. These wear v/ell, but arc very liable to break ; others are soft, and though not liable to break, wear out rapidly. The iron of a rail should be hard and strong to do good service. No. 2. Fastenings. — The hook-head spike is the on'^ li.'.d UP"d on Ameri- can railways. If chairs are used, I .iiink the best yet used ii I h" I;, oad wronr lit iron plate with lips turned up from the centre. The plat ■ shoald b< , before cut in the centre, about eight inches square and full five-eighths of an inch thick. But chairs are not indispensabh if the fish-plates are used. We do not use chairs in laying new rails on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad. The fish-plates arc twenty-two inches long, two bolts in each rail and a plate on both sidrs. It is a little more expensive than chairs, bntin my judgment greatly superior i .hould not think of laying a first-class rail without the fish-joint. It is th': bf .'i narlliod I have known to join rails, and very safe. No. 3, Tc* v; — Ties six inches thick, seven inches v/ide, and eight feet long, (for common gauge,) placed two feet from centre to centre, is about right for a 21 sixty pound rail. If tlm mil were heavier, the cmss-tica should be heavier, or liir;rt'r ninl not (|uit»i ho clo!^(^ No. 4. Widili of rnndhid at. grade, i^r. — In cxcavntion the rond-hi'd hIiouM be con.^idcn'd tli(( har^ooftln; ballaHt. If tliisis two feet below the rail, tii(! width Bhould be for road and slojH'rt about Hixtccii feet. Tlio wlopcrt will occupy three feet each Hide, and ten feel for bn adtb of road and proper support for the tiea. The ballast kIiouM cxteud full breadth of bed, iu order to drain properly. Il iii important, e,>ipecially when the inateriid is ti;;lit or impervious to water, that tho road-l»ed be formed with HutHcieut liei^lit iu the centre uiul graded smooth, so as to allow water to paws off freely to tin' rtide ditches. Tho excavation Hhould lie made uh much wider than the mad-bed as will allow of Huitalle side ditches. The ditcher Hliould not be Ie.-'! feet vail, <^r a.4'20 per mile. , „ i. Lad-bed'of einbaukments at sub-grade, /. e., underneath the ballast, to K '■ ,i M IK. I 24 be 17 feet wide for the narrow gauge of 4 feet 8i inches. In excavations the Bub grade to be not less than 24 feet, and wider in wet soils or Avhore there is a large amount of surface drainage to carry off. The ditches to be 3 J feet wide and 1 foot deep at sub-grade. The ballast, even of the best quality, to be not lesa than 12 inches underneath the ties, or 18 inches in all, being about 4,000 cubic yp.rds per mile. 6. Masonry for piera and abutments of all bridges, and iron girders for superstructure of all spans exceeding say 60 feet. If timber is plentiful and cheap, it may be used for all spans under CO feet, as such spans can very quickly be replaced in the event of loss by fire. 6. This depends almost solely upon the characteristics of the railway, and upon the nature of its traffic. 7. The same remark applies as in No. 6. GEO. LOWE REID, C/iief Engineer Great Western Railway of Canada. DiscEr.iBER 30, 1865. \ APPENDIX I. Lambervville, N. J., January 1, 1866. Colonel: Below please find answers to the questions in your circular No. 2 : Answer 1. I enclose section of rail weighing sixty-two pounds per yard, which I have recently adopted, and consider the best for a road with heavy traffic. If rails were cheaper, I would make it a little heavier. On a road but little used I would make it somewhat lighter ; with a very light traffic, as low as forty-two pounds per yard.* I am now using rails made at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from a mixture of the hard magnetic ores of New Jersey and the hematites of the Lehigh valley. This makes a good rail, but, doubtless, numerous other mixtures make as good. Very good or very poor rails may be made from the same ores. I have rails from a well-known mill that have been in use fifteen years, and that are now in good order ; and ®n the same track other rails from the same mill, and worn out in less than one year's use. If a good rail, such as we used to get, is worth $200 per ton, such rails as we frequently do get now are not worth $20. Answer 2. I prefer the fish joint, Avith an iron plate fifteen inches long on the inside, and a wooden block five feet long on the outside. The section herewith sent is calculated for such a joint. Without it I would fill in the angle more between the shank of the rail and the top and bottom flanges. Sir Morton Peto told me he was u^ing the fish joint on his roads in different parts of the world, using the iron plates on both sides and making the joint between ties. The objection to the iron on both sides is that the bolts break. To prevent this I have used leather washers under the heads and nuts with good effect. Sir Morton Peto thinks well of the wooden blocks, although he has not used them. I quote him because his experience is very great and recent. I do not know anything better than the common dog-headed spike. ^ Answer 3. I use ties eiglit to nine feet long, six inches thick, averaging eight inches wide, and from twenty-two hundred to twenty-six hundred to the *It beinp imprnfticable to include b, section of the rail recommeuded, its nrincinal dimen- sions ure given in appendix S. \ 25 and mile. When ties arc cheap and tlie traffic heavy, I would use ties eight inches deep and cover ono-third of the ground with them. Answer 4. I make road-hed at grade fourteen feet wide for single track, with side ditches in excavation eight feet wide at grade and two feet deep ; the s^ize of the ditches, however, varying with the circuin3tances. Ballast should be at least one foot deep under the tie ; on a sandy soil it may be less ; on clay, in a cold climate, it should be more. Oa a road with heavy traffic I can scarcely fix a limit to the expense that should be incurred to get it. Answer 5. Except on a road with immense traffic, I would, under present circumstances, use wooden bridges on some simple plan, such as the Howe bridge. Answer 6. I would not allow more than two gross tons on a car-wheel, in- cluding the Aveight of the car, and then only with good springs, nor more than ten thousand pounds on a driver. If building a road unconnected with any other, I would limit the weight to two-thirds of that stated. With such ma- terials as we now have, all other things being equal, the injury to the rail by a weight over a ton on a wheel probably increases as much as the square of the weight. This, of course, varies with different materials. Answer 7. Within moderate limits, the injury to the rails and rolling stock increases as the square of the vel.icity. Above a limit, which varies with the material and condition of the rails and machinery, the injury increases much more rapidly than the square of the velocity ; probably in many cases reaching the cube. Very respectfully yours, ASH BEL WELCH, Civil Engineer. Lieut. Col. J. H. Simpson, Corps Engineers, U. S. A. APPENDIX J. Baltimore, January 2, 1866. Colonel: Your circular of the 14th ultimo was duly received, and I embrace the first leisure allowed by other engagements to reply to its several questions ; premising that they cannot be answered with the definiteness that could be do- sired, for reasons sufficiently apparent, and as the answers themselves Avill show. 1. The best weight of rail for a first-class road is, and must always continue to be, a matter of professional opinion. With a good foundation of ballast upon a well drained and settled road-bed, and suitable cross-tie supports, togetiier with a well-spliced joint, I consider sixt>/ pounds per yard as abundantly heavy for a first-class road. No increase in the weight of rail can compensate for the absence of a good support; indeed, the heavier the rail the less readily will it accommodate itself to the irregularities of the sub-structure, and the more subject it will be to perma- nent bending or breakage and dislocation at the joints, and hence to endanger passing trains. The " best cross-section " appears now to have been determined by the almost tnianimous judgment of railway engineers, founded upon an experience of a third of a century, to be the broad-based or inverted x. It is true tlint the double-headed or I rail is still a favorite in England and the continent of Eu- rope, but as it requires a chair or pedestal to support it, and has no aivantages whicli, in th(^ judgment of Americm ongincors, warrant its incrpased cost, on this account it has never been used, that I am aware of, in the United States. 1 'i Hi 26 The genoral form of section may be considerably varied in its lines, but the pro- portions most usually preferred for a sixty-pound rail would give an equal base and height of three'and one-half to three and tlree-fourths mches, a thickness in the sniallt St part of the neck of five-eighths of an inch scant or full, and a top breadth, including the curved edges, of two and one-fourth to two and one-ha t inches. Many engineers prefer a slightly rounded top surface, but I have al- ways preferred at least one and one-half inch of flat bearing on top. As to the "relative durability of rails of dififerent weights wit,i thu same traffic," it is manifestly impossible to offer any definite estimate. It tor "a first- class road, " that is, a road constructed in the best manner for a heavy trade and travel, a sixty-pound rail is, on the whole, the best medium weight; then it will last longer than either a lighter or heavier rail, but in what proportion it would be difficult to frame a formula to express. The lighter rail would possess too much, and the heavier too little elasticity, as experience has, indeed, shown with the extremes of light and heavy rails. If, however, the substructure be well adapted to the weight of rail (that is, the cross-tics duly spaced and sized) and the quality of the metal be similar, I should be disposed to treat the durahihty ot the rail as not sensibly influenced by an increase or reduction of weight of five or six pounds per yard, while below fifty-five pounds, or above sixty-five pounds, an increased weir would take place, and probabiy in pretty nearly the degree in which it receded from the medium weight. Of the " merits of different varieties of American iron " it is equally dithcuit to speak decisively. My own experience with the products of several rolling mills has been in favor, on the whole, of the rails made at the Cambria Iron Works at Johnstown. Pennsylvania. This iron is a little deficient in hardness, but it has proved strong and free from danger of breakage— the latter a very valuable property. 2. The plans of '-chairs and other joint fastenings" vary a good deal in their details, alt^ugh depending upon the same general principles. Understanding by the term chair a simple support for the contiguous ends of the rail, designed to extend their bearing on the cross-tie, and secure them from lateral displace- ment and endwise movement, the double-lipped plate, or the single-lipped, with the absence of the other lip supplied by a. gih holding the chair and base of rail together, are, I think, as efficient a fastening as can be used. The weight, if of wrought iron, to be not less than fifteen pounds; and if of cast iron, twenty pounds; wrought iron being much to be preferred, as less liable to break, and being more economical in the end, although dearer in first cost. The "chair," however, is now rarely used, except for its comparative cheap- ness at first for new roads with deficient capital. The necessity of a si^ice ot some sort at the joint is now universally admitted, (after a m, ch longer experi- ence than should have been required,) and " fishes," in the quaint English dialect, are regarded as indispensable adjuncts. These fiistenings have the usual vancty of Ibrius, and I am not prepared to say which I would choose of them all. 1 here is a very good one now being applied on the Louisville and Nashville railroad, of which the superintendent of that road can give a suitable description. Mr. Arthur general superintendent of the Illinois Central, has designed what struck me as a very substantial splice. The wooden bar or block splice, (Irirable s patent,) used on the Baltimore and Ohio and Philadelphia and Baltimore rail- roads, I regard as an excellent joint fastening. All these different forms should be adjusted (as most of them are) by screw-nuts; and those into which wood is introduced, to a greater or less extent, are to be preferred, in my judgment, as having an element of elasticity that is wanting in those wholly of iron. The best form of " spike" has long since been settled as the "hook-headed spike, weighing from one-half to three-quarters of a pound each, and from six to seven inches lung 3. The "dimensionr o.'', and distances between, cross ties," must depend on 27 their Mid on tV,« wcifflit of rail For a sixty-pound rail a tie seven inches thick, with at least ^^em al widtS flat Burfaco.Vp and bottom, and for the joints not less han eiLS inches, placed two and a half feet from centre to centre, and eight feet m leneth, will cive about the best result, in my judgment. 4 The "width of road bed at grade," if for two tracks should be not less that twenty-six feet, and for one track not less than sixteen feet ; .-^"d t^e -^« d menr'ns^are applicable to both excavations and ^"^^f ^^^J^.^' "l\^ ^"f„^ ^^J'f fatTe; are often, and perhaps mostly, made narrower; but I thmk this injud.- Pimm exceot for strict reasons of economy m hrst cost. , . ^ ^, , „„„ .„ The "dimen^^ions of side ditches" must depend upon the duty they have to perfo m. A totul width of twenty-six feet for two tracks allows only two het Fon wid h of ditch^s, which is sufficient for ordinary dramage in shoit and dry Ixl'^Uons. but an increase to three or four feet, or -en m-e, - som t„n required. For two ti.cks and a gauge of not «^«f,^'"g,^'^f f '^r'J^V'^A^^^^^^^^ 'watKwcd for "ido dilch-es to be not Ics th.u four feet in ether c«e, and mnrp for extraordinary flo v of water, as stated. . x„ „„f ..DeptroTbaUast, and expense per mile it would be worth mcurrmg to get it." The first question is easily answered ; /lot so the second. liiUast should not be hss ^lan twelve inches in depth, fhis, with a "oss tu, eeveffnches dee .will give but five inches underneath for drainage and beanng^ A l^s. deuth tn afford no protection from frost, and even this depth is but an tprnfecCe The deeper L ballast-up to two feet, or «;'«" «^J'^«- ^J^ ^^""• BTasiytwelveincl^deep-ninefeetwideon^^^^^^ which, n a soil retentive of water, may be regarded as '"'^J^/'^^J^f ] ^"^J.^^jf, Track In open soils, especially sand or gravel, the case is very di^^»<^"t ' "' fuch soils blast, ind;ed,'shoul5 be used as soon as ^ -n be ^PP^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^f^ cause it ultimately to .upersede «o.,d altogether m oases where uctl.e. stone ''"1,frrrd'to™l'c°^:eightand other el.aracteris.ics of engines and rolliu. A?^J-;i^sofen.See^a^^^^^^ gSe::uirX.sX;t:<^me*;;;ud „ot ,nore tl,an three and a l.alf to four feet '■ 28 of lighter weiffht an(l wifli f .m ^'/'^^ ^ro ght, cspecmllj liv<5 stock, an eii-ine eter and a trA^^^^^^:^^^^^^ - '-'^ f-- and a half feet dC proved model, with four drivl, . S' fi " . I "' ^'f, '"^'"'^ "^ *''« «'-dinary i.n- dors proportioned to te ^ Ltvnct off fT'^f '^'^'^^^^t diameter, and cylin- or nther cylindro-conic'il Sn ,^ 1 • i*" ^''','^"'* '''" '™» body of circ dar the Baltimo^re and oZ i Cd • ' l" liXtf ^''t "^^^ '?' *'^« P-P-^^^ "-» w^ght it carries, that I kno^of ^o^anf Llh^ct n t^'^^ ^'"•' '^ '- tiel'' ^S:SS^^StKiI^i''^n^^^^^^'«^-t veloci. So far as experiei^ce speaks it would nnr""^"'?"" 'T «"='"««'-^ ^i» «J?ree. ideas on this subjec .^ S. \vo S tl .t?"" '" 'T^"^ purely theoretical twenty-five to forty miles De-hnm..^«f passenger locomotives which travel f-i.ht engines w/iriTattTf th V^of ^Tf /"^ !?' ^'^T' "P'^"'^ ^'^'"^ half the loads of the latter and I -n?-.^ i '. • '' ^'"^ *'^^3^ ^^^'^^^ ^^^^ f'an nery is corresponding^ educed Unon"!'^""''" ""T ^'^^'^ toilers and machi- creased veloci?y will Je^t H y be^^ ^^^^^^^^^ f-* «^' -- against the outer rail should he in f 1^ m • ^,«t' although the pressure cost of maintenance s not n that Inn r" ' f '" °^ *''^ ^^'•^«''^>^' *!'« ^^^tual the testimony or rSl er the (^^Snf X f '"' ^'*^*^'" ^'"^^ ^"^^ f««t trains, if the only specific evUen e tKan he tt"'"^''T' ''J' ^' ^'^''''''^' ^»"«!' ^"^ toassignto^achclassortra us ts true^h ?.1" '^' '"^J'^*' ^' '^ '' impossible newals On the who e inasmuo « 1 "* *^' 'f P,'"«" «^ adjustments and re- taining track and rolinystrcrvlkhlTn r 'T"^ '>'^"*^ «^ ^'>« '^^^t «f •"'•»!"- thore are others whiclf maf i^c 1^^^'!^^^^^^^ as the effect of speed svSlvfpUn '"^'^V *5"? *^' «'°^Pl« ^^'««ity, and greesofcurvaturrithnk noreT^^^^^^^^ «»^ ^e- " every variety of i^ad Yet wMe h1 n" \'? ^'.^'•'^™'^ ^^^ application to oqua;7engtifth:TngTir:ouiy ;:^^^^^^^^^ r-r? *- ^^-^ o^ - and tear of rolling stock and rrjwonS h.V ^'^)''\ ^'^?'''^^' «"^ *!»« ^^ar other line, and perhaus no .nfi 7 .-, '"""'^^sed thereby, relatively to the ratio of the velo?Se7a: t1,Xf ihr^a^td tlSV'^ ^^^"11 ^^ ^^f *^- (as distinguished from the fixed snln.?-ir ^^'^ movable machinery engines, and the wheds and Snn n ' .ph. AT ^''^'"'^' '^''"^'^'•«' ^'^O "^ the tiie latter. '""""'"^ ^^^"^ ^^ the cars, excluding the bodies of witI^Vor?f4:l.rl"^t:rectr "•' ^'ri^^ ^^--^-^ in connexion be pro/erly compTreTwi it?.?;" u^lTz^ undoubtedly just, and no lines could the result to theix^riginal cost of CttSon"' '"""^ expenses and adding of yo:H:,trw;:tSer "rSTt^ffe"'^ '-'f'^ ""'^'-^''^^ ^' ^^- P-ts As it is, I must close hvi'v ^ F" ''''"^ ^'''■'ber suggestions. of gauge for X ;tt l4 hl'ShStr^T, ' ''''' '''' '''^' *'- ^-'^^-n before it was fixed by PrS^t L 'coin T. ^''" ^"re maturely considered great national highway demms in mv '"n 1 T'"^ T""''^'^' '^'^'^'^'' "^ this unlike in -ve.l^esp^ts^Ill^^V-y J';^-..,^ u, Hts own. o,-, at least. I am, su', very respectfully, yours, ^ BENJ. II. LATROBE, Lieut. Col. J. H. Slvipson, Corjjs Engineers. ^'''^ Engineer. / s / \ t speeds not <■< (111 eiigiiio If feet diam- )rdinaiy iin- '. and cylin- id upon tlio f)use cars in y of circ liar irpose u oou car, for the ent veloti- will ajrree. tlieoretical liich travel spairs than ' less than find raachi- Fc'ct of iu- e pressure the actual t trains, if 1. whic!> is impossible tits and re- ^t of main- ains, while 3city, and 3 and de- - licatlon to to leave es of un- the wear 3ly to the than the lachinery '•) of the bodies of annexion les could 1 adding le points question nsidcred I- of this at least, meet: 29 APPENDIX K. CoLoxKL : I bog to answpr vn. • , ^^|^^'"'^'Q' Pa., Januar?/ 5, 186G Question 1. I thi k a ee J^i fr"'-"";^ ''"' ^^^'' "''"^ «« <<'"ow8 : of H.e section in cncloseS skotc i Ivo "id h.'')^ '/' ''^r^ P"""^'^ P-" 7a.< . and . On the Pl.iladelpl„-aand R adinr;JLt^^^^ ^"'^" ^'>»- 1'"' ^aciHc railroad.* gives the following results : ^ ^ °"' <^^P«»'eiice of the last ten years ''^gh?y:^:::2,l:!;^^tr''"^^^^^-?^---^"^ -gines, fuel, tenH "and A^^ C't"^*"%^"^ ^"^^'"^^'^'^ ''' pounds ;_ *^'"^' "* ^"'"^ "f two thousand Average number of miles Vi'in' hl'{ ■.•■'".■ Average number of t^ s o f " w vl r"""'.""' ^" ""^ y'^' 3, 181, 4G0 2, 229, 723 4, 415 295 -il.-oad joint we hattuTd o'sw r S ^'^^l' '^^ ^^'^ "'""^^ ^P^^^ year's experience thereof, with a ton" .le fo ""' ^""^^ '''"""S'^' ^^^^^'-'al tons per annum, justify us in pilfe S i to '' T''' P"'/' "^«^^'' ^.OOO.OOO elsewhere. ^ pietcuing ,t to anytlnng we have tried or seen ei^tS:n4^^rtrS:"ir::;^:^^ by.nineortcn inches face, and about 2,450 to the mile ^ """'^ """"^'^'^ '"^^^ fe'auge. They are laid and thorough drainage on eachS On^ rf ^' ''^"'^^^^'^ '» «»*« f«r good should not be less than tn^ feet outsi.W.T T''"?,' "'^'''« ^^g« «f the bank e.s than ten inches tln'ck, mal in'St 7ro l'"'- ^'*"''^^' ^^^'""^^^ "^^ ^« track. In building a firs -cla^s fnflrnn J'^^V"^''' >'^'"'^' ?«*• "i'"l« of si"glo passengers, I think one lllar ner c bT' i ^ '"f T^ ^"^^^"*^''« «f tonnage afd such an important feature as go^od baHasr ^''"'^ "^^ ^^ ^^"^ ^"^^^ *« ^ay for toai^^^-^JtiiSl^i^fet^"^^^^'-^'-- ^^'^ that it is impossible Ecspectfiilly, your obedient servant, Lieut. Col. J. H. Sm^Z"' ^"^'^ 'P''*"'*'"<'-^- ^ ^-"^ ^j- tlio highest consideration of S" o" enUent^ •"^portauce. and worthy of tai^;;^^: thotjc:;^;::^^!;:;^^^ ^^•/^r^" ^r-^^^^"'^ "■"^- portant points. The war of fho^ln • i ? ^''^'''^ '" ^''*^"" ^iews cf im- of bearings; the great SiS fin wM^^^^ *™^^'^- ^^'^-« engines on the two division^ of tl,! ^ ^ l'^]^Z' '"^'^ construction of the endless variety orfasteniT.g fo 1 Ml" gUT' f'^'r^'r "''^^'^^ ' ^l- ences of opinion as to designs nntori'.,! m^ / '""''^ "".^, ''''^«"«' '^'^^''■ never-endiLg discoveries and -Cvintsin'r''".!'-"" "^ ^"'^^''■'^ ' '^"'^ ^''« ways, all point to the fact tha 3 n? ? 1 ^iverything connected witli rail- lecting and discussing Stsanr<,n?r '''"^"^ « ^.^^^ «^«"d«rd ; but by col- prcse,^ system of raH ways fn U fs ^ZT 7" ''" T?^''^^' "u"'"^"^^^^^ "» t''« extreme, ind might be considerri^ ! Ir ^ ' r ' "'"''' ^^ '* ^^ abominable in the out of want of fapita to b"1 j"^. ,", ^ nenf "" 1 ^^''"' T '-^ "''''''''' 8'-- scientifically, for hat is a word t nf^T ; -f^ ''"'^ correctly; I will not say appear to look upon w th S I it J ''' /'"'^ capitalists in this country jHimbug. They ask fo practi; nu f Tl ' f"^ '^"' T"^' ^^^'^^ «" ^^'^'^^ ^' be such, regardless of tl e man neTe '^^1 '" f"'v'^"^' '^'^^ understand to ping on in the engineering worl f outside of^I^^^^^^ or knowing what is biought up. Another cau^e for selec i^l L n V'^'^^ """'^^ "^ ^'^'■^'' ^'« ^«'* "1 this country is that they can b Cc\ ;» ^"nT ""V ''"^^^•"^* ^'^^^^^''^'^ way presidents and directors wi^l, fn on ■ ^" , ^''" an««I'cr cause is that rail- men ^vho will do as They a^e told to ^'"'"' ' '''''^' themselves, and employ and prsLng^rStl*' tl^Sghtf^^^ f ''r l""'}'^ '''' ^^^ ^-^ ^- ^'-^s uable lives, to the wL i .! of man^ milH ^ f "^i^' ^^^^ °^ ^^•^"^^"^^ «^ val- tion, and to the dostru o^^/of^^t^mo Inf f'l". '" ^''="''«" ^^^^ '^^"^truc- of delays and confusion to business ' md 2 woHd of ' P^'^?'^^' *? ««^ "«*^'"? man's brain when he now takes a ride by r.ll ^^""^ *'^^' '"'^^^ "" ^^^^T I wdl now answer categorically your (u^.tions as near as I can. WEIGHT OF RAIL FOR A FIRST-CLASS RAILWAY. I consider that a first-class rail can be made with fi-^ tn fi7 a c per yard, provided the metal is f^r^^ nnoliH- 65 to 67 pounds of metal thousands of tons oivJ\,hl'ltl 1"''|' > ' Pl'^Perly piled and rolled. Many p.g, chiefly ma?e Iro^ oirscodrirn."V "'m'""^^^^^^"'^^ ^^^'''^ «^" ^^^^ch Cheating i^ making mTls, tt re iVXSf v' '^'" '"^'"t" "^ '^'^ '"'^ ^l'^^^' has become universal in FnH.m / 1 ^ companies cheapening the price, Robert Stephelon gaSmefnaner r ^.^ "'^fP^"^"^ ^^'^ «^«"'»'^T Railway Company aftef examinin^fi.r v T *? *^^' "^v"^^"" ^"^ Northwestern says : •' Af^er beh,g X^aterbri theV^^^ l"^ "'^ ^'"' '^"^"^^' "' ^^^'^^^ he the Staffordshire houses do^e to hoin7.? ^'""«^^'/«" J««k your orders to nished you six months since Lll ^ \ ^''"' ™^'^' ^"^^ ^^e rails they fur- you to Let rolli;"'i;f„rS Jrutu J.^SV.? H-;-f ^.-M Jdvise Ihe Umted States government find that thej can make muskets better and ■U 1S66. or to address I doom the id worthy of ficult uiid(!r- 'lews (if im- of opinion rse syHteras :tion of tlin lihviiy ; tlie ional difRr- ;h ; and the d with rail- but by col- sely on the able in the sure, grows 'ill not say is country 1 science is lerstand to ig what is ;h lie was t railways ! that rail- iid employ for goods ds of val- construc- y nothing on every of metal Many I' Scotch ot blast. '»e price, country, western '■Inch he rders to ley fur- l advise ■St- class ter and tie iS,?" *>''r""^'«» ->/Kurope :, ':'lr'^r;; ' -'<' '^'- '■.' 'be work balnst, drama-e, distance between Hie!,.'..! '''^'^^'7«« '» the speed, en-ine«, and other causes, ,nake it impol ib L to n' '"''; '"''' ^^'"■'='' '•'"I'.i'v^ are d , ' be done over rails of difFere Jwe d / r" V"^, f '" ^'"' *'•'•'«" which ^^ engine and speed which are the d. ?f eiemenr"' ^^ /'"•■" '"""''"" ^'"^^ '' -'^ tZ .^ay wearmg them out, for tley aro neve. '" ''''■^^'••'>"'"f? rails. I will Z Another ehnnent in the life of aU s .r;i.Uh':;f T' l'"^- "'•'' ^'•"•^'""' ""' Thei; i '^.P^"''^^'"t8 of Rennie and J orin t I?f ''"\ ^"'"••"^' '"•'•f'-ce of ,ho fl"ng to do with its life. '' ''^''''"^ ^^"^* ^^'dth of head of rail has sle- HEST CKOSS-SECT/O.V OK RAIL. Jtr2:tjr:r£S ^'- ''>« best section "" 7;^^. «l««Per. or to sandwich tlte,S b^tl f""' .^^'"^ ^^^"^ ^'^'"'^ -»'« tern of railway track I have lon^r hnJT P^twecn longitudinal bearioirs, a svs sandwich system allows of tKrE'T*^ '' 'V''''^ >" ^'"'^ ^«"ntry T, 3" stiffness than can be obtained from anvofi ''^' '• "'* '" ^'''""^"'- ^^tem and more jng surface where it belo.Srclose to L Ih^T' '^^^^^'"- ^' ^'«« «" the ben? joints; requires less labor^smScoVnd In '^^^^^^^^^ '^ ««^^'«t8 to>;,X rail being a symmetrical one, w ifwi „^^^^^^ "^ H'' '^•^«'^' «"d. in addition the «P when the head is worn out The i ffi"' u ''' '^? "'"''' «^" ^c turned bo torn symmetrical, having a beavy ' hafr o„ ^eh sL;"'' • '''? ^"^''^^' -'^' -J'^^''^ i¥,fr'r^kmg an indentation at eae^^^^^^^^^^^ ^''« «^-»sI»ng the rail in when the liead ,s worn out. The diffienUv . f * prevents it being reversed United States is, that not having mS.'^^Ly'^V^''^^ '^^ ^'^ generalise in the when under a heavy traffic. rendeS f In ^''T^' '^ ""^^ t^"-""Sh the sleeper Zr{ "J ^^*''^^^^- >"^^ ««t to;2s bcforeT""' P»-^««"'^««» of the tinXr -Brunei, of the Great Wp^tov,.\ n t ^^ ^''"^ decay. fied with his bridge raU 0" Xjnd i.?' ''"^'^'^".^' ^'-">^ t,ecome di.satis- t^riV'^'T^''^''^ «^«S net "nft^l':^^^ '! -•' --'-■ to tie fJ"*!^.^^"^7i^ was tested at the Suswicklrt^ •'"!. '^'f^^'^'-^ P"»»^J« P^r ba^e of"^'.^'''- '\'''^'' ^ "- J'-ving made inder m^ \" ^"8-'^".1,^" l^^S, at Ihe base of 3i^, niches, weighin- gttv tLl ""/ «^^» ^P^^cifications, with a three and a half feet apart.*' The six tv i v ^T^' Vor yard, with bearing 8ixty.thi;ee pound rail^broke w h af C ^T.f 'f ^''^'' '''''^' ^^ tons the than ordinary rail. Tliey were mi f 1' '' ^''"'^ ''^'^^ «««t one f hird mo 'e ng.a specifications. I /entitn Thif to shC'tCt" ' '-f '''^ ^"^ ^'^"^^^ "'"- to snow that rails cannot easily be rolled { i ii 32 -ii for .t..n„i..) ......... u^ .:;. ' ,r vS.:^ ; 'it- , r 1 1" .^""^ «^f '^" '' plHtor.rcl.air ofnoino kind ui,,!,.,- tl„. mil .f? i ' ''"^'/'^ P''H''nf? a b.-nring HHnvin^^ could lMM.mTf,.d .^o 1 , J i-nr l'"''";' ^ «'«.««"vi"ced that Anoil,crHy.r.,.mof'tnickwll r' . '"■iko.f? the track rnoro Bocure. ^looncTH are of cast im or I " '^ "^ '' «y"nn,.trical rail is that where ho kind ..an been pnt nt 7 i^l'^rLr! an' 1 k"'"''"' "'r?"''^ '•""• ^ ^'•'^'^k of t . u-d on a long\.,il J; i \ ; 't ;/i ;. Co^feT 'i^'f^'^". ^' ^^ "o^ being far inferior to a track na ent wl J 7 / ^•'"f«''l<;ntinn. but it is, in my opinion. which al.o Im. i r'l ^ ^^vi, a :;;,Hi' In7' '7""'; '" ^'''' "Iron^aiLa^"; of India-rubber between T f w le " H, 'tl 'V^T "" "''^'' ^^'^'' « P'^^^^ •eavy trafHc of the Erie railway I'rf' a f' '''"^ ''''' '""^ '"'^'' ^I'e Waking the sleeper., and req^U " b," i r". ute.ft "" '''' ^'''' ^''''""* Bl.'<;perH were lij^ht, and of an i.d\'rior n ft e , to '" "' '''''""■'• '^'''^«« ',l("«i^M,foratraekisexceedindylV iV'ln^ '' ""^ I»-«P"«cd. This for fastenin,.s; in fact it hn^uIh^nil^Zf^ ''"''?' T^''}"'^''' "^ keys to pieces except by a full jran" of n er ^" ; ^ ^ *^'".'""*; '"'"'" ^'^'J' ^o pulled London. It L no^t lik y'to co, e i, ^'^'Z ""^ "•''^ '^^ '^ ''^'^'^y "^''^^ tnne, on account of its c^ost. I on ^i^^.S imb^l'", ''"' T""'>' ^"'^"'"^ economy in first cost, and often n iv mn < ' t ■ ""^T'^' ^">^'nc'"'8 study necks. ^''" I'''-^ "'"^^ intention to their pockets than their THE ..EUrrS OP O.KFKnK.XT VAR,.T,ES OK AMERICAN ,KON. tl.a?tm MlTtl^G":;; '3'?^'^' T' ' ^"" ^'" *''>^ P^"*' ^^ut I will say Mississippi, the iftiyTs^ U^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ "^ ^^.^'^ ^^^^ to beyond tS can be made of a much be ter VuXv th m . ''''"'T '^"" "'^/'"'^ England. They have more exn, -t ^ i ^ """ ''^^'^ ''«'! «»• ^^^^ S^'t from working iron thL we have but ^1"^^^ '" ftf """^ *'A'"^' ^""^'^ «'^"'' "^ this : among all the experiments nulobvP f .u'?^- ^"" ^'^^^ ^'" P^'ove ncers. through a series of wnrf J .1 -^ ^"'""'^ ^^'^"^'^t' «^" tlie royal engi- the kingdom', to ^Z^ J^X^'^J^l ;"'-^^-- «/ "- ^om alf parts'of result as high as 29,000 nomrFs tn??. "^'J""""' ''"^ '''^ "«* Set a tensile United Stati or^^^n^ ^^^Z^^^^^^^f ^ ^vhile Major Wade, of the Greenwood iron, got one result n«' 1 '''^/''^™^' purpose, and using only "umber of mean'rfsults of 'ove 40 oof nom.ds ''''' '"^^'^": ^f ^^'^^S^nd ^ strength of the iron in an E.XhTurimno . 1 rT""'! ^"''^- ^^^>« ^^"^^^e periments gave only 18,145 ounds^n.- «^^ ^/ *¥ ordnance office for ex- Btood why^England i Jtvti, g so C'stlv to Tt ^' '' f* ^^^""'^"^ "'^'^^r- dr?';^''%^«"'« ari aTLw as 9.J "lnd'10'000""^'^ ""^^ '^^"^^° UXt;'o : oJ^sTo tntiti:i^.^^l|' England^I't- obtained from a pas- tures." in whicu the poXStcvof tst^iS; ''r".'^^"*"" '' ^«"^^^ StL- than slow is exposed'an'd seUled br/xfertenV'^ '" "' ^"'^^ "'^^ ^ ^"^^« Hev^^tltlt Vhth^SirwriTo^^^^ fn-n ^"l^'!^?^'^^ '°"^ P^^- ^« the titles. Of late, American orelLv^T ''^"^'^"'^ '" considerable quan- / Tliirt being Dtl Boction of iif? a bearing nviiiccd that Tioro Bcciire. lit wh(>r(! the track of this 8 now being my opinion, )ii milwuy," with a jihito I under the 'arn without h-8. These xsed. This Its, or keys J. bo pulled lilway near y for some icans study ' than their IN. I will eay aoyond the which rails 1 got from re skill, in will prove oyal eiigi- ill parts of ■t a tensile de, of the siiig only 125, and a 'he tensile '.e for ex- tly under- I wrought d 15-inch Kingdom in 1858, jeriments between im a par- ty Struc- a bridge or to the •le quan- e frauk- >csgemer 33 process, were there no uses for it here 'VU„ l\ v i of importing American Salinhury iron -m f.V 1" .' V"-""';'':« "••« now talking tlu-y have utterly failed i,. Tl L 2, 1 ! ''1 •'.',' ■'""^"'^' '•'"■-^vhecls. ,5 in Englan.l. ']'he Anierican J V ^""''""f """ '•'""<'"l w1um-|s fro.u any iron wheels-from thc> r;ulwayH " ' .rd'^Akxa^^^^ ''T;/'" ''"«"^'' ---Jt-lZ Trunk railway of Canada^sai^ mental i„ tlu^lntroductio V •{''?; ";^^^^ "'« l •' I wa" myself instru- ye«.«'/'i»I «""I to abandon them aKether ' " '""^ "^'"' '^'' "'• '^''^ Htaud a load of two L, a o di^m-y sn^-d^ '1'^' 'r'^r ''"f "''^' ^^'"''■' «''""W Jnm a guarantee that each w e Jil '«ta„d t v .^^'r''"^'"""''"" "'''^' " ^ ^^'" ^ivc I Imvo now said enough to prove tluAl^^i^- .' '"'^ "^'"'''•" ^ *'''"'' B lu piovt mat American iron has some virtue. "K»T ■•l.A.V K„» C„A,„s, „,,K,«, „„ „TI,„« jo.NT KASTR.Vr.V,,, they will an,-ver to s...n,3 7 • • '. ' ^f>»t'"Uous lips made so lone that Thfs kind of d i "n iX^^^^^ f-F-. a. d serve as Hsh-?la " "ot easily split length vis,' Tl" iL? ? ' n""'' ""?' """^^ ''""^'^ «^' ^'^^t t will and screw.b\,lts put^ 2ou^h le 1 ^Im '^ "^ '" '''" '"''^'^ '^ ^'"' ^•'"■'' been able to undustandXr.lv • '' '''f '^'"^ "^ '■''^- ^ '^'^ve neve; attention to the ioint n ^II. ' ' "°'"'T ''"'^ suj.crintendents pay so little joints of the rails'",::! h' g t'^rm'niZ'^s tUv mu 7',."' ^P!;-^-' - 1"'^1>-"^ the" stroyed at the joints first '"rj.,""".*'!'' ' "'^T '""st all see that the rails are de- often below tL g" era 'eVel o t ho". ' •"'' f' -''"^ P'^'"^^ '» *''« ^'-''ck. being of all the enginefaXcan it ni ' ""'It ''™'"' ""' ""'>^ «^" *''^ '•«''« buf burnt vvhile?unniig bcavV a nC r ant'"' '^'"^, "'^'^'"^' «^ '^'^ ^'^'^^ ^^^^ give as each wheel^assel o er X- iC III 7'''/; «"V^'''^'^*''« J"'"^« country by machinery make^ ,.,.nnS J" /• ''ook-headcd spike made in this less thL i inch sqi^rrbut ^rx au;stion"^f^^'".'""'^' '' ^'''^ ■''«"' «"'^ "« not be made to ans?ve bette audrSZnT ""'"^ -"T' "* ^^'"^^ «'"^« ««»W land the chairs are fistened'fn ,1 ^ ? "'ore economical in the end. In Eng- answer the pTr ,osc ye y w 11 W^SiH^ ^ T'-f -'"P^^^^^'^ «^k. wlWch are used ; chaii are dispensed wltl but fh jf ' '"'' ^"'^ ^'"""^■'^ screw-bolts with good effect. ^ ' ^"' ^'«h-pl«tes arc introduced at the joints DIMKX.IO.XS OP AND DISTANCES HETWEEN SLEEPEHS. of rf!;:t"8fiLKSdSrj ^^^^rr ^r *'^« ^^-^--^-^ ^-^^ thick, laid 2^- feet from centre to ce, ire T? f ' ^?;"u''''' ^•'^«' ^"^ 6 inchts at right angfes to the^enti^line of ; fad and '•?; ^ '" '^.- ' """"''"^ ^" «'^«' ^^^^ the joints are fished and made as stiff af\ny'rt??l ^'"'T-''- "P*^'"*' ^^^^° to have large joint sleeoers or the , iLf "^ P *^^ '■^''' '* '« »«* necessary the rail. T^leepers uCd%n tht ctfe"^^^^^^^^^^ '' '^'^'^^'^ «f "i.8i.e.the usual dimensions ca led fr7eir7+^^^^^^^^^ ^'^''^^^' G mches thick; but in most cases the sleepeTs f^ll slrt !;> .i"'^'5-^^'^^'' '""^ Recently railway companies, finding that SSnnl .1 ^ *^^^^ dimensions, traffic and increased siL of en "ine/have rli ted t """" J ""* '*'"'^ *^^ '"^^^^^^^ sleepers in the tracks. In some ra^e^he '^aeP, 1 7""'"^ '""''" "^ *^^«« ^'"^ll greater than their own width ThL C s for X ''f '^'"P''"' ^'"^ »°^ '""^l^ adds largely to the labor expend d ^ repji l' "l"^ P^.^'VPikos. and . same amount of timber in fewer sleenerst^Pl"!. ^ ^^" ^''^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ lining track vouM h- --, V T ^^^P^^t'ie labor account f,-r surfarin- and' g tiack v,orud b. ..ach reduced, the drainage would be better, the'surfl'ce I !i / 34 cxnoHCfl to decay wouM bo l..»^ and tlu- numln'r of f.iflteninff^ would bo much I will not Icavo tbo wubjoct of nhcpcvA without m(>ntioiiiti;^ thn groat linr)ort- anco ot clicmically i)i(.|)arin{? tin! titnb.'r. Various m-tliodrt b.ivo l)(.,,n invn.ted moHt of winch ur(! VMluiihl.', nud have provod of much benefit, particularly in 1 ranee and Germany. Some mcthodri are oxponHivc, calliu},' for tho timber bcmi}? lM-onj,Mit to n coatly apparatun. and miicli time consumrd in trcatini; it ihn method invented by I'aine. called " Payaniziuf,'." which results in forniinff an lUHoliible salt in the capillari<'s of tho wood by (irrtt forciiifj in chloride of limo in solution, and then Hulphato of iron, is probably the boHt. Timber prepared ni this way is almost incombustible; it adds to the weight and hardness, and gives It great durability. The system usually adopted in England is to soak tho sleepers in creosote, in ordmary wooden vats, thn creosote used being coal tar with the ammonia taken out. Th(! process invented by Dr. 13oucherio, in France, and used there, appears to have many advantages, and is worthy of much attfution, A liqtii.l containing' a min(;ral sulid.atc of copper or chloride of zinc is run through the timber when hrst felled, and when the .sap is in a liquid state; this is done by elevatiu" a tub contammg the liquid about 18 to 20 feet above the ground, and convey7n- the iquu to one end of the Btick or log by a flexible tube. With this head to the liquid tbo sap IS readily and ([uickly driven out, and its place supplied by the mineral solution, ^ ^ '' I feur that there is but little u?e in preaching tho preservation of timber to Americans ; they have it in abundance, and intend to waste it, to destroy it, and to be as prodigal of it as they possibly can ; but the day will come when the pes- terity of this generation will mourn over the folly of their fathers, as tho people of J i t WIDTH OF ROAU-BKD AT OKADE I\ EXCAVATION AND EMUANKMENT. The road-bed in excavation should be in earth cuttings not less than '^6 feet and in rock cuttinors not less than 24 feet wide, for a single-track railway of ordinary gauge. This leaves sufficient room for side ditches, which should be not less than two feet deep, with slopes IJ to 1 in earth cuttings ; the slopes of tlieea'-tb cutting from bottom to top should be never less than U to 1 • in some cases, wnere the material has a ten.lency to run or slide, the slopes may be, and shou d be, incroused to 2 to 1 and sodded. In open rock cuttings the slopes should never be less than J to 1. o i- Embankments should have a top width of 18 feet, with slopes of not less than f J . V"^*"P ^''''^^^' ^''^"'^ ^^ ^^^^ "P ^"h care, after the road is com- pleted, by hauling from the cuttings. Embankments are easily and quickly washed away at top by storms; it is a common thing to leave them so. When m this reduced condition, if an engine leaves the rails, it ia sure to topple over the embankment, often dragging the train to destruction.' It should be recol- lected f)y railway men and legislators tliat a railway is never finished, nor can the capital account ever be closed with proj)riety where there is a growin.^ traffic requiring additional stations, enlarged buildings, more sidings, and increase of rolling stock. Ihe practice in this country, as to capital account, is open to much and deserved criticism. In many cases the capital account has been Closed, and the net earnings which belong to dividend accounts applied to new constructions to accommodate increased traffic ; in other cases capital has been uged to pay the current expenses of traffic, and the whole earnings applied to dividends. It is evident that both these ways of mana■ '''■■'■'""" '"' 'i'« """I'- ?;tl™-:;;z,£r:;rj:^ eti Ti... i.n,.Mranc o • b 1, L „ l!'," "^ '''"''' ^"■''""- ''"^' "-"'""f^' «'"^k cost, ballast h.-ap. of tl.o L.n.lo •,, 1^.. ^ I ■ '^^'j";'"'""^ '''"•"'^^'^^ *■••"'" ^»'« grav..l iH not t.f Ik^ htd .^' : ^ j^^ ,1 r,;- „ '' l''" -"^'1 "V'-i^Ian.l. where held n. In^lnr e«t Jm w ,n V r' '' '!"l"»''^'»-';.i" K%'l«nd. it should be one .loubtH this 1, t hi ! .'.f r ."'''' ' ■"'' '''■"•" ^'•"^'^'^ '"'*• «'"••«»«• If «ny on any roa 1 n Zd' u tvt ""^'r' ""^ '''"' "'" ^"'•'^ ^^'■^'' -"•<'«« Hpring or fall. " "^ '" "'''^'"'^ " "" "»^' "*" «»r inilwayn in the particularly the f.)rl w dnow f' ""r^'"^^'"" '/^ locomotive-^ a.ul car.. .'te.ni ^nidients anTHhrn-n n ' ' '''"°'' '"'"'"^ ""^^ mountain work, where TheV-ngi^ !7theGr«.^^ ""--'^^'-1 i" ^Le world made engine. ; f ncUn. t couldl IT ^''""^' '""'' "^ '"••^'' ^'^f^' ^^''g'i«i»- American pat^ert" hc/h'ntdcr 7^10 o^ "^'J-' '"''^"'' i'-^'^ "''^'"''^ ^''^'^ »« ISipercelu. duty'on th'goi ^ ttc ( W^^^ thm country, paying sent me in ISflO he had 43 moro hnHf V" ' , "^ ^'''-' '^''^^ "* ^^ "'Port he In a letter writte fW no bHlr T?l • '"'" !'?P' "^■^^''' ^'"C'-i^-'-^'i patterns, ho Hays : " On the Sini^i.^ o/ M ' T^T-"' 'l^ ''''' ^''"' ^^^"«'lia" railway, the English engines rfcZk .V ^'T "', *''"' 'I'""^ ^^^ »^^'^'- ««»'^^ k«<"P Vhere the lim e ' 1 " h^ ^I'T '"^l^'T'' "^' ^""^'^^ '" >' «"""try that a road cZotl wo id w l^nn 1 "'' T"^ '^"""^^^ ^"^ builtwithout it; it nu..st be obta rd at any co.t S.??''' ot certah.ty without it; and that first, and when a road is i^rlpe td' ^ r'alfi^^'b^t itSd ^"^ "' ^^ gravel^broke^n ^llt^'Sl^tS^:^''^' ''^'^^^ ^'^^^ ^« -rse nELAT,V. ADVANTAGES OP D.PKERK.T PLANS A..D MATERIALS POK RA.LWAV BRIDGES. 'liVVAV r2.:;":3,Jti;rr;i<^r!:f^:.;!t''v^^^^^^'T ^^^ "« ^-^■^'«- is burnt the whole traffic of the'! 0.^^. iT'"" '"'7 ^'"^^^ "^ magnitude last for months, tellhigsovcrelvuniir?^^ ^'•' '"''^f' ^''^ ^«"^'«'« «*^l"«h to say nothing of tK n^e7oc a^^^^^^ "' 'T^''^' f"^^ ^'' '"fl"^"^«' Cases of this kind a,^ numerL,7nt ^'"7 ""? ^"'"^ ^"^'"««« "P«« it. of it is. that cXan e^ Z d''r',"' ; « «.""»try. but the apparently idiotic part lost by fir, and tCVo^in'ti^'ldit ^f' :;X ;: H^^tH'^'dif"? "^'^ ""'' recently the case at Troy, in thi<. Stat." ^voaUhy districts, as waa Iron, stone, and brick are the only three reliable materials to build with; for J 3G all smnll structures, such as culverts under embankments, stone and brick have a decided advantage over iron ; but for all large structures iron has much the advantage over stone or brick. Bridges such as the Britannia, the Victoria, the Saltasb, and all suspension bridges, could not be constructed of stone. Two hundn^d feet, or thereabouts, appears to be the limit to whicli stone •arches can be built Avith success, and within any reasonable cost. The largest span for a single arch oi stone ever built in modern times you have on tlie line ■of the Washington aqueduct ; the largest in Europe is theGrosvenor bridge over the Dec, in England, and the largest we have any record of is one said to have been 2;31 feet span over the Adda, near Trezzo, in Italy ; but there is no record to show when it was built or Avhen it was destroyed. With iron we have extended this limit of stone to spans of 459 feet in rigid girders, as in the Britannia bridge, and to 821 feet by suspension, as in the Niagara brid;j:e, and ■this limit by suspension is likely to be much exceeded in a short time, since a ibridge of 1,221: feet span is in course of construction over the Kentucky river. Mr. Barlow, an engineer of note in England, and the first authority on the strength of matcrialis after visiting this country to see the Niagara liridge, re- ported it as a reliable bridge, and as likely to endure, if taken care of, as any bridge of stone, (he, of course, meant the iron part, the cables,) and tli"n offered to build a bridge of .3,000 feet span (jf steel wire over the Mersey, at Liverpool. It is not necessary to say any more t(( show the great and wonderful value of iron as thi' best material for building bridges of large span, say all spans over 50 feet. As to the relativ(! merits of different plans much may be said, 'i'lie solid plate girder, as used by Robert Stephenson in the Britannia bridge, under the peculiar circumstances of having to build it in one place, and erect it while whole in another, became the rage among engineers in England, and to a certain extent has remained so to this time. Many bridges on this plan have been built, which are reliable and have an abundance of strength, but they have also an abundance of iron, more than is necessary to obtain the same strength with other plans of construction. The solid plate girder, or the box girder, or any other girder of large span, made of plate iron riveted, is behind the scientific knowledge of bridge-building of the age in which we are living. An admira- ble and well-written article on the comparative merits of the plate girder as used in the Victoria bridge, and some of the American iron truss girders, will be found in the American Railroad Journal of fire to eight years since. The Warren girder, as used in England, appears to be a reliable, good plan of construction ; it was used in the great Crumlin viaduct ; the tests applied to which, when finished, were very satisftictory. This plan of bridge, like the plate girder, is entirely of wrought iron, ignoring the merits of cast iron in bridge- building. I contend that cast iron is the proper m;iterial to use, and is vastly superior to wrought iron in bridge building, when its duty brings in play its com- pressive strength, and that wrought iron is the material to use where the duty is n tensile oue. American engineers of note, in designing new plans for bridges, ■did not lose sight of the comparative merits of cast and Avrought iron Avhen used in their right places. This is seen in studying the plans of Colonel Long, Bollman, Fink, and Whipple, all of which plans are Avorthy cf much attention and consi(..!ration. All ha\'e posts and top chords of cast iron, which are ahvays in a state of thrust or compression ; Avhiie the suspension rods, lower chords, (Fink's and Bollman's have no lower chords,) diagonal bracing, &c., Avhich are ahvays in a state of tension, are of wrought iron. The largest bridge structure ir. South America is one of ii on, on the plan of Colonel Long, Avhich was built ill Ncav York and erected under my direction in Chili, in 1858. It \ and has eleven spans of thirty-three metres each, and consists of many tlious parts, all of each kind interchangeable ; it Avas not erected or put together until brought to its destination ; it Avas then erected Aviihout any one piece being rick have mil ell the ;toria, the licli stone 10 largeat 11 the line or bridge le said to lero is no 1 iron we as in the idjre, and p, since a •ky river. ty on the i rid go, re- i", as any "n offered Liverpool. i value of pans over 'iMie solid luidor the t it while a certain )een built, re also an iigth with e-r, or any gcientitic 1 admira- Icrasuscd 1 be found od plan of ipplit'd to 3 tiie plate in bridge- is vastly y its com- be duty is ir bridges, vhen used ricl Long, attention vhich are ads, lower cing, &c., est bridge ng, which 1858. It thousand ither until tee being \ 37 found deficient in sizi^ or fininli. When keyed up it had the e.\act camber culled for, which it ha^ preserved under the traffic of heavy engines to the pres- ent day, without any expense;- for repair.^, watching, or other items, save an occiirtional inspection. 'VhU should bo considered sulHciont proof that the ]ilan is a good one. The plans of Bollman and Fink can bo se> n on the Baltimore and (Jhio rail- road, where thoy are, I believe, ludd in high esteaui. I consider eicli of these plans as a valuable invention and worthy of great attention. I have no doubt of the practicability of building reliable brid^'os on either of the last-nam-d plans up to and beyond 400 feet clear sj).ni. Tiie plan of Fiuk appears to lie based upon the most -eierititic principles, and capable of the cleansst and most simple demonstraiiun. as to the dnry per- formed and the distress su-itainod by each and every part, of any bridge yet invented. Every bridge of iron sihould be constructed of the best material. The cast iron should be tested (every piece separately) fortlaws. The limit of elasticity of tlie wrought iron should be not less than 30,000 pounds per square inch; the dimensions so arranged that the distress resulting from its own weight and the passngo of the heaviest trains shou.d not exceed S,000 pounds per square inch for cast-iron, and 9,000 per square inch for wrought iron. Every bridge should have an ultiaiato strength of at least six times the amount of distress it is daily aubjeuted to. The system of making iron-steel, semi steel, and homogeneous metal, as it is called by Bessemer, and patented by him in England, will no doubt revolutionize all largo things made of iron, and particularly iron bridges and rails. Cold-rolling iron, as introduced by Mr. Lauth, of Pittsburg, is also likely to bo introduced with advantage in the wrought iron of bridges ; but in reducing the amount of material used in a bridge, weight is an element of impor- tance which must not be lost sight of. The only writer on bridge construction that bus ever, as far as I know, introduced this element in his discussions, was Mr. Roebling, in treating of the merits and capabilities of his Niagara bridge — a work which will make his name imperishable among engineers ; a work which may r.ank as one among the only four great engineering structures accomplished by man since the creation. WEIGHT AND OTHKR CHARACTKRISTICS OK E\(il\E.S. Til is is an important matter in the economy of ii railway, to discuss which fully would fill a volume. In no country in the world has so much ingenuity and happy invention been applied to locomotives as in the United States. As railway companies were determined to have p'oor tracks, it became a ne- cessity to have not only good engines, but woiulerfully good engines and cars, or abandon tin; railway system altogether ; for with cars on four wheels and ten feet between axles, and engines with a wheel base of sixteen to eighteen feet, as is c .mnion in England, with the axles parallel and fixed in a rigid frame, it Avould be impossible to \\ork our railways, particularly where mountain work necessitated steep gradients and sharp curves. The English engine may be compared to a fonr-legged stool, which will only stand firm and steady on a. true and level floor. The American engine may be compared to a three-legged stool, which will stand steady on any floor, all three legs touching and support- ing. The American engine is a creature of necessity ; and a magnificent crea- ture it is, when properly handled by skill and intelligence, which is not always the case ; for railway companies, instead of striving to improve the condition of locomotive engineers by giving increased wages, good houses, schools for their children, and pensions for their families when killed while pursuing their haz- ardous and trying duties, appear to ignore the great value of thi.? class of men, and think it economy to treat them as near as possible like laboring men, for- 38 / I' i getful that their duties are most arduous, and that there is more responsibility of life and limb intrusted to their charge than to any other class of men, to say nothing of the care and good keeping of a costly and most intricate machine. If any one doubts the skill required, and the arduous nature of the duties per- formed by a iirst-class engineer, let hira mount, as I have done, on the ibot-board of an engine with one of these men, wben he is about to drive his hundred miles in two hours and a half on a dark, stormy, cold and cheerless night ; then, while shivering and holding on to a stanchion, let him watch that man, who, with one hand on the throttle and the other on the reversing bar, gives thought to his fire and water, and while his ear keeps guard over each pulsation of the engine, his eagle eye peers into darkness to watch for some signal or obstruction as his wonder-work- ing machine flies through space and appears to laugh at time. I think 1 sec the doubter turn pale as he stands by that cool and fearless man, and regret that he ever attempted to solve his doubts by such a perilous ad/enture. Let him reflect when his ride is over, when his couraga returns, and when he feels grate- ful that he escaped with his life, that that engineer has had his brain taxed, his constitution exposed, and his nerves strung and unstrung in that way .ilmost every night in the year, and that when he r( tires to his bed, it is often in a state of perfect exhaustion. I beg pardon for this digression, but the engineer is to me an important point in railway economy. The weight of an engine should bo, in a measure, governed by the number of wheels on which it rests. In England, engines have been built of forty tons on four wheels, and sixty tons on six wheels ; this must be ruinous to any track, and should not be admitted on any road at any speed. Four tons to a wheel for fast trains, and five and a half tons to a Avheel for slow trains, would, I con- sider, be a fair limit Avhen the economy of the whole railway becomes a study. I am satisfied that speed is in most cases more destructive to rails than weight. Mr. Dodamead, superintendent of the Virginia Central railway, wrote me, in 1861, that the rails wore better on the mountain division of that road, where they used their heavy engines called " climbers." than they did on the level portions of their road, where they used lighter engines at higher speed. In 1853 one of the superintendents of the London and Northwestern railway said to me, la answer to som ■ questions, " I do not believe that there has ever been an ex- press train run over this road that has paid its expenses." I mention these things to show that high speed is attended with great expense; and as- all roads are worked with trains at different velocities, it is impossible to get at the exact destructive results of trains at high speed. Dr. Lardner, in his work on " Rail- way Economy," published in 1850, says in reference to express trains : " I have no doubt, from long and careful practical investigation into the effects produced by the action of engines on railways, that the damage sustained directly and in- directly by railway proprietors in consequence of express trains moving at ex- traordinary speed, is far greater than any profits derivable from such tiains can cover; and I liave no hesitation in saying that, considered in a commercial point of view, railway proprietors would be fully justified either in laying a much higher rate of fare upon express trains, or, which would be much more advisable and more consistent with their own interests, suppressing them altogether." I will close this matter of engines by recommending all passenger trains to be worked at a speed not exceeding thirty miles an hour with thirty-ton engines, on eight wheels, four of wdiich are drivers ; that all goods ti ains bo worked at a speed not exceeding fourteen miles an hour, with engines of thirty -five to forty tons, on eight wheels, six drivers and two wheels with "Hudson's improved Bissell truck;" that all the engines be fitted whh steel tyres to the driving wheels, and Giftbrd's injector as well as pump?^; that the materials used and the wo'-kmanshiii be of the very best: tliat all engines be l.nilt at first-class works, and a fair price paid, to in.sure first-class machines The private reports made to the London and Northwestern railway by Mr. / 39 Edward "Woods in 18o3, as to llie economy of the different classes of engines on tliat great railway, contain valuable information, and prove clearly that the heavy crank engines of the southern division cannot bo made to work with the same economy as t'u; light outside cylinder engines of the northern dirision. KAILWAY CARS. The passenger and freight cars in general use on American railways are in design admirably fitted for railway service. The cast-n-on wheels used in American cars, when made by experienced founders from good American iron, are superior to tlu; wheels used in any other country for endurance. It is, however, common for American companies to demand wheels at a low price. When this is the case, Scotch pig and poor qualities of American iron are used, and an inferior Avheel delivered. The great merits of the American Avheel are becoming known in Europe. They are adopted in seven English railways in South America, and, I believe, on all the English railways in Canada. The American journal-box was tried by Mr. McConnell on the London and Northwestern railway in 1852 on the tender of a locomotive, while a set of English boxes were tried on another tender. They were both run on express and gravel trains for a distance of six thousand miles, and the result, as reported to the Institute of Mechanical Engineers at Birmingham, in October, 1852, was as follows : American boxes, six in a set, cost one and one-half penny per day for oil, cotton-waste, and leather ; English boxes, six in a set, cost nine pence per day for axle-grease — showing a saving of seven and one-half pence per day (equal to fifteen cents) on each set of six boxes. Besides this, there was a saving in the first cost of boxes, the American set of six weighing one hundred and seventy-six pounds less than the English. To show how difficult it is to introduce any improvement in railway matters, and particularly in Eng- land, I would state that the American box is not introduced on any railway I know of in England, although this experiment Avas made on the road of the largest moneyed railway corporation in the world by an eminent mechanical engineer, and given to the public through an institution composed of all the lirst mechanical and railway men of the kingdom. It has been acknowledged in England by " The Engineer" — a leading authority in railway matters — that American engines running, as they say, " over what we know to be a notoriously inferior track to those in England," perform an average duty of twenty to twenty-five per cent, more th-in the English engines ; but they have not in any way attempted to account for this difference. 1 have before said that the American engines in design are superior to the English, particularly on steep gradients, sharp curves, and inferior track; but this superiority would not be so prominent and glaringly evident were both engines on good, straight tracks, Avith light gradients. There must be another cause : it is in the different systems of cars used. The English use four-wheeled, the Americans eight-wheeled cars. The English cars, when loaded, have about half their loads overhanging the axles. "VVhen in a train, and it is started in motion, they feel quickly all the irregularities of the track, and begin to oscillate in the direction of their length, using up in this way a large portion of the power of the engine. The American car has but little of its load as over- hanging weight. The trucks oscillate as they pas.s irregularities of the track, bixt the load does not, leaving the engine to utilize its whole power in traction. If any engineer can give a better reason for the American engines doing more duty on an inferior track than the English engine does on a superior track I would like to hoar it. The American cars are all they should be when built by first-class builders. When unprovements are made they will be introduced by the car-builders, and 40 not by the railway companies. All the pnblic ask or expect of the companies is that they will keep their cars clean and in repair. This in most instances the pnblic do not receive, nor will they get it as h.ng as there is bnt one class of cars provided, and one fare charged for high and low, rich and poor, saint and sinner, clean and nnclean. RATIO 1\ WHICH RAILS A\U U01,LI:V(i STOCK DKTERIORATK WITH DIFFERENT TELOC TIES It iri impossible to give any mathematical answer to this question, nor could there be without having two roads laid at the same time, side and side, with the same iron, gradients, curves, sleepers, fastenings, ballast, number of stoppages, &c., and run with equal Aveight engines at different velocities. The answer must bo a general one, and can be no more than an opinion. My belief is that the duration in the life of the rails, engines, and cars would be increased over one hundred per centum by decreasing a speed of forty miles to twenty miles per hour; aad I believe that nearly the same result would be found between speeds of thirty and fifteen. x\gain, with the same track, the iron would last longer with the same velocities by using twenty-tun engines, with corresponding trains, instead of forty-ton engines and trains to utilize their tractive power. Having answered all (questions, I must now apologize for not having done what I proposed — give categorical answers instead of the rambling and digressive nature of this paper, and for having introduced many things ap- parently foreign to the subject; but, thinking and believing that there may be an occasional line or idea in it worthy of notice, and that may in some way directly or indirectly assist in railway reform, 1 respectfully submit it, and remain, colonel, your obedient servant, W. W. EVANS. Lieut. Col. J. H. Simpson, Corps Engineers. / APPENDIX M. Union Pacific Railroad Company, Engineer Department, 13 William street, Ntw York, January 29, 1866. CoLOXEL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt (some weeks since at Omaha) of your circular letter of the 18th of December, 1865, accompanied by a circular from the honorable Secretary of the Interior, in which you invite my opinion on several points connected with the construction and operation of railroads, with a view of laying it, with others of the same character, before a board of "government commissioners, directors, and engineer of Pacific rail- road," for the purpose of "aiding the government in establishing such a standard for these roads" (the Union Pacific and its branches) "that, Avhen finished, they will subserve the purposes for which tliey are built, and be a credit to the nation." A reply to your communication would have been forwarded at an earlier day had you not informed me, in person, that the meeting of the board had been postponed from early in January to early in February. The position which I have the honor to occupy, of consulting enginoer, of by far the most important of the roads referred to in your letter, might be regarded as placing me in a position of some embarrassment, and possibly of warping ation to the subject-matter my jud i)ject in what I may say, to be entirely frank, as well as independent of any deavor, interests which I may be supposed to represent. I shall claim your pardon, / 41 however, if from tliis or any other consideration ray (li^cussion of the r^iilijoct takes a somewhat wider range than appears to be contemplated in your letter. Tlie law of Cong:ress, granting government aid to the Union I'acific railroad and branches, provides that ihey shall be built, as ^\fir.st-dass raihnads." It also provides that the Preside nt of the United States shall appoint three eom- mif^sioners, whose duty it shall be to examine the roads and certify to this fact. It, also provides that the President shall appoint five government directors for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, one of wiiom shall be placed upon each of the standing committees of the board. It also provides that the President shall iix the eastern terminal point, the point of crosj:ing the 100th meridian of longitude, and approve the location between these points. It also fixes the extreme limit to the grades and curves of the road, the width of gauge, and character of the iron rails. "With all these safeguards thrown about these roads, for the purpose of pro- tecting the interests of the government and securing their proper construction, it would seem almost impossible (unless the government ofiicers fail in the per- formance of their duty) for the railroad companies to evade a proper discharge of the* responsibilities imposed upon thom by Congress; and it will, in my opinion, be equally difficult for the board of government commissioners, direc- tors, and engineer, referred to in your letter, to establish a common and unvary- ing standard for the construction and equipment of these roads. The term "/Irst-class" railroads, as generally used in this country, iloes not, so far as my experience and observation extend, either depend upon or apply to any particular "weight or cross-section of rail, plan of chair, spike or other joint fastenings, dimensions of and distance between ties, width of road-bed at grade in excavation and embankments, dimensions of side ditches, depth of ballast, different plans and materials for railroad bridges, weight and other char- acteristics of engines and rolling stock, or ratio in which rails and rolling stock deteriorate with diflerent velocities." You will find that all the foregoing characteristics which are specified in your letter not only vary materially on the different first-class roads throughout the country', but upon the same road. I do not know of a first-class .ailroad of any considerable length that has not almost every variety of weight and pattern of rails, chairs, engines, cars, plan of bridges, width of road-bed and ditches, machine-shops, station-houses, &;c., &c These are or have been generally governed either by the location of the road, the grades and curvature, the peculiar views of engineers, the financial condition of the company, or the nature and extent of the trafiic for which the road was constructed. You may, thert.'fore, select any number of the acknowl- edged first-class roads throughout the country, and you will find that their general characteristics will vary just in proportion as their peculiar location, the views of their builders, and the character of tlieir business varies. You will also find that these roads have generally, if not in all cases, been constantly improving their condition in regard to structures, outfit, and other particulars, since their first construction in order to keep pace with their con- sfantlv increasing traffic, so that a road five or ten years old presents an entirely different aspect from what it did when first opened to the public as a first-class railroad. Hence it may be considered perfectly safe to assume that all these things will be regulated by the managers of the road as fast as the interests of the company or the re([nireinents of the public may demand. In view of the foregoing facts and considerations I have assumed that the term Jirst-dass railroad, as intended by Congress to be applied to the Union Pacific railroad and its branches, means a railroad suitable and proper in all respects for the nature and extent of tlic traffic which the whole or any portion of the road may reasonably be expected to do when first opened to the public, of which the commissioners appointed by the President were to be the judges; 42 / V ■I nnd tlmt everything beyond tliis was intended to be left to the future control of the stockholders a'ul managers of the road, whose interests will at all times be at lca?t twice and, perhaps, three times as large as those represented by the gov- ernment; and further, that in granting a liberal donation of lands and loans of government secnrities to aid in the construction of these roads, the character of the roads and their outfit was a secondary consideration with Congress when compared with the great importance to the government and country of their speedy construction. I have therefore advised that the lino should be so located us to admit of the prescTit or future adoption of the easiest gradients and curvatures consistent with rea^f ourleading\;;;:v^.^r^ rrw-,.^^ ^"^^^'^ «^^^- -^7 the use of steel. Anions the 'eWl.nL , "^ '^^"'**^*^ ^'^ advocate way talent we po..se.s, w L o ' Iv ^iZ 7''. n"'''"^ ^' "'''"^^^ '''« ^''^^^ rail- way .yste. wiS be fbind in';:?u^.:;- Zs^d ran "'^ "^^^^'^" "^ ^"^ -'^■ expressed their intenti^'t pm dot the eat re li n' 7"^ ^^'^T'' '">^^ ^''^^^ as rapidly as the old rails ..^^e ui;!;!;, ^^^ ,^ :^^ ''^^^' ^^^^ in cast steel ouch a decision will not annenr lin>.M' if „ v tl.e co,t of c„„ti„„all,. re ^SLg^Jurll'll^iU' i™;'™!' '' '" '*'" '" '■"'"'"'^ 45 s iiro now <;r UHiii'jr idiU'od for tlio ir own licm a liithi over 10,000 ton;} \n;v iuuium of Hcsaoiner .-^tccl rail UHO on tho London and Nortinvostci-.i road ........ ,..,,„ a mtio over throe yca-AS ,t was fmu.d that each pteel rail had ontla.f.-d more than twenty o iron on one portion of th.^ir road at (.'amdentown. At thin s,,nt. whnv thi strain and do«tn,ct.o„ of th,,. rail i. particularly nevn-e, the iron had to he re- roi,.] every two montli.s dnring a period of three year.. ; while the nteel. at tho end ot the Hain(! i)eriod, had endured the yamo tratiic and was yet -ood If jm eBtimate be made of the total co.st, nay of „ne mile, (or foo tons,) of ail \' riiir • 7 '^TV:i''-' (^'''^\-«« J^-- t'..... the lifelime of the steel rails.) n, ^vdl he found if the iron h<. taken at our v;Jne to-day, say .S8.3, and the re-ro l.ng $35, re-laying $5 per ton. with interest at six per cent^ the entia cost would reach the enormous sum, in three years, of 884,1,30, or $:>8,050 per mde each year ; while the steel, at its present full value for small lots, say $165 per ton, would only have cost S 19,470 for tlu; three years, or $G,490 each year Ihree^^ear!"' '^ ^^^'^^^ ^^' '^'' "'' "^' ''''^ "" """'""« of trmiin wn?.?,n '""^ "'Ti '^''' ■'' ''^'''" c-xceptional case, and that .aeh six months would be n<.arer the estimate for re-rolling-, even in the worst portion of our lead- ing roads Ii we still give the steel the same proportion of endurance, eighteen times that of iron, the result would he a total cost of 81)0.450 per mile fbr the of S7? /'lO^in'f ' ^••-''^^?,r'"'^ ']''^ «^f ' ^r' ""ly ^^^'^^.000, making still a balance of 873.4U0 n favor of the steel. Should this be carried still further, and the ron ordy rolled each twelve months, th -esult would be a balance in favor of the steel of $85,770 ; and if the re-rolli, only be done once in live years, tl^ total saving (continuing the same pr.ponion for the steel) would bo $170 000 per mile m it^ favor. These figures, although hastily gone over, are Zr enough for all practical purposes; and if to Ihem be 'added the yZ great «avmg to the locomotives and rolling stock generally, in having a smoolh, non- laminat.ng surface to traverse, in lieu of the battered iron noAv in general use • vv'hi st to this may be added an entire freedom from those very expensive acci- dents arising from "broken rails." as tho tensile strength of the Bessemer steel IS more than double that of the iron ; whilst, at the same time, they will bend double cold, and you have a grand total which will place the steel rail far be- yond any competition from iron as at present manufactured If i have not already tired out your patience, I may at another time present .some further views with regard to railway matters which may inter,>st you 1 am, sir. very respectfully, yours. c! Tx PHILIP S. JUSTICE Springer Harbauoh, Esq , o uoxjv^r.. Government Director to P. R. R„ Pittshirg, Pa. Dkar Sir tendent on our APPENDIX 0. IIousK OP Hepreskntatives. Washington, February 2, 1866. I received the enclosed letter from W. P. Shinn, late superin- . '■ I/.ttsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago railway, whom you know to be a very intelligent gentleman, as well as an experienced railroad man. Your 1 acihc railroad comnmtee being now in session, I desire to call attention to the Buggestions made by Mr. Shinn as to the character of the rails to be used in the construction of your great road. It should be made a first-class road at the start. Very truly yours, Col. T. C. Sherma.\. M. WELKER. 46 / l*iTTsniru(j, F(i«T Waynk, and Ciii('A(i() Railway Co., OJicc of the General Freight Agent, Pittsburg, Januar;/ 3, 18GG, Dear Sih : I nm not fully infonued at) to the control of the government in the matter of details of construction of the Uninn Pacific railroad ; but I cannot for- bear to call the att(mtion (through you) of the proper authorities to the fact that the raila are beiiif; laid with " cliair.s" at the joints, instead of the more modern ♦• fish bars" or " iv('rninent commi-<- rtioner.-J, directors, engineer, and others. Tiiis piper was not (hisig.ied as a full_ answer to all the points of inquiry embraccid in your circular No. 2, and is of less general interest to railroad men than the elaborate replies fVom distin- guished engineers read before the con/ention. Its purpose wa-*, nudt wide at bottom; giving in ev«'ry cut room for side ditches, ot such ample depth and width as to secure that most essential requisite, a well-drained road-bed. Slopes (except in rock) should have one to one and a halt base, to one rise, depending upon the character of the earth or if steep(;r, ihui a greater width at bottom, so as to remove; the same quantity of earth as woidd bo contained Avithin those slopes, allowing the 1,'anks to form their own slope.«. In rock the cuts will be 10 feet wid(! at bottom. 3. il/«,7/rt«».«/5/;-//t/?/m».— Culverts, drains, and bridge abutments should bo built of stono whenever that material of a durabh; character can be fouiul within reasonable hauling distance say live to eight miles, depending npon circums'ances. But if stono be too remote, then trcstlo-work of best timber available may bo used until stono can be delivered by the road. For the bridges, the Howe truss, or other equally safe and reliable plan, should bo adopted. 4. Ballusling.—A railroad cannot be called complete until avoU ballasted. This is a branch of the construction, most economically performed when gravel is used, after the road is opened for construction trains. But it shoidd be com- menced immediately upon such opening, and continued with diligence, trom time to time, until the track is fully balhisted. Ballast, if of gravel, should be 12 to 24 inches in depth, or, if of broken stone, 12 inches. But m parts ot the Platte and Kansas valleys, and on other like formations, wliero neither coarse, gravel nor stono is found within reasonable distance, then the best of the sand or sandy materials furnished by the excavations, or found in the contiguous river-bed, must suffice for a time. 5. Cross-tics.— (.)a\i, or other equally durable timber, should be used wlier- ever it can be obtained, with any reasonable transportation, from the contiguous groves, or delivered by water at the starting-points, and carried forward by construction trains. Where such timber in sufficient amount cannot bo obtained at any reasonable cost, then the best the country affords must be used. But it Cottonwood, or other like timber, is of necessity used, the ties must first be thor- oughly Bnrnettized or Kyanized. In all cases the joint tie should, for the better holding the spikes, be of oak or other hard wood. The number of ties will be such as to average about two feet apart from centre to centre, or 2,600 per mile. They should be eight feet long and six inches thick ; and if sawed, not less than eight inches wide ; or if hewn on two sides, six inches face. The joint tic shoiild be ten inches wide. 6. i?r///*.— These to be of American iron, as required by the law, ot best quality, and should weigh sixty pounds to the yard ; or, on condition of special 49 car. in tl.« tnnnuf.icturo, to ubo only M.o l.c.t iron; tl.on. on account of tho mliou. and rxn,.n8ivo transportation at tho, present tun.^ hma rail null-* ho l.rt- ant. tho wigl t nuiy ho rodico.l to liftv-Hix pounds per yard In tho nu.un a n IliHtHctH, whore heavier engines will L used. OO-poun.l ra.ln nhould ho hud A« tho noaroHt approximath.n to a conti.u.ou. nul w.tlun our ''f »' ''^ '"•;;;;','''• coHt, iuHtoad of I .0 onlinary chair, tho " fiHh-jou.t." bo ca U-d, should ho used at t joining of the harn. consisting of two woll-fittod pieces ot wrought iron, twenty-two indues long, one on each side, clasping tho nuls, and secured hy tour yS Wts. The rail should he spiked to each ths both inside and outside. "t'S-Tt^l-Si of the side track laid at the openii^ should he at leas't siK Jv cent, of the lino opened, to be increased as the numher o passing tml shall demand. Side tracL at all stations should be hud eight feet apart "f i;!;;::,^r:?:^^c;.motivc engines ,^^^ be provided in liberal nionor tt tho traffic and the work of construction, to be promntlv ujcroased jvoui ti^net!) time with the opening of the additional sections and tlic nicreaso "*" ^""t^Lhouse,, repair shops, and staUm />.//.//«5'.v.-These must be adapted to the w^nts of tho rolling sto4 and tho accotn.nodation ^^^^^ »^-'X:>-^^^^^ in view the efficient and satisfactory working ..1 the road. Whi e at the "P* » S Iny division the extent and capacity of tho buildings --^cd -ay ho only such as to i,rovide liberally for the existing amount of rolling stock and c bus less of he road, with such increase thereof as is in near prospect, yet the phur'n every case, both as to the buildings and grounds, should bo arranged f. prospective enlargement and extension equal to any tuture business ot the road the buldings, so far as erected at first, forming appropriate par s o a con - p etJd and symfn;trical wh.de. Engine-houses and repair shops Bl'ould i aU Jases be of stone or brick, with permanent stone foundations, and slate or me allic r ottn^^ua ing with a 1 carc^gainst fire. For convenience and certainty in iSg' Is water stations should be provided at ----"* Pouits meeting tie wants of the trains, and generally ten or fifteen miles apart. Grounds tor denor hops and station purposes ot" very liberal extent, adequate to any pos- SeLure^lul should i'n a\l cases be laid oft" and secured to the company nn thp location of any section while land is ot little value. , ItwlTbe eenthatthe importance of rapid progress, reachmg the mmmg reJil^. at the ea; iest day practicable, has been fully recognized m shaping Z o ru^Lst^Ton' No wo?k not essential as a basis for an efficient and reliable a oadT eouired, butTon the contrary, there is on some points, from the ne- p„JtV, irXraffectiby the extra co»t ro.ullu.g from Insb grade, aud .mpo- 4 s 50 / feet construction. This is a np'^takcm view. The commerce of the country must finally pay every burden, in the shape of compensatory charges upon traflSc, in order to make the work liiiancially sustaining. J. L. WILLIAMS. Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 20, 1866. APPENDIX 8. Weight and dimensions of rails recommended, hy dijerent engineers, and of rails now used on Pacific railroad and branches, Sfc. I ! i ll Namcg of enginoere and of railronds. H. Hmipt J. n. JerviH 60 O. L. Ui'i.l 65 A . AVi-lcli 62 B. H. Latroho 60 G. A. Nicolls 64 W. W. Evans 66 S. Seymour 50 Union Pacific railroad i 50 Do do 56 Union Pacific K. 11. railroad | 56 Central Pacific railroad , 60 m a Q.-S a ^ Dimonaionti, in inches. m 4 4 4i 3* 4 o •a 4 4 3f 4 3i 3i 3i 3f 3t 3* as jJ Hi's n S Ma 3 H i 11-16 9-16 9-16 11-16 a o 21 2t 2* 2* 2i 2t to a H U U 2- U U IJ JolntH. Fish Pish Pish Fish Pish Fish Sandwich Fish Common chair. do do do •gjl o « o > r to »• V ® y must ic, in [S. id of 2 s- V to »* V