Winter Track Work BY E. R. LEWIS V TO THAT MOST FAITHFUL AND DESERVING RAILWAY EMPLOYE THE AMERICAN TRACKMAN THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED Copyright, 1917 Railway Educational Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I CLIMATE AND TRACK 1 11 Subgrade Ballast Rail Joints Track Structure Track vs. Bridges Climatic Variations Weather Changes Weather Signs Heat and Moisture Hot Climates Mild Climates Wet Climates Cold Climates. CHAPTER II FROST 27 Effect of Frost Heaving Expansion Not Uniform Effect of Cold Weather on Track Structure Rail Rests Sudden Freezing Extremely Cold Climates Size of Winter Force Winter Inspection Real Economy Skilled Labor Required Summer vs. Winter Work. CHAPTER III SNOW - 40 Characteristics of Snow Preparedness Troublesome Places Advantage of Having Track on Embankments Snowplow and Flanger Signs Shims Handling First Snows Clearing Snow from Yards and Sidings Drifts Locomotive Water Supply Snow at Terminals. CHAPTER IV SHIMS AND SHIMMING 51 Shims Shimming Quality of Shims Spike Killing Tak- ing Out Shims Shimming Requires Good Judgment Points to Remember Desien and Manufacture of Shims Methods of Shimming Wide Shims Bad Practice Super- vision by Roadmaster. CHAPTER V WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES 64 Experienced Men Required Permanent Employment Piece Work Good Tools Winter Tools and Materials- Winter Work Grading Wages Getting Over Tracks in Winter Use of Sleds Operation of Motor Cars in Cold Weather. WINTER TRACK WORK CHAPTER VI SNOW FENCES AND SNOW SHEDS . ., - ~ - 90 Kinds of Snow Fence Location of Snow Fences Board Snow Fence Portable Snow Fence Snow Boards Perma- nent Snow Fence Avoiding Necessity for Snow Fence Other Types of Snow Fence Cost of Snow Fence Wide Cuts Ends of Snow Fences Location of Buildings Snow Sheds Fire Protection Expense of Snow Protection The Track Foreman's Responsibility. CHAPTER VII SNOW HANDLING EQUIPMENT _ 105 V-Shaped Push Plow Shovel-Nosed Push Plow Pilot Plows Flangers Rotary Snow Plows The Snow Crab Clam Shell and Locomotive Crane Spreader Cleaning Up Behind Plow Handling a Push Plow Clearing Yards Preparing the Snow Plow Extra Men Comfort of Trackmen Signals Safety. CHAPTER VIII SPRING FLOODS ..._ ~~ 133 Inspection Conditions Adjacent to Right-of-Way Wash- outs. CHAPTER IX STORING ICE _ _ - 137 Cost of Putting up Ice Ice Storage Location of Ice Houses Time to Start Cutting Conserving the Ice Sup- ply. CHAPTER X ORGANIZATION - 141 First Requisite Peculiarities of Railway Organization The Foundation Executive Ability Suggestions for Those Desiring Advancement. FOREWORD Winter Track Work has been written to help the track- man. The present is an age of progress. The trackman lives in the very heart of the storm of the world's action. He is a part of the human machine which has helped to civilize the world. The trackman is the unit of labor of that trans- portation system called "the railways/' He is necessary to the railways. He is a part of progress. His work in this world is a real, a necessary, a vital work, a strong man's work. As no one knows so little of a battle as the private in the ranks who sees only his individual part in it, so we, who are daily workers, realize less than onlookers, the swift changes taking place all around us; the astonishing progress in the world of transportation, and in the world outside of transportation. The Trackman is getting the best out of this progress without knowing it. He must accept the responsibilities as well as the benefits of the betterments of modern life. He must continually strive to know his trade better, to learn and practice improved ways of doing his work. He must study ways of getting the best results out of the company's dollar. It is hardly to be expected that the ideal conditions men- tioned in this book will all be realized in any one case. Xor is the mention of ideal conditions intended to commit the author to any suggestion of insistence on their realiza- tion. We are progressing while hardly stopping to think of it. The author has merely tried to point out this progress and to show the path along which it seems to lead. December 15, 1916. E. R. L CHAPTER I. CLIMATE AND TRACK All those who are interested in the care of railway track and who understand maintenance of way and struc- tures, know that track, as it is now built and kept up, is not of the best design from the engineer's or track- man's standpoint. Subgrade. The subgrade is made up of the earth or rock nearest at hand during construction. It may be of hard, sharp-cornered rock, large and easily drained; it may be of slippery clay, holding water and sliding under even small loading; or it may be of sand or loam easily washed away. Even if the subgrade is good, it may be on a poor foundation. Swamp, or muskeg as it is called in the north, is a particularly bad bottom for a railway roadbed, being full of water and difficult to drain. Ballast. Branch and developing lines are often bal- lasted with earth. Most of the railway tracks of the Mid- dle West were once so constructed. In localities where better ballast is needed, but where gravel or crushed stone is only to be had at prohibitive prices, burnt clay is in use to some extent. Cinders are used where light weight bal- last is necessary. But generally, railways are now ballasted with such gravel or crushed stone as is available from pits or quarries ad- jacent, or nearest to, the companies' tracks. So the ballast is not always as good as could be wished. The cross ties are fastened to the rails by spike only, each tie being separ- 11 \VL\TEH TRACK WORK ate from, and not supported by adjacent ties. Each rail is laid across a number of ties, so that a track in reality is a series of pairs of very shallow continuous girders, held to wooden cross sills by heads of spikes, which are driven only into the wood and not even bolted. Rail Joints. But the worst has not yet been said. The weakest parts of the track, the rail ends, are held together by splice, usually angle bars, which are sometimes hardly half as strong as the rails themselves, and which, more often than not, serve chiefly to hold the rail ends in line. Track Structure. Compare this track now, with a railway bridge built to hold up the same engines and the same cars. The bridge is on steel and concrete piers. The concrete piers are dug down to solid earth, solid rock, or rest on clusters of piling. The bridge is made of steel, concrete or wood, carefully placed with a view to its capacity for carrying several times its proposed load. Each rivet is tested. Each stringer or girder is carefully inspected. The whole bridge is accepted only after it is built and braced and in many ways made more than safe. It is inspected several times a year, and care- fully repaired. The bridge is a scientifically designed structure, made in the best possible way, and kept in the best repair. It is on the best possible foundation and made of the best materials. The track at its best consists of continuous girders insecurely fastened to short mudsills, laid in loose stone on almost any kind of foundation. A railway track may cost a dollar per foot ; a railway bridge on the same line may cost eighty dollars per foot, yet a man to the mile is expected to maintain the track at a cost for labor and materials of $1,000 a year; while the maintenance of 12 CLIMATE AND TRACK bridges will cost probably twenty times that amount, mile for mile. Track vs. Bridges. This difference between the con- struction, the maintenance, and the cost of track and bridge is true in all countries and in all climates. Why? Why do we put guard rails on bridges and not on high fills? Why do we keep watchmen on bridges and not on track? Why do we spend yearly twenty times the money on a bridge that we spend on an equal length of track? Because, to a great extent, we fear the results of a bridge accident more than we fear a derailment on solid ground. Yet the best reason is that the track structure, poor as we admit it to be, is, like our system of government, the best we have yet devised. Climatic Variations. Now track, being built out of doors on the ground and on a foundation of earth, is sub- ject at all times to the effects of the weather and to all its changes. We know that different parts of the world have different climates. We know that there are four distinct seasons in this country. We know there are places nearer the equator where there are only two well- defined seasons, the wet and the dry. We know that there are varying degrees of heat, cold and moisture, of rain and snow fall, of frost and drouth. All these changes of season must be foreseen and provided for by the trackman in caring for his track. The greatest emergencies occur, not on account of the regular changes of season expected in the well known cycle of the year, but in the sudden variation from that which is expected : the unusual flood, the quick change from mild to extreme cold, the sudden intense heat, or the heavy and unusual snow fall. There are different ways of caring for track in different 13 WINTER TRACK WORK countries because of the differing conditions. But climate is the chief reason for these differences. For the weather has ever to be reckoned with first, last and always. Weather Changes. The trackman must be ever ready for a change in weather, be it expected or unexpected. He must know what effect it will have on his work. He must know what to do to prevent trouble. Also, he must look ahead, act promptly and never be caught off his guard. For these reasons it is suggested that every trackman should have the latest and best news of the weather. It is almost as important for the section fore- man, the roadmaster and the extra gang- foreman to know what weather to expect as to know what trains to ex- pect. With a correct schedule of trains and weather, track work may be done with the greatest confidence. Yet how. few railway companies go to any great pains to inform section foremen of extra trains or of unusual storms ! It is possible to do both, even in sparsely set- tled districts where sections are located between towns. Such a system of information would be of much service to a railway company. The trackman is the railway company's unit of labor. To fail to give him every possible help is to maintain the road at a disadvantage. The weather report and the extra train signals are as necessary to the modern track- man as the crop report and the rural mail delivery are to the modern farmer. So little expense is connected with getting this news to the trackman that there is no ex- cuse for failure to do so. The early adoption of such a system is strongly urged as a matter of safety involving all concerned. Weather Signs. Though all things that live depend so largely on climate for existence, mankind being no 14 CLIMATE AND TRACK exception, yet most men give little actual attention to the plainest weather signs, leaving the forecasting to a paternal government and criticizing the weather man when" the daily paper quotes him incorrectly. Few men are more vitally interested in the weather than the trackman. The farmer, whose crops and in- come depend so directly on weather, can sit indoors and does so, during most of the worst weather of the year. If his roofs are tight and his stock protected he has little to fear from a hard winter. The merchant loses money in unseasonable weather for he buys stock sev- eral months in advance on his judgment of what cus- tomers will want. Rain coats sell slowly in a dry sea- son. In mild winters, heavy clothing and fuel must be carried over. The ice cream business is never best in cold weather. The banks feel these bad seasons from the same causes, for money is "not easy" unless crops and stocks move. But the farmer, the merchant and the banker do not put all their eggs into one basket. When business in one line is poor, it is usually possible to do more in some other line. The railway company has put its eggs into one basket and has given the trackman the job of watching that basket, and he must watch it for better or for worse, in all weather, by day and by night, year in and year out, come what will of calm or storm or unexpected weather. In all seasons the trackman must be on duty out of doors. The worse the weather, the more important is his patrol of track, the more necessary his watchful eye, his cool judgment, his quick action, his steady nerves, his ready hand. The best trackman is he who gets the best results from a day's work. His head must guide the hands of his gang. Some trackmen seem always in the right place 15 WINTER TRACK WORK at the right time. Their track is always in good condi- tion, yet they work no harder than other men who are always behind. The knack of doing the right thing at the right time in the right place in the right way is what has been named "efficiency." Unless a trackman knows what the weather is going to be tomorrow, he will not be in the right place. If he is out of town and gets no weather report, he must depend on himself as a weather prophet, and any man so placed can learn something about what is to be expected of the weather by simply looking about him occasionally, at the sky, at the clouds, at the sunset, at the moon. He can learn by the feel of the air, by the way the birds fly. Most experienced trackmen are good weather prophets, yet all may not know the following signs: Fog is almost always followed by fine weather. Heavy dew means fair weather. A heavy, white frost means that a storm is forming somewhere within one thousand miles. If smoke rises straight up, settled fair weather may be expected. If it spreads out like an umbrella, storm may be expected. Feathery, white, high-flying clouds mean fair weather. Heavy, dark, flat-bottomed clouds usually mean rain. Low, dark, fast-flying clouds appear before a storm. Wind, blowing even moderately, means snow or rain is falling somewhere within one thousand miles of you. Wind always blows toward a storm. If it blows from the south, expect a storm from the north. If it blows from the north, expect a storm from the south. When it gets suddenly cold a storm is starting in the south. When it turns suddenly warm, x a storm is forming in the north. 16 CLIMATE AND TRACK When objects a long way off appear close, look out for rain. A pink sunset means fair weather on the morrow; a dark red sunset means storm. Weather usually changes with the moon. A ring around the moon means stormy weather. When a storm is coming, sea birds fly toward land and swallows fly low. Sheep crowd close together and birds stop singing. Wild geese flying north indicate the early end of the winter season. Chief train despatchers get and watch with closest in- terest all prophecies and reports of the weather. They have advance information from both government and railway sources, and trains are run with these reports in mind. Thus, the only cost to the company of letting trackmen know of weather changes and extra trains is the cost of sending out notices from division headquar- ters. The results would seem to more than justify the small expense. Heat and Moisture. Heat and moisture are the weather conditions which have most to do with the track- man's troubles. Intense, steady heat makes a hot cli- mate; moderate heat makes a mild climate; and too lit- tle heat makes a cold climate. Moisture is necessary to all life and is present everywhere on the earth. In hot climates a dearth of moisture makes a desert, while ex- cessive moisture causes stagnant water, making thus an unhealthy climate. In cold climates much moisture means heavy snow fall and a dearth of moisture means hard and deeply-frozen ground. The wind and sun have, of course, the effect of drying up the moisture, and other 17 WINTER TRACK WORK causes combine with these to make what we call climate, or weather. Hot Climates. Railway tracks are maintained in the warmest and driest of countries, as India, Egypt, West Africa, Persia and Central America. In the hottest, driest climates, where rain falls only a few weeks during the year, and the railway is laid in sand, the track must be covered in ballast to the rail Surface of ballast SECTlOfl Fig. 1 Track Covered with Ballast to Rail Heads as a Protection Against the Heat of the Sun. heads to prevent the blazing sun from heat-checking the ties and from kinking the track on account of expanding rails. Ties, spikes and tie plates are all covered. Noth- ing but the rail heads are seen, except at the joints where the ballast is kept scraped away just enough to clear the bolts and nuts. Even then trouble is had occasion- ally with kinking track. A piece of straight track in the desert looks like two shining ribbons, which stretch away into the distance, shimmering and dancing in the uncertain heat waves until they melt into one where the sky comes down to what looks like a lake, but which we know to be the track mirage at the horizon line. Such track must be carefully ballasted, the large stones at the bottom and the smallest on top to keep out the heat. Desert countries which lie far above sea level but near the equator, are usually very dry most of the year, hav- ing only -a few weeks of wet weather. But in such places there is, even in the driest seasons, a surprisingly 18 CLIMATE AND TRACK heavy fall of dew which cools the ground at night and causes track rails to contract quickly and excessively. In many such localities, wood ties must be imported and are very expensive, while in others the white ant, an underground wood borer, destroys wood ties in a few months. For these reasons steel ties of various shapes have been used. Some British roads have used pressed steel ties like "U" shaped troughs turned upside down. In the driest climates these ties, when taken out of track, nearly always are full of earth or sand which clings to the under side of the tie, the earth originally having been moistened by the dew which collects at night, and then baked hard by the heat. This sand is so hard that it has to be picked out when the ties have been removed from the track. In tropical climates, where the average ground temper- ature is, say 170 deg., it is astonishing how cool and damp the ground may be at from 9 to 12 in. under the surface. From this difference in heat arise queer track conditions which are confusing to the stranger. Even when the track is covered in ballast to the rail heads, it will kink between showers in the wet season, as the sun comes out very hot and its effect is soon noticed. Then too, the hard showers wash away the fine top bal- last, giving the heat a chance to expand the rails before the ballast can be replaced. In deserts where loose sand is the only or the usual ballast, the tie tamping must all be done in the short wet season and all the labor to be had is then put onto this one job. The sand must be wet by means of a hose if ties need tamping in the dry season. Water is carried in tank cars for this purpose, but is used only in extreme cases, for water is both scarce and expensive. 19 WINTER TRACK WORK Drainage too is difficult, for the little rain that falls usually comes in very heavy and sudden showers. It fills gullies, culverts and stream beds which are dry the other eleven months of the year. Many large culverts must be maintained over streams which are nearly always dry. It is hard to dam these streams or to save the water for use in the dry season because of its force when the streams are in flood and because the soil is so loose and cuts so easily. Mild Climates. There are climates which have no ex- treme seasons ; where there is little difference between summer and winter; where 60 deg. is the coldest and 80 deg. the hottest temperature : where the rains are gentle and well distributed, and where a tie can be changed as well in January as in July. Such climate is scarce and the railways in such countries are unfortunately short and few. The weather in our central and southern states, while reasonably mild, has less to recommend it. Still, frost conditions are never severe and the winter seasons are short as compared with the summer seasons. They have, however, the great problems of varying rainfall and drainage to deal with. Further north we find a cli- mate of varying conditions in winter. Each winter sea- son seems to have a few very cold snaps, with mild and thawing weather between. Occasionally there are excep- tionally heavy snow storms which tie up the railroads, largely because of unpreparedness. The equipment is unsuited to handling snow and the companies employ few men who would know how to handle snow equip- ment if they had it. Sleet storms often follow the snow, and tie up telegraph communication. Thus, the greatest damage to traffic is to be expected in those localities 20 CLIMATE AND TRACK where extremely cold weather is the exception and where the best preparations, for that reason, are seldom made. Wet Climates. Excessive moisture, whether in cold, mild or hot country, is at the bottom of more track troubles than any other one condition. There are cli- mates so wet that the railway right-of-way must be ditched and drained before any grading is started; where track work must be delayed until the rain stops, and then rushed through in the short, dry season ; where weeds spring up before the grade is finished and must be mowed before track is laid ; where it is impossible to keep ballast free from weeds, and hard to keep weeds mowed so as not to interfere with traffic ; where borrow pits become rivers and cut away the railway grades ; where dykes break from pressure of water and flood railway yards and tracks. It is easy to see, therefore, that drainage is one of the most important, if not the most important, problem of railway building and main- tenance. If roadbed and ballast are well drained, track may be maintained cheaply in almost any climate. Whereas, without good drainage it is impossible to have good track, no matter how much money is spent on it. A track, like a house, should be built on a secure founda- tion. The first consideration in building a house is the sewer to carry off drainage from the foundation. The next is a solid bottom on which to set the foundation. The next is a good foundation. The same things are necessary in track ; first, a well drained right of way ; second, a solid bed for the grade ; third, a well-compacted roadbed ; fourth, a well-crowned subgrade ; fifth, well drained ballast drainage good drainage first, last and always. 21 WINTER TRACK WORK Common sense should teach that a hollow-topped road- bed will hold water; that a level-topped roadbed will not shed water; and that a railway track will soon be pressed down into a level-topped roadbed by the weight of trains, thus making a hollow top to the roadbed in which water will be held, making soft track ; that the only proper way to make a roadbed for any kind of travel, from a country wagon-road to a class-A railway, is to crown the roadbed so it will always stay crowned and always shed the water, instead of holding it till it soaks into the earth. Hollow-topped roadbed results in soft track in sum- mer, and heaving track in winter. The raising of the track gives little relief. The only real cure is to get to the bottom of the wet spot and drain it, to dig the bal- last out and build up the crown of the bank. This method is, of course, hardly possible in track under traffic Many well-crowned railway fills are made hollow- topped by widening them and carrying the shoulder above the bottom of the ballast. The damage done by hollow-topped roadbed depends largely on the kind of ground of which it is made. Water will quickly seep away through sand or other coarse filling. Clay will hold water longer than almost any other material. Farm tile cross drains laid far enough below the bal- last to drain the bottom of the hollow form the most prac- tical remedy. Cinder covering over the tile will help, as cinders will not mix much with the clay. Cases are known where cinders on clay have sunk into the clay only an inch in twenty years under ordinary railway traffic. Clay in wet climates will often bear little load, for it will slide when it gets wet under pressure. It is hardly 22 CLIMATE AND TRACK ever possible to tell just how much weight a clay foundar tion on a slope will bear without sliding. If it does slide under the weight of a fill, it will not help matters to stop PLAN OF Em OF EMBANKMENT X" Jf7- X2~X3 -Lines of Slide. T~- Trenches in which wood is fired to bake clay h prevent further sfk/iny. SICTlOfl SHOWING SLIDING EMBANKMENT A-Q-B* Longitudinal section of trench in which wood is fired h bake the clay to prevent further sliding. Fig. 2 Method of Baking Clay to Stop Sliding of Embankment. filling. The filling should go on until the slide finally stops or else the line should be changed. It is possible to stop clay from sliding by burning it like brick. The method is to dig ditches into the bottom of the slide, to 23 WINTER TRACK WORK fill with timbers or old ties, and to set them on fire and gradually cover with the clay dug from the trenches. The burning and covering should be kept up for several weeks, until the clay is burnt hard. It will be found, then, that the water has dried out, leaving the clay cracked in all directions. These cracks will drain any water which gets into the burnt clay afterwards, and it will be found too hard and crumbling to do any more sliding. Railway banks have been cured of sliding by thus burning the clay in trenches dug along each side at the toe of slope; and the ends of banks at bridge ends have been stopped from sliding by burning the material in trenches dug fanwise into the toe of slope, as shown in Fig. 2. Cold Climates. In cold countries the frost often strikes very deep, especially under track, because the ground is kept bare or nearly bare by the snowplows and trains. In one case, a culvert top failed in mid-winter. This small culvert was under a 20-ft. railway bank. The dirt came down and nearly filled the culvert, but water from a spring above trickled through and gradually took the dirt down with it. In this way a hole some 6 ft. across was formed in the bank from bottom to top, but not until early spring did the top cave in, when it was found that the frost was 6 ft. deep. This culvert failure was under main track but it was discovered before any damage was done, by an engineer who ran a light engine over it, the tie ends on the crust of frost holding the track up. In cold climates the frost goes out slowly in spring, with many setbacks, and alternate freezings and thaw- ings. Frost will readily leave well drained track, but in badly drained track the water is held till it seeps away 24 CLIMATE AND TRACK into the ground, which must thaw thoroughly before the water can find its way out. Meanwhile the track heaves, and shims must be changed daily. Much has been said and written of the business of maintaining track. The foundation of this and of all other road work, from foot- path to railway, is drainage. Drainage means safety to the trackman. The railway companies of this country spend millions each year to maintain track on roadbeds that never can be good, because they were poorly made to start with. Occasionally some very bad spot is dug out and made good, but most of the hollow-topped, poorly-drained roadbed will probably never be wholly remedied. In cold climate ties can be placed and ballast worked only during six months of the year. The winter months are spent in shimming track, gaging, tightening bolts, bucking snow and picking ice. After the tie renewals are finished and track surfaced in summer, the road is in best condition usually in the late autumn. From early winter until the frost is out in the spring, the track conditions gradually get worse. Not only is the track in prime condition during only a few weeks in autumn, at an expense equal to that neces- sary to keep it in good condition the year around in warmer climates ; but great expense is necessary to keep the track passable during the winter and early spring months, when frost and snow, ice and flood must be fought and conquered by the track forces, which are frequently reduced to less than the economical limit. To carry railway tracks through a winter's campaign in the cheapest and best way, dauntless leaders, experi- enced men, proper tools and proper equipment are needed. 25 CHAPTER II. FROST. From the trackman's point of view, and for the pur- poses of this book, the term "frost" is considered as weather cold enough to make ice; or freezing weather. Effect of Frost. As a matter of fact, weather not quite so cold as freezing will cause track to heave. The freez- ing point on the thermometer in common use in this coun- try is thirty-two degrees above zero ; but track will heave when the cold gets below 39.2 degrees. If an open can, or other vessel, with a bottom 1 ft. sq., and sides 1 ft. high be filled with 1 cu. ft. of water weighing 62^ Ib. at a time when the thermometer shows 39.2 deg., the water will expand and overflow when it gets colder or warmer. When the thermometer has dropped to the freezing point, 32 deg., one-twelfth of the water put in the can at 39.2 deg. will have spilled over. If the can, instead of being open, has been covered and soldered air tight, a quick change to a colder temperature will expand the water and break the can. This breaking is due to what is called the force of expansion, which is the same force that makes track kink on hot days. Heaving. When the weather gets cold, this force of expansion makes the water in the ballast and roadbed quickly take up more room. It cracks the grade on the shoulder and heaves the track up. When we stop to think that this force of expansion, at the moment when water freezes, may be as great as 30,000 Ib., or 15 tons to the square inch, it is not surprising that track heaves and FROST iron pipes split and leak when freezing. Frost, then, is at the bottom of most of the trackman's troubles in winter. Water, when the thermometer stands at 39.2 deg. above zero, weighs nearly 62^ Ib. to the cubic foot, while ice weighs less then 57^ Ib. to the cubic foot. This difference in weight is, we may say, made by the overflow of water from the tin can. There is not so much of it left to freeze because it has spilled out in expanding as it got colder; or else it has bulged and broken the can, with the same result. Every trackman who has had track alongside a lake, must have noticed in freezing weather that the ice cracks, expands and shoves hard into the shore. It has been known to push track out of line when the track was 6 ft. or more from the water's edge. In such cases, it is a good thing to cut a trench 2 ft. wide, or wider, in the ice alongside the track, say 50 feet from the center line, or as far as needed, remove the ice from the trench and slide poles slantwise under the ice to skid the lake ice up on top of the shore ice. If a 2-ft. trench is simply left open, it will sometimes close up in one night. But if the skids are so set that the lake ice crowds up on top of the shore ice, there will usually be no more trouble for the lake ice can travel 40 feet without doing any harm. If frost gets into or behind retaining walls, or into con- crete or brick walls, the heaving will crack or bulge the walls or crack the bricks, blocks or stone. Brick, concrete or stone which will take up water is called porous, because the water gets into the pores. When it freezes and expands there, it cracks the brick, concrete or stone, and they are said to "weather badly." Heavy rains late in the fall, followed by frost, are said to make track "go into the winter badly." This is because 27 WINTER TRACK WORK the rain works into the ballast newly put in or surfaced through, and freezing there, makes the track heave. Naturally, there is less trouble from heaving after a dry autumn. Expansion Not Uniform. If the expansion which causes track to heave were everywhere the same or nearly the same, no trackman would need to worry, be- cause the track would be lifted the same height every- where and would be about as smooth as in summer. But this is not what happens. If a culvert has been filled, the track may heave badly over the new fill because it is looser than the old grade, and the ballast on each side takes more water in and expands more when it freezes. This makes a short high spot in the track. Again, track will heave on each side of a bridge while the bridge does not heave, but becomes a low spot. Ground under crossing plank will not heave equally with ground not under cover. It is frequently a good plan to take out from between the rails all the crossing plank and to fill the spaces with snow, to prevent brake rigging and locomotive pilots from catching in heaved planking and causing damage or derailments. Fence posts which have been pointed and driven point down are often heaved out of the ground in cold weather. If the fence post has any shoulder or bark or large knots at or near the surface of the ground, the heaving ground has something to catch on and lifts the post. Instead of pointing fence posts and driving them, in swamps or soft ground, it is better to anchor the posts by cleats nailed across the bottom ends. This will prevent the posts, if buried deep enough, from heaving and spoiling the fence. Wooden trestles, with bottom sills resting on the ground will heave. To prevent this, the ground should 28 FROST always be shoveled away from under the sill, even if a trench has to be dug and drained for the purpose. Effect of Cold Weather on Track Structure. Ties split very easily in frosty weather. This splitting may be prevented by boring round holes and driving the square spike in them at the quarters, leaving full spiking to be done at mid-day, or when the weather moderates. Frost makes rail brittle and ballast hard. These condi- tions, and uneven surface due to heaving, are to blame for many broken rails found in winter. Shimming the most RaiK "Concrete , Fig. 3 Concrete Rail Rests. uneven spots improves the track surface ; but a very large percentage of broken rails will probably continue to be found in freezing weather, from these causes. Rail Rests. For this reason, it is advisable to have rails distributed on each section, preferably two rails to the mile of single track. Two rails and fastenings should be kept on a rail rest at each milepost so that section foremen will have them handy in case of rinding broken rails in track. These rail rests may be made of ties, or of concrete as shown in Fig. 3. One object in having these rail rests always at mileposts is that everyone will know where to look for them when rail is needed, whether in case of wreck, derailment or broken rail. 29 WINTER TRACK WORK Sudden Freezing. Sudden freezing when the track is almost under water, due to melting snow and heavy rains, is sometimes disastrous, and miles of track have to be picked clear of ice when frozen under. Usually these troubles attack track which has a hard center, due to flanging for only a short distance, say 14 in., inside the track rails, the snow and ice having been left in the middle of the track until it gets so hard that it is not pos- sible to plow it out. The center of every track should be cleared of snow after each storm, before the snow gets too hard to plow, if the track is to be maintained in the safest winter condition. Frost is much more to be feared than snow, though of course it is the combination of the two that makes track work hardest for all. Extremely Cold Climates. In the far north, where the cold gets so severe as 50 to 60 deg. below zero; where the ordinary thermometer is unreliable and the spirit thermometer is used; where one's breath crackles as it blows past one's ears ; where opening a window causes a shower of frost to blow in because of the cold air striking the warm, moist air inside; where warm water thrown from a pail rattles to the ground outside in a thousand pieces of ice; where in December, the sun only peeps above the fir trees for a few hours each day, and is gone: where the nights are long and the stars glitter coldly; where the ''northern lights come down o' nights to dance with the houseless snow;" in these far northern climates winter is indeed a hardship for the trackman. In the crisp, dry air of the far north, the frost knows no sur- render. It is one long battle from early fall until late spring. Thawing days are unknown. Snow comes early and each storm increases its depth. None melts until spring. Moccasins may be worn for six months without FROST getting wet once. Each wind that blows, drifts the snow, and frost prevents it from packing. Engines steam badly ; gasolene cars are out of the question; train pipes freeze and track at water tanks must be watched hourly to keep the rails, flanges and centers free from ice. Of the greatest service in such extreme cold is the steam hose. The steam hose is made of 3-ply rubber, measures from 1 in. to ij^ i n - across, inside, and is fitted with about 3 feet of gas pipe at one end, for a nozzle. The coupling is a loose, 6-sided brass nut that can be screwed to the steam dome valve. A locomotive with a line of 50 feet of steam hose coupled on to a globe valve in the steam dome, with coal well-housed and dry, with storm curtains protecting the gangway, with a good pilot plow supplied with outside flangers, set close to the pony truck and replacing the pilot, with a crew used to flanging and plowing and making way over a winter track, can do more to help itself than any number of snowplows can, unless the snow is very hard, deep and heavy. The steam hose can be used to thaw ice from water tanks, to clear ice from the running gears, and to thaw out switch points, or rail flanges at crossings. Size of Winter Force. It seems a common idea that in winter the maintenance forces should be cut down, because the section men "can't do anything much in severe winter weather." There is, of course, more to do on some roads than on others, in winter. But it is no longer a question among trackmen whether the section gang should be cut down to one or two men and a fore- man. The force should not be cut down too close, for the following reasons : 31 WINTER TRACK WORK First, because of the necessity for looking out for the safety of the traveling public ; Second, because having enough men in all gangs saves money for the company ; Third, because good section labor is skilled labor, and skilled men cannot be hired and fired like cabmen on a city street. As to safety : when a track heaves it goes out of sur- face. One rail is often higher than the other, or both may heave several inches high for a distance of only a few feet. These high spots must be shimmed. The track usually heaves in spots all over a section at the same time. Every rail in it may be up today and down tomor- row. -The side motion of engine and cars may widen the gage on account of uneven elevation of the rails. Spring hangers are in danger of breaking. Crossing rail flanges get frozen full of ice which causes derailments, if not picked out. High-shimmed track is dangerous, for spikes don't reach far into the tie and bracing must be well done. This work needs the best of judgment and the closest of attention from the most experienced track- men. Shimmed track is a continuous nightmare for men in the "know." It must be gone over by day and by night. It must be watched from fall till spring. It is hard to tell when high-shimmed, snow-covered track is spread, or braces loose. It must be left rough where it is dangerous to shim higher ; and slow orders be put on and obeyed to the letter. Winter Inspection. When track is rough, there is danger of breaking the rail if the speed is fast and the loads are heavy. Trackmen must therefore watch care- fully in winter for broken rails. There is more need of careful track walking in winter than in summer. The 32 FROST weakest spot in the track is the joint. The best rail joint depends on bolts and nutlocks to keep it tight against the rail. Bolts get loose on account of weather changes, as well as other causes. It is therefore most important to keep bolts tight in winter when the rails are in most danger of breaking from frost, and through movement under trains. Most rails break at the bolt holes. There is also more danger of signal wires, telegraph and telephone wires and interlocking plants getting out of service from winter conditions than from summer conditions. There is danger of persons being hurt on icy platforms at sta- tions. There is danger of trees, loaded with ice and snow, falling across tracks. There is danger from gorged streams overflowing and freezing in track. There is danger from hidden switch lights, snowed over or frosted. There are a thousand emergencies in winter calling for the head and hand of the experienced trackman. There should always be enough men on the daily track inspection trip to take out a broken rail and put in a good rail. This work must be done under the protection of flags. Few main tracks now have rails that weigh less than 80 Ib. to the yard. They are usually 33 ft., or 11 yds. long. They weigh 880 Ib. each. A broken rail must be rolled out. The spike must be pulled on one side. The new rail must be loaded off the rail rest and taken to its place in the track, un- loaded, placed and spiked. In many cases it must be cut or the track bucked back until it will fit in. Now, how many men should be in a gang to handle such a job? Again, it takes one man at least a day in summer to inspect and tighten the bolts on five miles of single track. He must walk 10 miles besides tightening bolts, first on one side and then on the other, of the track. This is a 33 WINTER TRACK WORK stiff day's work if it is done right, especially with the present-day system of putting half the nuts on one side of a joint and half on the opposite side. Also the track walker must carry a track wrench, maul, spare bolts and nuts, and nutlocks. But in winter, storms and cold bring ice and snow and make walking slower and harder work, while the burden of heavy clothing and overshoes and a shovel to clean snow and ice from rail joints, doubles the work of bolt tightening, which should then be done by two men. There seems every reason why winter track forces should be increased, from the standpoint of "safety first." Real Economy. From the economy standpoint, too, a small force is extravagant. Because a railway company has escaped disaster during an unusually mild winter with a foreman and one or two men to a section, is some- times taken as a reason for trying it again. But economy does not always mean saving. Too much saving is poor economy in track maintenance. It costs about so much a mile each year to maintain track. If maintenance is robbed one year, it must cost more the next. Inexperienced men are of no more use on a sec- tion than in a machine shop or a bank. A section man is not a trackman until he has worked on a section for, at the very least, 12 months running, for there is a different work for each season and each month. It is cheaper for a railway company to pay three good section men a good wage the year around than to hire inexperienced extra gang men or extra section men for a few months in sum- mer. Until those who control the hiring realize that trackmen are skilled laborers, and that to keep them the year around is economy, money will be thrown away which could easily be saved. 34 FROST A record of the number of accidents to trains prevented by trackmen, and of the cost of accidents not prevented, might help to an understanding of why the trackman is so badly needed in winter. Skilled Labor Required. It is so often argued that un- skilled labor can be used on track that a few questions to the arguer may be a help : Can you drive a spike? Can you tamp a tie? Can you use an adz? Can you flag a train? Can you line track? Can you tighten a bolt just tight enough and not too tight ? Can you cut a rail, or brace a shim, or do any one of the hundred things that a trackman must do? You surely cannot unless you have had experience. But, you say, green hands do get this work done. They do not, unless the foreman teaches them or unless other trackmen, who have had experience, teach them. And all the time these men are learning, the company's prop- erty as well as passengers' lives are more or less in danger. These dangers can be stopped, without any extra cost, by getting, paying, and keeping all the year around, trackmen of brains and experience. This idea has been a long time getting started, but it has come to stay. Many companies are keeping more men in the track department in winter than they used to, and there is work now being done in winter that used to be rushed through in summer. In the next ten years, the track man will come into his own. He will be known as a skilled laborer because he can no longer be called anything else. Skilled labor calls 35 WINTER TRACK WORK for steady work, and steady work it must be for those who want and should have it. Summer vs. Winter Work. The summer work is no more important than the winter work, nor is there any more of it outside of a few stock jobs, which are usually done by extra gangs, or by contract. The idea that a trackman can't do much in winter sounds childish to the man who knows what a track is, what it needs and how it should be maintained. If such men only were in authority, few trackmen would be discharged in winter and better track would be kept for less money than is now spent. Take the one item of keeping bolts tight. A rail should last, say 30 years. It now lasts possibly 15 years in main track. Why? Because it gets surface bent. Why does it get surface bent? Because the ends are bent down when the trains go over. Why? Because the joints are weak. Why? Because they get loose and work up and down and don't hold the rails tight together ; so the rails get bent on the ends. What would make the joints strong so they would hold the rails close and tight and keep them from getting down at the joints? Why, any sort of bolts and nuts and nutlocks or washers that could be kept tight. Why do the bolts that we now have get loose? Oh, because the trains shake them loose. Exactly, exactly. And the bolts we now use can be kept tight up at the joints and from five to ten years or more added to the life of the rail if, summer and winter, it is made someone's particular business to do this particular work. Rail costs $4,000 to $5,000 per mile of track, or say $25,000 to the 5-mile section. If one trackman, at $2 a day, spent one-fifth of his time tightening bolts on a sec- tion, and if he made the rail last only five years more than the fifteen years' usual life, he would save, roughly, one- 36 FROST fourth of its life which is equal to one-fourth its cost and interest on the money spent. Is it worth while? But that is not all the bolt-tightener saves. He saves, for an interval of five years, the cost of taking the rail out, sawing off the ends and putting another in its place, and the interest on the money which would have been expended for such work. He saves rough track, and wear on cars and engines, on wheels and spring hangers, and on engine frames and trucks. He saves money spent on everything that goes over the rail joint, and interest on the cost saved. Think of it! Is it any wonder that, time out of mind, trackmen have longed for the time when men who really "know track" could get the attention of the officers who spend the money for railway companies, to show them the mistake of mishandling track forces by cutting them down in winter, by hiring green hands, and by forcing the slight- ing of track conditions? Farming has so changed that it is now a very different business from farming 20 years, or even 10 years ago. So with the furniture business, the grocery trade, the auto- mobile business. Is it to be said that the railway business, the maintenance of a quarter of a million miles of track that carries the goods that make possible all other trade in this country, has, not progressed? Can not railway men learn this lesson ? The money question is the only thing in the way. Well, the money question is here no question, for untold millions can be saved by just keeping your bolts tight. Do you need any better argument, Mr. Trackman? If so, figure out to your boss a few other items of saving on a section, possible with experienced trackmen compared with men who don't know the business. How about tamp- ing ties, or draining ballast or the list is almost endless, the possible saving almost out of reckoning. These things 37 WINTER TRACK WORK are known and have been known for years to trackmen, to men who think for themselves and they are becoming known to others. The trackman is coming into his own. He will not long be idle in frosty weather. CHAPTER III. SNOW. One of the first results of frost or freezing weather is snow, usually only a few flakes during the first days of early winter. These seem harmless enough, but the trackman of experience in a northern climate takes grave notice of these wintry messengers, and prepares for the long struggle. He well knows that however good his track may ride in late fall, it will be rough enough before spring and that he must stand by, day after day, through the long winter season and see it go from smooth to rough without power to prevent. He knows that these scattering snow flakes "a moment seen, then gone forever" are the forerunners of the deep snow- fall, of the swirling drift of midwinter, and of the hard banks of sandy, icy snow that must be shoveled off and loosened with a pick "when the days begin to lengthen." Characteristics of Snow. Snow is defined as "con- gealed aqueous vapor," which means that snow is the frozen dampness from the clouds. Any one who has traveled fast through a heavy, damp fog will remember how wet the front of his coat has been from the tiny drops of moisture. Such dampness falling from the clouds, freezing on its way down or just as it starts to fall, into clusters of little ice needles, is snow. Each flake of snow is made up of thou- sands of tiny, separate needles of ice, always placed together to form six sided shapes, which are of many differ- ent patterns, as may be seen by using a magnifying glass. Each of these wee ice crystals glitters brightly in the light, making the snowflake look white like snow, instead of like 39 WINTER TRACK WORK clear ice. A snowflake is not made in the same' way as a hailstone. Hail is made up of rain drops, which are driven about among thunder clouds and upward into freezing air by hard-blowing, cold wind, and frozen into ice, or ice and snow, before they fall to the earth. When these upward- blowing winds are very strong, they sometimes blow many rain drops together, and they freeze, making big hailstones. We know that snow is not so heavy as ice and that ice is not so heavy as water. Any trackman who has helped shovel snow into an engine tank when it was nearly out of water, will remember how very little water a tank full of snow seems to make. But if snow will melt into water, it will also freeze into ice if the flakes are tamped or pounded together. The more dampness there is in a cloud from which snow falls, the bigger will be the snow flakes. Large rain drops usually fall in summer showers which are short and local. It is the same with snow. Large snow flakes come in unsettled winter weather and we might call these storms "snow showers." Severe snow storms start usually with fine snow, just as severe rain storms start usually with fine rain. The air near the ground is warmer than it is a mile above the ground. The further one goes above the ground, the colder the air becomes. We read of airmen who have to dress in winter furs in summertime when flying, and who still suffer from cold when flying very high. So we often have snow from the upper cold air when the air near the ground is so warm that the snow melts into slush soon after it falls. Even this snow that melts is bad for track, because it forms water that soaks into the ballast and under the ties to th"e subgrade. If the subgrade is not well drained, the water which collects stays there till it can seep away. But 40 SNOW if the subgrade is frozen the water will stay there till spring, freezing and thawing time and again and each time heaving the track. Such a track is said to have "gone into the winter badly." Late fall rains, coming after track has been surfaced through, and early winter snows that melt on the track will get through the ballast; and if the subgrade will hold it, the water will cause the track to heave again and again all winter long, with every freeze and thaw. This track may be down today and up tomorrow, first in one spot, then in another, and always out of surface. The only rem- edy is to shim and watch and shim again. Preparedness. Preparedness is the keynote of the snow campaign, just as it is in the case of a military cam- paign, except that in the snow campaign the battle is assured, It is only a question as to how severe it will be, for snow fighting is a war against a relentless foe .who gives no quar- ter. When and where and how and with what force he will strike is never known until the storm is upon us. Even the scouting done by our weather bureau cannot give us any too much notice at most a day or two. How long the struggle will last and whether a second storm is in reserve to strike as soon as the force of the first is spent, it is im- possible to know exactly. The trackman must be prepared in all ways to take hourly advantage of any and all turns which may be to his advantage in the tide of battle. His orders must be given and obeyed promptly, for there is no time for argument in the midst of battle. There is a tendency sometimes for those not in direct charge of track to slight the preparations for snow-han- dling, especially in the late fall and early winter. Engines may be scarce and therefore the testing of plows and flangers may be put off till too late. Cars may be scarce and there- 41 WINTER TRACK WORK fore shims may not be distributed early enough. There is a sporting chance that next winter will be as mild as last winter, and that the expensive repairs needed to put broken rotary plows in running order may not have to be made. Power for revenue freight must be furnished first and none may be left to run snowplows after the first storm or two. Besides, it is extra work, it costs money for which no money is directly returned, and it lessens the monthly statement of earnings. These mistakes "come home to roost" later in the winter. It is the trackman's duty to call attention to these things, and to keep calling attention to them until he gets results. Undoubtedly it is not pleasant to do so, but the trackman knows the conditions better than anyone else. The despatcher from his desk can neither see the track nor know its needs. Officers cannot always judge track conditions from an occasional trip on a fast train. It is the trackman who should know, and it is the trackman who should tell, and keep telling the needs for snow fight- ing, till he gets the necessary attention and equipment and tools for his winter's work. Knowing this, he should start early and get well equipped before the first snow falls. He must prepare every autumn for the hardest known winter on his territory. There is no other safe way of doing. Lack of foresight in snow handling is just as fatal as in train handling. Often the mistakes in snow handling are the more far-reaching and expensive. One hard winter poorly prepared for, may cost a railway company more than has been saved during several mild winters by curtailing ex- penses for snow fighting necessities. Preparedness for win- ter track work depends on past experience with the weather conditions in any certain territory ; with the kinds of tracks, yards and terminals to be protected, as well as with the equipment and tools at hand for use. 42 SNOW The handling of new snow is easy, but the handling of old snow is the hardest kind of work. Long-continued win- ter storms, when it snows and blows every day for a number of days' running, are hard to deal with. Extreme cold adds much to the trouble. Water-supplies freeze ; engines do not steam well; rails break easily. Everything made of steel breaks easily in cold weather. Troublesome Places. There are always well-known bad spots, where snow causes severe trouble, on every northern railway division. They may be protected by snow sheds or snow fences, or they may be unprotected ; but they are all well-known to the trackman. Even so, he may find storms coming from different ways in different winters. Snow collects in long, low, narrow cuts. They soon drift full and there is little room in which to push the snow back. This snow is hardly deep enough to call for a rotary snow- plow, especially if the rotary is badly needed in heavy drifts elsewhere. Here is a case where the trackman needs to use good judgment and all of his available equipment. Advantage of Having Track on Embankments. In places where the winters are long and severe, and the snow- fall heavy, it is a good plan to build the track a foot higher than the average height of the snow in midwinter. If the snow gets 2 ft. deep, track should be built on 3-ft. fills instead of at grade. This allows for the ridge of snow, made on each side of the track by the snowplow, besides the depth of snow outside the track. If the snow on each or either side of the track is higher than the rails, snow drifts will form. If the rails are higher than the snow, any snow which blows will not stay on the track, but will blow across and drift against the first fence or brush pile it comes to. Building track on a 3-ft. fill to do away with cuts is not so expensive as one might think because the cuts 43 WINTER TRACK WORK are sometimes in rock, but the fills are nearly always of earth. The extra cost, if any, of so building a road, will be made up in better maintenance conditions, which benefits increase with time at compound interest. Snowplow and Flanger Signs. One of the trackman's first duties in preparing for winter in the north is to set his snowplow markers or flanger signs. These markers are small signs which are set in the ground before it freezes, to show the snowplow operator the switch leads, crossing plank and cattle guards, and any other obstacles which may be covered by snow and too close to the track to let the snowplow wing pass, extended; or too high for flanger knives. Before getting to each of these signs the operator closes the wings of the plow, and raises the flangers. When putting up markers in the fall the trackman must be careful to miss no objects which need to be marked. He must look out for low- piles of broken stone, gravel, cinders, sand and broken draft rigging which may be in the clear for trains but not for extended snowplow wings. If possible, in every snowy country, cattle guards should have wing fences laid so flat or so far from the track center that extended snowplow wings will not hit them. Shims. Stocks of shims should be distributed to the car houses or wherever else they will be handiest for the foremen. Braces for shims and special shimming spike should also be distributed. Coarse -salt and rattan brooms are necessary, with, of course, snow shovels and, scoops. The quality of all these tools and articles is important and should be thoroughly understood and tried out before win- ter begins. It is often advisable, as has been said in a former chapter, to take out the crossing plank on each side of track rails and fill the space with snow, because of danger to trains from these plank heaving. Some trackmen take 44 SNOW out their cattle guards; for when they are covered with snow, no livestock will be turned by them. It is customary for many roads to take switches and frogs out of the main track temporarily if they will not be needed for a number of months. This is especially handy in winter, for the com- pany saves not only the wear and tear on the switch mate- rials, but the cost also of keeping it free from snow and ice. Signs, of which there are too many by far on nearly every railroad in the country, should be set well back from the track to clear the snowplow wings when extended. Handling First Snows. One of the most important preparations for a hard winter's snow fighting is to get the first snows as far away from the track as possible. All the room will probably be needed for later snowfalls. Snow that falls between the rails gives trouble till it is out of the track and off the roadbed. To make a clear space for wheel flanges, northern roads use flangers on locomo- tives, or specially built cars. These flangers drop down an inch or two below and clear a space about 10 in. wide just inside each track rail. The snow in the middle of the track is not removed. If left long in the middle 'of the track, this snow gets hard and icy, and accumulates until it is higher than the rail as high as truss rods and brake gear will allow. When it gets high enough and hard enough so that brake beams drag and truss rods cut into it, it will keep engines from pulling full tonnage. Snow should be plowed out after each storm. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with plowing out the center. If no plow is at hand, one should be fitted up as soon as possible and put to work. It is surprising how many railways are helpless in this respect, having snow equipment for all purposes ex- cept to handle snow below the level of the rail in the middle of the track. 45 WINTER TRACK WORK Clearing Snow from Yards and Sidings. There is an ice-plowing attachment for a center plow, called a fine-tooth comb, which will handle ice and hard snow when properly managed. In clearing snow from yards and wayside-pass- ing tracks, spreaders or long wings are very effective and are used by many railways. If two adjacent, par- allel tracks can be cleared of cars at the same time all the snow in a yard can be shoved from one track to another and off to one side of the yard. But if this has to be done often, the snow banks at the side of the yard get too old and hard and icy to move. A steam shovel of some sort, preferably a fast moving ditcher, will then have to be used to shovel the hard snow further back. This is slow work at best and the machine which will do the quickest work is cheapest. Snow is much lighter than gravel, which steam shovels usually are built to move, so a larger bucket can be used. The bale of the shovel or bucket generally limits the width of a shovel, but it is feasible to extend the nose. The steam ditcher is desirable because of the spud, especially in wet snow. Drifts. In open flat country where there is little or nothing to break the force of the winter winds, drifting snow gives the most trouble. Sand and dust drifts with the snow and fills in the low cuts sometimes faster than it can be removed. Intensely cold weather adds trouble by freezing the loco- motive water supplies solid in reservoirs and tanks. In such weather the snow in drifts becomes hard and frozen while still seeming to be almost dry. Drifts which are high on one side are especially hard to handle with a snowplow. It is dangerous to run a plow into a hard snowdrift without first shoveling the track rails clear, far enough into the drift to be sure that sand and ice will not derail the plow. 46 .. SNOW A face of snow two or three feet deep should be made. Two locomotives should be with the snowplow, one loco- motive handling the plow when bucking the drifts, the other engine being ready to pull the plow and its locomotive back into clear if it sticks in the snow. Sometimes three engines are used, two on the plow and one to pull them out when fast in the snowdrift. A great deal of this bucking of snowdrifts must be done on account of narrow cuts because there is no room to spread or throw out the snow. The ideal remedy for such conditions is to widen the cuts, flatten the slopes and deepen the ditches so that the track will look as if on a 3-ft. fill instead of down in the bottom of a narrow cut. This will give room for snow, which will then often be whipped out of the wide, flat-sloped cut by the wind instead of drifting the cut full. Locomotive Water Supply. The failure of locomotive water supplies is a serious matter. The only remedy in extreme cases is to haul water in tank cars from places where it has not frozen. At times the water in these cars will freeze unless a little steam is kept running into each tank. A locomotive should be equipped with a globe valve on the steam dome for use with a steam hose. Enginemen and snowplow operators should be kept supplied with wood alcohol for clearing the glass in windows and port holes from steam, ice and snow. Weather strips on engine- cab and snowplow windows help to keep out the snow and wind. A housing of dressed and matched lumber over the coal in engine tanks is a necessity for good work in snowy weather. Tarpaulins are extensively used with good results in gangways of locomotives. Engineers not experi- enced in snow handling will usually, when stalled in snow, skid the drivers, burn the rail and get the track full of 47 WINTER TRACK WORK water and ice trying in vain to start after stalling. If in- stead of doing this, the engineer will back up a few feet, get the rails cleared of snow with the scoop, and sand them for a rail length ahead of the pilot, he will stand a good chance of being able to again start his train If he stalls again, repeating the process for two or more rail lengths may help him out of the trouble. Trying to start from a standstill in deep snow is equal to trying to jump by lifting on one's boot straps; yet it is too often the first thing done when a locomotive is stopped by snow. Snow at Terminals. Much of the trouble of handling snow about roundhouses and locomotive terminals is be- cause of the number of spur tracks to be cleaned; because Fig. 4 Diagram of a Section Through Concrete Turntable Pit, Showing Heat Pipe and Overflow Pipe. of the space between the roundhouse and turntable having to be shoveled and the snow loaded on cars ; and because of ice forming about the roundhouse doors so as to prevent them from being opened. A simple, yet apparently little-known arrangement will do away with most of this trouble and pay for itself in money saved in a short time. The turntable pit should be deepened, if necessary, and a water-tight concrete floor laid in it. The inlet of the turntable pit sewer should be ex- 48 SNOW tended straight up into the air, with a suitable bend, as high as the turntable center or within an inch or two of that level. The pit should then be flooded with hot water to the top of this overflow pipe. This water can be kept hot with exhaust steam led through a pipe from the roundhouse. Instead of shoveling the snow out of the turntable pit onto cars, all the snow about the pit and house can now be shoveled into the hot water in the pit, to melt and run off through the sewer. In case the turntable pit is in clay, it may hold water without a concrete lining. The only expense then will be to put in the sewer overflow and the steam pipe. One laborer will then keep the snow and ice away from the whole plant, getting the same result as the snow train with its crew of engine and trainmen and shovelers. 49 CHAPTER IV. SHIMS AND SHIMMING. Until recently, the work which was done in winter by the trackmen of northern railways was restricted almost entirely to that necessary to keep lines open for traffic. Little or no repairs were made to track or roadway. Maintenance forces were cut down almost to the mini- mum necessary to clear switches of snow, shim the rails and patrol tracks. While these conditions are still un- changed on many roads, there is a growing tendency to e'xtend the winter program, and so to keep more of the men in track gangs permanently employed. While shims are provided and shimming paid for, the subject seems to have attracted less attention than its im- portance merits. Few books on railway maintenance make any mention of shims. There is no standard shim and no standard way of applying shims. Each railway company has gone its own way in shimming, relying on the judgment of its maintenance officers as to what was the best way to meet the needs of its special territory. Shims. Track shims are small pieces of hardwood boards of varying thicknesses placed on ties and under the rail to raise the height of rail in low spots to cor- respond with the heights of rail in high spots which occur on account of frost heaving the track unevenly. Shimming is of only temporary benefit ; the money spent on it brings no return. Track shimmed in autumn is in worse condition in spring than track that has not 50 SHIMS AND SHIMMING needed shims. Shims put in must be removed at con- siderable cost. Certainly the conditions under which shims are used are different in different climates and on different rail- ways. Tracks in the middle states generally are high- speed tracks in fairly good ballast maintained under moderate weather conditions. These tracks seldom heave very badly and they need few heavy shims. But the number of shims used in tracks not so well favored is astonishing. On account of' the high speeds which are required in winter as well as in summer, any small unevenness in track is a discomfort to passengers. There- fore, many hundreds of thin shims per mile are used. Nearly all companies have branches, spurs and sidings laid with lighter rail and less ballast than the main line tracks. These branch lines need heavier shims, more braces, and fewer thin shims. Lines farther north use very few thin shims. The heavier shims used must be of durable wood, for they are often in the track for three or four, or even five months. During this time, the shims may be snowed over during all except the last few weeks. Therefore, they must be put solidly in place and as solidly braced. Shimming. While the differences in climate and other conditions no doubt account for some of the differences in methods of shimming on different railways, still there is evidence in some cases of lack of forethought in this important matter. Whatever work a man has to do, it is well for him to try to think it out for himself ; to know not only what he is going to do, but why it must be done, how it can best be done, and what will be the results after it is done. The trackman often must act first and think afterward, so far as improvements are concerned. 51 WINTER TRACK WORK But he should think be it before or after ; and he should think independently and form his own conclusions. This done, it is well to ask advice and find out by talking it over with others, who should know, whether he is right or wrong in his conclusions, and why. From cause to effect is the usual way to get at it. Track must be shimmed why? Because it heaves un- evenly in spots. Track heaves why ? Because water in ballast and roadbed expands in freezing and lifts the track. What is the most lasting cure for heaving track? Perfect drainage and good ballast. Where perfect drain- age is not possible shims must be used until conditions can be changed. It will be found that the differences in drainage correspond closely with the uneven spots in heaved track. High spots will be found near bridge ends because, while the bridge does not heave, the frost lifts the track at each bridge approach. Uneven spots are found also at cattle guards, at grade crossings, over newly-placed culverts and pipes, and over steam and other conduits which are warm enough to dry the ground above them. Track on high trestles will go suddenly and seriously out of surface from the heaving of the ground under a bottom sill-end resting on the ground. Too much care cannot be taken in keeping bridge sills clear of the earth, and in arranging all bridge and culvert foundations so that the action of frcst will not affect them. To place shims under a rail, the rail must first be raised by drawing, or partly drawing, the track spike. The shim is then slipped under the rail and fastened with track spike or crossing spike, according to its dimensions and style. The rail is then respiked, and sometimes braced, to keep it from spreading. With a shim under the rail, the track spikes do not extend so far into the 52 SHIMS AND SHIMMING tie as without the shim. The rail also is off the tie and not so solidly bedded as before. It is easily seen that careful work is needed in shimming and that safety must be the first consideration. If only thin shims are needed, it may not be necessary to brace the rail to keep it from rolling, spreading or turning over. But tie plugs should be driven in old spike holes before spikes are re-driven. Otherwise, special long frost-spike should be used. Quality of Shims. It must be remembered that the rail probably cannot be let down on the tie after it is shimmed until the frost has gone entirely out of the ground in the spring. The shim must be of good enough wood to stand the moving and chafing of the rail on top, and against the stationary tieplate or tie, under it. Often it is neces- sary to take out thin shims and put in thicker ones in mid-winter, because a spot which has heaved in early winter will heave higher the second time, when more moisture gets into the ballast. Track often heaves out of level, one rail rising higher than the opposite rail, which condition causes passing cars to swerve from side to side violently. This side motion is particularly hard on shimmed rails which are in danger of going out of gage from the effects of these frequent blows from wheel flanges. Again, if too much shimming is done in early winter, there is danger that most of the shims must be replaced later with thicker shims again and again .until by spring the track is up too high to be safe. Spike Killing. It is hard to avoid spike-killing the ties when shims are changed. A rail on a curve may be spiked to one end of a tie with three spikes. A thin shim is put in by drawing the inside spike and slipping the shim under the rail base. The inside spike hole is plugged and a spike driven in the fourth hole beside it. 53 WINTER TRACK WORK Later in winter, a thicker shim is needed. All the spikes are drawn and the holes plugged. The three spikes are then redriven and a brace is placed on the tie outside and with one end against the web of the rail. This brace is spiked to the tie with three spikes, two near the rail seat and one at the outer end of the brace. There have now been ten spike holes made in the tie end. Fre- quently a third shim is needed before spring. This shim is a piece of oak plank about 18 in. long. It is put under the rail and spiked to the tie with four crossing spike. Then the track spikes are redriven through the shim and the tie. These are especially long track spike. There are now 17 holes in the tie end. When the frost begins to go out in the spring, the 18 in. oak shim is too high. It is taken out and replaced by a thinner shim, and three more holes are made in the tie end. When this shim is removed and the rail finally rests on the tie end, there are 20 plugged spike holes in the tie end in addition to the three holes in which the spikes rest, 23 spike holes in all ! Yet engineers talk of mechanical wear, and cal- culate the percentages of ties which decay in track. In many instances, these spike holes are not all plugged and decay starts in such places most easily. If the tie is treated, it is likely to be more quickly spoiled than the untreated tie, and at a greater loss. For the treated tie is probably made of timber not good enough to be used untreated ; and the untreated fiber of the untreated tie, around the spike holes, will resist spike-killing and decay longer than the untreated fiber of the treated tie. Track- men should make it a rule never to allow a spike to be driven in a tie if it can be avoided. The idea that a spike hole with a tie plug in it is as good as no hole at all, is altogether too widespread among trackmen.- 54 SHIMS AND SHIMMING That such an idea is wrong is not hard to see. When a cut spike is driven in a tie it breaks the wood on each side from the top to the bottom of the hole. The tie plug never exactly fits the hole and it never mends the break in the wood of the tie; so the tie never is as good as new. These spike holes go almost through the tie. It takes only a very few of them to make a tie break under the rail bearing. This break comes gradually and the tie often rots to some extent while breaking. When removed from the track, it is often said to be on account of decay, instead of wear which is the true reason of failure. There is so much expense connected with the use of shims that they should be put in only as a last resort and when it is clearly to be seen that the traffic conditions demand them. Taking Out Shims. In high-speed track, heaved rail in frosty weather is dangerous. The blows struck by wheels moving rapidly over rough track are very heavy, and the faster the speed, the heavier the blows. Rail breaks easily in winter and a rail bent upward by frost under the track, may go to pieces under traffic if not shimmed. A large percentage of rails broken in northern railway tracks are broken during the spring months when the frost is going out, and the spring rains soften the road- bed. Then it is that trackmen must work as quickly as possible to change shims and finally to get them all out of the track and let the rails settle on their old beds. Track which has heaved during the winter usually will settle lower than its original level when the frost goes out in the spring. This leaves the track which has been shimmed, too high even after the shims have been re- moved. Therefore, the heaved parts of the track should be put in surface as the shims are taken out. Otherwise 55 WINTER TRACK WORK it will be quite uneven until these frost slacks are picked up. Shimming Requires Good Judgment. Shimming is so largely a matter of judgment on the part of the trackman that it is not possible to lay down any hard and fast rules to fit even any one certain set of conditions. There is no work required of a trackman where good judgment plays a larger part than in caring for track in winter. There are no two miles of track which "act" exactly the same. Long acquaintance with a section of track is most necessary to the trackman who would get the best re- sults in a winter season. Any piece of track will suffer from frequent changes of officers or foremen. But if a change of foremen must be made, unless the case is very urgent, it is poor business to make the change in winter. If the change must be made in mid-season it is preferable to make it in the busy summer season, rather than in winter, with track on shims. Shimming and its results are so directly dependent on a foreman thoroughly ac- quainted with every foot of the track by long residence and large experience in that particular territory, and the results of improper shimming are so dangerous, that it is perhaps not out of place to sound a note of warning even to those who may be acquainted with the particular details above mentioned. Points to Remember. Remember that in a climate where freezing weather occurs, no track rides quite as well in winter as in summer. Frost has its effect on the best ballasted track, and perfect drainage is as unattain- able as any other worldly perfection. Remember that the greater the train speed, the greater the shock of any inequality in track surface. Remember that high-shimmed track is more or less 56 SHIMS AND SHIMMING dangerous. This element of danger exists, no matter how well the shimming is done. Braces may be easily displaced by anything dragging outside the running rail. If shims are placed crosswise of the rail, anything dragging be- tween the rails may catch and displace them- In snowy weather, shims and braces may be torn out and their ab- sence not detected, even by a careful track walker. The most careful trackman is excusable for not seeing that a track is slightly out of gage when he can see only the rail heads above the snow. Remember that track in winter may ride badly from other causes than heaving. With hard snow or ice in the springs and other parts, car trucks often cause a car to ride almost as if it had no springs. A car or engine axle that is loose in the boxings will get a side motion which gives the impression of track out of surface. Such cars and engines are very hard on line and gage of track, and should be taken to the shop for repairs as early as possible. Remember that trackmen usually know their sections and their track better than anyone else. If the foremen and officers of the track department agree in recommend- ing slow orders, it is safest to issue the orders first and investigate later; especially if the orders are on account of heaved track. In severe winter climates, consider slower train speeds for winter than for summer. In making a slow winter schedule, consider limiting the maximum speed over each mile of track rather than the length of time allowed between stops. Enginemen should report rough track for the benefit of trackmen. Roadmasters should ride the locomotives in winter. Orders should not be issued to shim until the condi- 57 . WINTER TRACK WORK tions are thoroughly investigated. Moderately rough track without shims in winter is usually safer than smooth track on high shims. The places where shims have to be used should be paint-marked and plans made to drain the roadbed, and renew the ballast, if necessary, in order to do away with shims in after years. Design and Manufacture of Shims. Some railway companies buy their shims from contractors. Others Fia.l. IS" Hare/wood f?a// Brace. 80*/?a/'/ braced on a / Shim slotted for 6*&8O*f?a/t. F''g.6. Mud Sh/m 5"x/6~bored. Btind/e of assorted Hardwood Shims. Fig. 5 Shims and Braces. have their shims made in their own shops. Company- made shims are usually better in material, if not in work- manship. Shims are of different sizes and of several styles. 58 SHIMS AND SHIMMING Every shim should be long enough and wide enough to give the rail as much bearing as it had on the tie on which the shim is set. To raise the rail onto a shim which is smaller than the space occupied by the rail across the tie, is to multiply danger and invite disaster. It is important to keep from spike-killing the ties in all maintenance work. Shimming is very hard on ties and any scheme which will lessen the number of spike holes is a money-saver for the company. The best shim is as wide as the rail base and as long as the width of face of the tie it rests on. It is less likely to be displaced than other styles.. It is more easily and quickly placed. There are no holes bored in it and no danger of splitting it with spike. The tie needs no adzing. Fewer spike holes are made in the tie than with other shims. Good, clear machine-made shims of this kind, of red oak, elm, maple or beech should wear for two winters. They should be seasoned in the bundle to prevent warping. They are usually made into bundles of 75 to 120 pieces, pressed together and fastened with four small strips of hardwood which are nailed to the end shims as shown in Figure 5. Methods of Shimming. To prevent these shims from working out lengthwise of the track, off the tie and into the spaces between ties, a small wire nail may be toe- nailed into the tie through the edge of the shim after placing. Slotted shims need not be toe-nailed for the slots fit around the spike and hold the shims securely in place. Shims are set on top of the tie plates. When they are under the outside rails of curves, the outside spike are braced by nailing blocks of wood flat on the tie outside the rail with a notched edge snug against the rail base and around the exposed neck of the spike. These 59 WINTER TRACK WORK brace blocks are often held against the rail by means of two second-hand track spike driven in the tie back of the blocks, with heads hooking over the block. Thin shims are placed by starting the spike only just enough to slip the shim under the rail. To shim a sag between heaved spots or to shim a run-off from one heaved spot, start the spike all along just enough to slip in the middle shim, and bring the rail to proper surface, if necessary, by tapping the spike in the ties each side of the middle shim. When the rail has thus been put in good surface, select shims for the in- termediate ties just thick enough to go under the rail without bulging it up, drive them all home and tap down all the spike solidly. Wide Shims. A decided economy in the use of a shim of the same width as the rail base is in the fewer num- ber of spike holes necessary. Unless a brace is needed, the shim of the same width as the rail base will go into place without seriously disturbing the two or three spike already in the tie. Shims 11 to 12 in. long are sometimes used in all thicknesses. They are provided with y 2 in. round holes gaged to fit the rail base the same as are the tie plates, so that the spike that holds the rail also holds the shim. This shim is placed length- wise of the tie. Machine-made shims that are slotted for the track spike are cut with veneer knives and ma- chine-slotted. They are more expensive than the un- slotted kinds. (See Figure 5.) These shims may be slotted for two to four track spike. Shims are also cut with shingle knives or sawed with machine saws. If shims are bought from contractors specifications should be thorough. Inspections are best made at the factory so that rejected stock need not be loaded. 60 SHIMS AND SHIMMING Bad Practice. Leaving shims cornerwise under the rail should not be allowed, because not enough bearing is provided for the rail. Hard snow will get between the tie and rail at the edge of the shim, and freezing there, may cause the shim to slip. Shims are usually bought in carload lots and it pays to have them inspected at the saw before they are put in the bundle. The thicknesses of shims should be specified. Assorted sizes in each bundle are most suitable. Section foremen on a division should be instructed to keep count of the number of shims of each thickness used during a winter so that the most useful selection for a bundle can be made. It is important to have a winter stock on hand at the car houses in the late fall. Shims in the storehouse or on the road, are of no use to a trackman. When he needs them, he needs them right on the job where he can break a bundle any hour of the day. Supervision by Roadmaster. There is no track work which should receive more careful supervision from a roadmaster than track shimming. Some foremen have the fault of over-shimming. It is harder to break a man of over-shimming than of lifting out track unnecessarily, for it is easier to shim than to lift it on ballast. Both faults are inexcusable. Other foremen are so careful to make the shimming safe that they destroy many ties by driving too many spike to hold both braces and shims. Most foremen are slow in getting all shims out in spring after the frost is all gone, for they are then crowded with the work of picking up slacks in track and often have too few men to make rapid progress. Some men will even have shims in track until they surface through in summer. This "surfacing through" is made a too fre- quent excuse for putting off this and that which should 61 WINTER TRACK WORK be done, on track. It is best to teach men to forget the term "surfacing through." Each job on a track section should be given its proper attention at the right time. One of the first things to do in spring is to remove shims and pick up frost slacks, and it should be attended to in advance of the spring cleaning if weather conditions per- mit. The science of shimming, (always given proper tools and shims) is to shim as little as possible, as much as is absolutely necessary, starting as late as allowable in winter, using as few spike as safety permits and taking care to mark shimmed track for future drainage. The gage of shimmed track should be closely watched at all times, and the way to watch it is to put the track gage on it as often as seems to be necessary. CHAPTER V. WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES. From various sources are heard expressions from time to time to the effect that the railways of America are not economically maintained. It is noteworthy that these criticisms come usually from men who know the least about the real work of keeping tracks in good order. There is no one to whom a business seems so easy and so simple as to the man who has never tried it and who knows nothing at all about it. Anyone watching a game which he does not under- stand, always thinks it dull and easy to play. There are also critics of railway maintenance who have some insight into how it should be done. They have studied the job, and they have seen it done, but have never really tried it themselves. They are supposed to be experts. An expert has been said to be a man who makes a living by telling other men how to do things that he cannot do himself. There are many such ex- perts in and out of the railway business, A certain legislator once violently opposed an appro- priation which was asked for a government railway be- cause a part of the money asked for was to be spent to pay more wages to trackmen. In his speech against the bill, he raised the question of the need of track gangs on government railways. "I travel up and down this railway at least six times a year," he said. "I always see these gangs, sometimes few and sometimes many men in a gang. What are they doing, I ask you? You all ride over these tracks. You all see these men we 63 WINTER TRACK WORK are asked to vote money to pay. Do they work? No, sir, they do not work ! I have watched them many times. I have seen, and so you will see, fellow legis- lators, if you will but look from a side window of the car you sit in, as the train passes, these idle government employes, leaning on their shovels or sitting along the track, just waiting, never working! I am against vot- ing more money to pay idle men for watching trains go by." If this legislator had looked from the end instead of the side window of the car he might have seen the work- men start in after his train had passed. But all criticism is by no means so thoughtless as this, nor so far fetched as some expert advice offered to practical trackmen. A man does not always have to have experience to see the weak spots in a way of doing any certain work. There are some rules which are as good for the butcher as for the baker. There are some ways of handling work which are as good for a rail- way company as for an army or a factory or a farm. All these institutions hire labor. All must have disci- pline. All must have bosses and laborers. Man lives by comparison. One man earns one dollar in one day. If every man earned a dollar a day, there would be no very rich men. But other men earn more. They compare their earnings with the earnings of their neighbors. They hunt better ways of doing things, they try to get better results. They measure their lives by the lives of others. They say, 'T do as much in one day as my neighbor does in two. Therefore I make twice as much and I am worth two such men." When a man has many men working for him, he tries to find out how much he can get done by each man. He must 64 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES study the work they do and the way they do it, to find out if he can lessen the work by doing it some easier way so as to get more done in a day. He must com- pare men and methods and results. All work in life is comparative. Now, the trouble with track work, which is pointed out by critics, is that we do not so compare it. It is said that the maintenance forces of railways are the poorest workmen hired, because their work is not com- pared with that of their fellow workmen, who perform the same duties, to find out who is doing it in the best way. There is no standard of work. Instead of find- ing out just how to stand, and how few motions are needed to drive a spike home, and in how short a time it can be done, we just keep going along, driving spike "by the day," without comparing the methods or re- sults with anyone's else spike driving to find out whose work counts for most in a day. It is said that no man would run his own business as a railway company main- tains its tracks. The farmer gets more work out of his hired men. The factory owner keeps better informed about the factory workers. The general has his army bet- ter drilled. There is surely something in these criticisms, and criticism is good for any man or for any class of men. Experienced Men Required. In order to compare one trackman's work with another's, there must be stand- ards for comparison. If two men are given the same kind of work for ten hours, it is possible to find out which man has done more or better work. If one gang of men works over five .miles of main track for a year, and over fifty switches for another year, and works just as hard and just as many hours on each job, it is fair 65 WINTER TRACK WORK to suppose that the two jobs are equal, or that the main- tenance of fifty switches equals the maintenance of five miles of main track; or that ten switches equal one mile of main track. But it takes a whole year to find this out because track work differs every month in the year. To learn to do all this work, a trackman should be hired the year round, if he is to be a good trackman. A laborer is not a trackman until he has worked at the trade for twelve months running because weather con- ditions make his work different each month. One does not need to be a trackman to understand that experi- enced men are better than green hands. Then why not hire trackmen the year round, making them permanent employees? There is a difference in men. They may be strong or weak, healthy or ill, handy with tools or clumsy, stupid or quick to learn, good tempered or bad tempered. It is fair to suppose that the best results are obtainable with good men who are satisfied to stay the year round. Permanent Employment. There are several reasons why trackmen have not been kept the year round. Most of the track work has been done in summer. Expenses are cut down in winter by reducing forces. Money is not easily gettable till after the end of the financial year in June. In the north, the winter days are short, the weather is bad, the tracks are covered with' snow, and men cannot work well when wrapped in heavy clothing. Tracks must be swept clear of snow ; it is hard to run hand or push cars, and tools are easily lost in snow. The men who fill the extra gangs in summer go to their foreign homes in winter or get other work in the cities. They have no permanent interest in the work they do nor the sections they work on nor the railway 66 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES companies who hire them. Their only object in work- ing at all is to get in a day's time for a day's pay, be- cause they cannot hope for a steady job at railway main- tenance. But logging operations in these same climates are carried on very largely in winter. Men who work on the railway in summer often work at logging in winter. There seems to be no difficulty in felling and hauling timber, making ties and posts and banking logs in the snow. Being obliged to cut timber in winter, when the sap is down and when icy roads and frozen swamps permit of hauling big loads to the streams or railways, a way has been found by logging concerns to make win- ter work practicable in the lumber industry, and of late years a way is being found to do a good deal of winter work in railway maintenance for the following reasons : Labor is often more plentiful and cheaper in winter than in summer. In a limited labor market this ad- vantage in winter work is very marked. Some main- tenance work is more easily done in winter than in sum- mer. It is less dangerous to burn old ties. It is the best time to clear fence rows of brush and trees. It is the best time to repair fence wires and to mow weeds in swamps. Many swamps can only be fenced in win- ter. It is best to have permanent maintenance forces. If there is not too much snow, winter is the best time to relay rails. There has been much discussion on this last point. Those who have tried it have lost the fear of "something new." They know that the moving of joint ties is expensive. They know it results in dis- turbing ballast and thus making bad track at the rail joints, the weakest spots in track. When track is laid in winter without moving joint ties, as it must be, the rails may be fitted with anticreepers as it 67 WINTER TRACK WORK is laid. It must be remembered that the chief difficulty with rail anchors is on account of contact with frozen ballast, and this can best be avoided by putting the anchors in place when the rail is laid. If the ballast is trimmed to a surface easily drained it will be at least an inch below the bottom of the rail. The lug of the rail anchor, which is pressed against the tie to resist creeping, is about two inches deep. It should not ex- tend lower than that. When the anchor is put on, the ballast must not be tamped about it. The best way is to scoop the ballast clear of the anchor entirely or to refill the depression by throwing the ballast loosely about the anchor. The reason for needing, say two extra anchors per rail when not moving joint ties is that the joints are not always suspended between two ties and the spike slots in the angle bars therefore may come over the ballast between the ties, and spike cannot be driven in these slots to hold the track from creeping. But all these joints do not come in the wrong places. As a matter of fact from 40 to 60 per cent of the new joints will come in such position that the slots can be used, as before. If the rail anchors are properly put on, no more than two or three extra anchors per rail length will be needed in well-ballasted track because of not moving joint ties. The track will be on evenly solid ballast throughout the rail length, and a better riding track results than when moving joint ties. Money also is saved by not moving the ties, which costs nearly as much as relaying the rail. Experience is proving that relaying rails in winter is not only possible, but desirable from many points of view. Ballast cannot be disturbed and all ties are there- fore left in their original beds. Not only is the extra 68 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES maintenance due to disturbing the ballast avoided, but the tie lasts longer when it is not moved, and it does not get blows from mauls which it gets when shifted to come under new joints. The gaging of track is a job that can be done to the best advantage in winter. It seems that railway companies have followed a cus- tom in summer work. They have got used to the sum- mer extra gang, the bunk and boarding cars, the rush of poorly-done summer work. It remains for the track- man to change this custom, to prove that the present order of doing this work is not the best, and to show what improvements will do for maintenance of way. In the north there probably will always be more work done in summer than in winter. But the winter track force will in all probability be increased within the next few years on most roads. A good deal of the work now done in summer can be done in winter to better advantage. If it is done by the permanent employes, it will be better done than if by extra gangs. The extra gang is not acquainted with the roadbed or track or traffic. The extra gang foreman must make a showing of speed if he is to hold his position. There is no com- parison between extra gangs , except in the amount of work done. The extra gang foreman has usually more men than he can watch and teach, and keep doing as much and as well as they should. The section gang has all the advantage of more supervision per man, of knowing the track, the climate, the traffic, the weak spots in the ballast, and the soft spots in the roadbed. They need little telling about what to do or how to do it, if they are permanent employes. It seems reason- able to suppose that such section gangs might do much 69 WINTER TRACK WORK of the work now so poorly done by extra gangs. The slower speed of the permanent gangs would be more than made up in the quality of work done. Piece Work. Piece work is done in many factories and in railway shops. There seems no reason why all railway companies should not do a great deal of main- tenance on the piece work plan. Some are doing so now. Putting in ties by piece work has increased the number of ties placed by one man in a day by about one-third, on some roads, and the men's pay has been increased accordingly. Gaging track, building fence, and most other maintenance work can be done on the piece work plan. There is no reason why a good trackman should get the same wages as a poor track- man. If he worked by the piece he would get just what was due him. There would be a proper basis of com- parison and the money spent for track work would be better spent and bring better results. Winter track forces could do nearly all their work on this basis and they could do a great deal of the work which is now done in summer on most roads. With better men and better methods there would be better results. This is not theory only. These things are being done and are showing increasingly better re- sults in comparison with the old ways, where there is no possibility of other comparison. Good Tools. Good work cannot be done without good tools. Good tools cannot be bought as cheaply as poor tools. Even good tools, unless they be kept in good repair and condition, are not fit to work with, nor can good results be obtained. A good workman will not be satisfied to work with . poor tools. Not infre- quently trackmen buy tools of their own rather than 70 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES get along with poor tools furnished by the railway com- pany. This spirit has led many track foremen to buy motor inspection and section cars, and gasoline engines. Saws, scythes and hammers are often bought by sec- tion foremen for railway use. To a workman who knows his tools and how to sharpen them, there is no more val- uable help than a good grindstone, with the necessary attachments to keep all kinds of track tools, sharp. Winter Tools and Materials. Every section should go into the winter with a full stock of shims, braces and spike to last through the season. Salt is important especially about switches and crossings. Adzes and hand axes are needed and should be sharpened frequent- ly. Claw bars, spike pullers, spike mauls and track wrenches are all important in the winter day's work, as are the shovel, pick, snow shovel, ice scraper and nearly all the tools used in summer. Winter Work. On many roads, the tightening of track bolts is a summer job. It is quite as important in winter and should be attended to much oftener than is the practice generally, both winter and summer. The oiling of track bolts will help in the life of the bolts and in the ease with which they can be tightened. There is no excuse for loose track bolts. They get loose only through inattention. Unfortunately we in America have become used to this carelessness. Our tracks are so badly abused by overloading, and our track forces so cut down for "economy" that we do the best we can with what we have and let it go at that. The results are pain- ful to see and not always safe. Who has not seen track spread because no spikes were to be had; or rails turn over which were not drilled because no drill was avail- able; or track too rough for speed because no shims 71 WINTER TRACK WORK were on hand ; or high snow drifts on rails because snow fence could not be had? These conditions would al- most surely improve with the employment of more trackmen in winter, with the element of permanent work, of comparative results and the introduction of piece and contract work. Grading Wages. The work of trackmen may be im- proved by the proper grading of wages. There is always a best man in every gang. Why should he work for the same wage as the poorer workmen? W T hat encour- agement has he to do all he can do, if the others get as much money for doing less? The chances are that he not only will not do all he can, but that he will quit and go to some other job which offers better induce- ments. For this one reason the track foreman loses most of the best men hired. One of the great needs of the maintenance department is the grading of wages, so that the men have some reward ahead for doing better work than their fellow workmen. There is generally a scarcity of track foremen. The grading of wages will go a long way toward solving this problem. If the best man in each section gang is paid a little more than the other men, he will try to learn the business, knowing that from the best men or subforemen, vacancies for the position of section foreman will most likely be filled. Getting Over Tracks in Winter. Track inspection and the taking of men and tools to and from the places where track work is to be done takes time and labor, necessary to be sure, but from which there is no direct return. When the number of laborers is large enough, and the work is such as to demand road train service, the problem seems simple. The men with their tools are put on the train at the appointed place and put off when 72 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES the road train reaches the place where the track work is to be done. This would be easy enough if locomq- tives and cars and enginemen and trainmen were always ready, and if there were no other trains on the road so that orders to go were always on hand. Every track- man is familiar with these difficulties. In winter they are increased, as extra power is needed, crews may not be prompt, engines come out of the house slowly, tracks may be obstructed with snow, and coal and water are not so readily obtained as in summer. In winter the trackmen must have heated cars to ride in, and tools need some extra care. But the hand and gasoline cars which are run by their own power have the most trouble in winter. The man- propelled hand car, formerly the only car used for track work, is still largely used on maintenance and construc- tion. Though it is hard and slow work to pump these cars over the track under the best of conditions in sum- mer, they can be quickly taken off the rails ; and as they are not run on train orders, many of the delays which effect road train travel are avoided by the use of hand cars. On the other hand, when cars obstruct the track, hand cars must wait or be carried around the cars, whereas a road train can often proceed after switching the obstructing cars. It is possible to get a hand car over a string of empty flats by placing a pair of rails or other skids with one end on the running rails and the other end on top of the cars in order to push the hand car up onto the first flat car and down off the last flat car. It is sometimes possible also to pinch a string of cars past the hand car after lifting the latter off the track. This is usually not advisable on account of the danger of not being able to stop the cars after they get 73 WINTER TRACK WORK going; on account of the time and labor it takes and because the freight cars may be spotted by direction of shippers. There is danger in running hand cars and all track- men are familiar with the precautions necessary to keep out of the way of trains, especially on sharp curves where the view is obstructed, in windy and foggy and snowy weather and at dusk or after nightfall. Careful flagging and the display of lights and signals is most necessary. Trackmen soon learn the importance of keeping a continuous lookout to the rear as well as ahead of a hand car when on main tracks. The rule that a hand car must be removed from the rails when not in use should be strictly obeyed if trouble would be avoided. If a hand car with men and tools makes eight miles an hour over track including stops, a round trip of four miles and back will take an hour or one-tenth of the time of a gang working a ten hour day. Therefore, any scheme which will reduce the time so lost is money and labor saved, in which both the company and em- ployes are directly interested. The motor hand car has been introduced for this purpose, and is coming into quite general use. In winter the troubles of running hand and motor cars are multiplied. Car wheels slip on frosty or snowy rails so that it is very hard to start a car or to keep going. Running behind trains assures a clean rail for a short time only. To make fair headway in snowy weather hand cars must be supplied with something to sweep or scrape the rail clear of snow ahead of the wheels. Iron castings that may be screwed to the for- ward ends of the frame of the car over the track rails and have sockets and set-screws to hold broom handles 74 WINTER TRACK FORCE. TOOLS AND SUPPLIES are used. The broom is a short, worn corn broom with the handle sawed oT making it about 18 in. long. When the car is taken off the track these brooms drag along the ground unless they are raised, which takes time. An improved brcom holder is fitted with a bolt, spring and hinge device so that the brooms may be turned and held in a horizontal position with the broom end point- Fig. 6 Hand Car Broom Holder. ing frontwards, so that the car may be taken off the track without raising the brooms. This broom holder is very handy, costs little and weighs only 5 pounds. See Figure 6. A steel brush similarly fastened to sweep the rail ahead of the wheels, with a lever to operate it, is used on hand or motor cars and is valuable not only for snow, 75 WINTER TRACK WORK but for brushing stones or other obstructions from the rail. (Figure Railway Age Gazette, p. 310, Vol. 52, No. 7.) Use of Sleds. On northern railways, sleds are used on sections where hand cars cannot be used in winter on account of heavy grades and sharp curves. Tools and shims are carried by the section men who walk, snow- shoe or ski to the place where their work is to be done, pulling the loaded sled by hand. Operation of Motor Cars in Cold Weather. Any gasoline engine is harder to start when it is cold than Fig. 7 Steel Brush Attachment for Motor Cars. when it is warm. This is because gasoline does not vaporize easily when it is cold, and the vapor is easily recondensed by cold to liquid gasoline. Liquid gasoline will not burn ; it must first be vaporized. When an en- gine is started in cold weather, therefore, there is only a small charge of gasoline vapor in the cylinder when the spark is flashed across the points of the spark plug, and a large part of what little vapor the carburetor does supply is recondensed against the cold walls of the in- take pipe, cylinder and piston. If a few charges can be 76 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES secured which are large enough and rich enough to be fired and start the engine, the cylinders will usually get warmed and the engine will then take care of itself and run as usual. It is therefore advisable in cold weather to do something to produce the first half-dozen explo- sions, which is not necessary in summer. In the first place, heat the carburetor itself. This is safely done by pouring warm water over it or by wrap- ping a bag of warm salt or sand around it for a few moments. Do not use a torch or live coals as there is danger of an explosion. After the carburetor has been warmed, a half thimble full of gasoline should be in- jected into each cylinder through the priming cup, and the cup should be closed. This is called "priming the engine." The carburetor should then be "flushed" or "flooded" with the little plunger. If, now, the crank shaft is turned over, the engine will seldom fail to start. Of course, do not forget to have the gasoline turned on, the switches closed, and the throttle open. In winter, especially, get good gasoline if possible, as the higher the grade the more easily the gasoline vaporizes. It is also a fact that the higher the grade the harder it is to get, but if at least 58 deg. or 60 deg. gasoline is not furnished for ordinary use, it will be best to get a small amount of higher test, if possible, for priming purposes. If a high test gasoline cannot be had for ordinary running, it is a good idea to try to at least have some of it on hand for priming, and to carry a small quantity of it in a bottle or squirt can. On ex- tremely cold days warm this gasoline before using, by holding the bottle or can in hot water for a minute or two. There is another liquid called sulphuric ether often 77 WINTER TRACK WORK more easily bought than high test gasoline, as it can be purchased at any drug store, and which is good to prime with, as it is much more easily vaporized than gasoline. It is also much more explosive, and greater care must be taken in its use. It costs more than gasoline. Many of the motor cars on the market are of the two- cycle type, and the oil for the engine is mixed with the gasoline before it is put into the gasoline tank. This gives a good chance to get warm gasoline for starting. The oil is usually mixed one pint of oil to five gallons of gasoline, or with some oils as much as one-half pint of oil to the gallon. In cold weather the oil may be warmed before mixing it with the gasoline. This gives a tank of warm gasoline to start, without any danger of explosion. Usually there is some water mixed with gasoline which often separates, and as the water is heavier it settles in the low points of the pipe connections to the carburetor or in the carburetor itself and then freezes, blocking the pipe and preventing the gasoline from flowing. To find out whether this has occurred, flood the carburetor, and if gasoline flows continually the pipe is probably clear. If it is blocked, heat the low points to melt the ice. Even in warm weather it is a good plan to strain all gasoline used through a chamois skin to remove the water, but in winter it is an extremely good plan, as it will prevent trouble with frozen carburetor and feed tubes. Gasoline flows slowly through a chamois skin, and it may be found that it will take too long to strain it at the time of filling the tank, so it is a good plan to have an extra gasoline can and strain the gasoline into it at convenient times, then fill the tank on the car from that can. An- other way to prevent freezing is to drain the carburetor 78 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES and feed tube at night after closing the gasoline tank shut-off cock. The gasoline thus drained out may be caught in a cup and poured back into the gasoline tank. It is a good plan in cold weather to warm up the engine in the car house by running it a moment or two there before taking it out into the colder air. On cars which have a clutch for freeing the engine from the "driving mechanism, this is simple. With the direct driven type of cars such as is largely used for section and extra gang work, where the driving axle forms the crank shaft of the engine, or is directly connected to it by gears or chain without a clutch, the engine may be run in the car house by raising the engine end of the car and sliding a box under it so that the driving wheels will not touch the floor; then starting the engine by turning the driving wheels with the hands. The engine will start more easily this way without a load than by pushing the car on the track, especially if the rails are frosty. After the engine is once started and warmed, it usually will operate without trouble, but. a gasoline en- gine always runs on less gasoline in warm weather than in winter. On water-cooled cars it is a good plan to reduce the cooling capacity of the radiator during the winter. This is easily done by covering part of the radiator with a piece of oil cloth or canvas. The water will continue to flow through the entire radiator, but air will be drawn only through that part which is not cov- ered by the cloth, and where there is no air there is no cooling. In this way the cooling capacity of the radiator can be reduced as wanted. Be careful of water-cooled cars to see that the water does not freeze in winter and burst a cylinder or radiator. An anti-freeze solution is 79 WINTER TRACK WORK the best thing to use. The following table gives the freezing points of anti-freeze solutions made by mixing alcohol, glycerine and water. Wood Alcohol 5 per cent 10 per cent 12 % per cent 15 per cent 16 ^ per cent 10 per cent Glycerine 5 per cent 10 per cent 12% per cent 15 per cent 16V 2 per cent Water 90 per cent 80 per cent 75 per cent 70 per cent 67 per cent 90 per cent Freezing Point 25 deg. above zero 15 deg. above zero 8 deg. above zero 5 deg. above zero 15 deg. above zero 18 deg. above zero 20 per cent 80 per cent 5 deg above zero 25 per cent 75 per cent 2 deg above zero 30 per cent 70 per cent 9 deg. above zero 35 per cent 65 per cent 15 deg. above zero 10 per cent 90 per cent 28 deg. above zero 30 per cent 70 per cent 15 deg above zero 40 per cent 60 per cent 5 deg above zero 50 per cent 50 per cent 2 deg above zero 55 uer cent 45 per cent 10 des:. above zero Ordinarily an engine that has run well all summer will begin to miss explosions as the cold weather comes on. The principal reason for this is that cold weather not only affects the gasoline, but it also slows down the dry batteries which operate the electric igniter on the engine. The oil also gets hard and stiff and makes an engine hard to crank and start. If an engine gives trouble in cold weather try the following tests, if possible, before sending the car in for repairs : Take hold of the fly- wheel on the engine and turn it around slowly by hand until the crank shaft comes to a position of about 12 degrees below its inner dead center. At this position the igniter should trip off, and if you find that it does not trip off at this position, it will be necessary to change the timing. This is usually done by simply lengthening or shortening a tripping device which is at- tached to the engine. Lengthening the trip rod will make the igniter snap off earlier and shortening up the rod will make it snap off later. If you find that it is impossible to change the timing by adjusting the timing device, it may be necessary to change the cam gear 80 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES which operates the timing of the igniter and the valves. Moving the gear one tooth at a time forward will make the igniter snap off earlier, and turning the gear one or two teeth backward will make it snap off later. The timing of the igniter is one of the most important things in operating an engine. If the igniter is properly timed, the engine will give good power. If the igniter is out of time, the engine will give very little power. The igniter should be taken off the engine and the two wires from the batteries attached to it. Then, the igniter should be snapped by hand and notice taken of the spark at the contact points. If the batteries, spark coil and igniter are aH in good condition, a good fat spark will be obtained at the contact points. If there is any defect in any one of these a good spark will not result. If the spark is weak the batteries should be ex- amined. A battery can be easily tested by an ammeter. The ammeter should show at least six or eight amperes for each battery cell, otherwise the batteries are too weak to operate the engine. In cold weather the battery current is lower than in warmer weather, which is due to the fact that the chemicals inside the battery do not work as actively when cold. The batteries should be kept in a warm dry place so that they will have a good current to start the engine. They should not be kept too warm, otherwise they will be spoiled because the chemical inside them will evaporate and dry them. Next the spark coil should be examined for any broken connection at the coil itself or a short-circuit in the coil. If the coil has a broken wire inside, there will be no spark at the igniter points when it is snapped by hand, even with a good strong battery. If there is a short- circuit inside the coil, a weak spark will result at the 81 WINTER TRACK WORK contact points with a strong battery, but not a heavy spark. The coil itself needs very little attention except to keep it from getting wet. All the wires that are con- nected between the spark and the battery and the igniter should be examined and -the binding post screws should be clamped tight so that they do not jog loose when running on the road. All of these little brass nuts should be tightened up with a pair of pliers so it is im- possible for them to work loose. The one contact point should be thoroughly insulated from the igniter body. Ordinarily these points or bolts are insulated from the iron body of the igniter by mica washers. The mica washers must be thick enough and large enough so that no metal whatever reaches from the insulated hole to the body of the igniter or to any part of the engine. Mica washers must be kept clean from soot and carbon and it is a good plan to remove the igniter every week and scrape all the soot, rust and carbon off the electrode and the mica washers. The contact points of the igniter are made of a high grade alloy which will withstand in- tense heat. This alloy is a bright metal and must be kept thoroughly, clean so that the contact will be good. These points can be cleaned with sandpaper or with a small file and should be inspected every Week. If they get worn so that the contact touches the steel on either one of the electrodes, they should be renewed. The exhaust valve on the engine should be timed so that it opens when the crank shaft is 40 deg. above its outer dead center. The timing is usually adjusted by simply setting the cam gear in the proper position with the crank shaft gear. A quick way of setting the exhaust valve at time is to set "the crank shaft so that it is hanging straight down and then set the cam gear 82 WINTER TRACK FORCE, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES so that the high point of the cam is pointing directly towards the cylinder head. Then the* flywheel should be taken hold of and the crank turned around slowly by hand and notice taken as to whether the exhaust valve opens up at 40 degrees above its outer dead center. There is an adjusting screw which pushes up against the errd of the exhaust valve and this screw is used to make small adjustments for wear on the exhaust valve. Screwing in on this adjusting screw makes the exhaust valve open earlier, and unscrewing it makes the exhaust valve open later. Before operating an engine, care should be taken to make sure that the screw is locked by the nut which holds it in place. To test the compression the fly-wheel should be turned around slowly by hand until the piston on the engine starts towards the cylinder head and is working against the air inside the cylinder. If the engine is in good condition a strong pull on the wheel is needed to pull the crank shaft over its center against the air, but if the compression is weak, the crank goes over easily. Loss of air-compression is due, first, to leaky rings: rings that have become worn so that they do not hold the pressure back : a ring that is stuck in the grooves of the piston : a ring that has turned to where the slot is on top of the piston, or, a ring in which the temper or spring is gone. Take the piston out of the cylinder and examine the rings. They are sometimes worn in the grooves and this will let a lot of pressure escape. The rings should have a spring of about J/ in. to T 3