Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1913 — SEEK TIE DURABILITY [ARTICLE]

SEEK TIE DURABILITY

GOVERNMENT CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS OF IMPORTANCE., In Connection With a Prominent Western Railroad the Authorities Are Experimenting With Processes of Various Kinds. Much has been published upon the durability of railway ties treated by various preservative processes, but there is little available Information concerning ties treated by different processes and laid in one track, where the treatments could be compared. In order to gather data for such a comparison, the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, through the forest products laboratory, in co-op-eration with the University of Wisconsin and a leading western line has, completed the first stage of an extensive experiment, the purpose and scope of which are given to the public by Secretary Houston in Bulletin 126, of the Forest service, recently issued. The ties used in the experiment were ordinary stock of the Cooperating railroad, and 100 of each of the two species, red oak and hard maple, were treatdti by each of six processes, selected so as to include at least one from each general type of pressure processes in common use. Thus, there were treated for the experiment 600 red oak and 600 hard ’maple ties, and 100 untreated ties of each species werb laid. The history of each tie up to the time of layinc is recorded, the preservative processes described, the methods of handling any laying given in detail, and everything needful for comparison of results of future inspection carefully worked out. In selecting a location for . the test track the effort was to secure normal conditions of site and traffic. The location is on a single-track road which carries a fairly heavy traffic in both directions. The track at the point where the ties are laid is gravel ballasted, well drained,- straight, and practically level. Nearly all the treated' ties are placed on a fill, but a few included in the test were laid in a cut Screw spikes with flat tieplates were used on 50 per cent, of the ties, and the remaining 50 per cent, unprotected by tieplates, were fastened to ordinary cut spikes. An extension to the original experiment included red oak and chestnut ties treated by a commercial plant, and a few spruce ties contributed by another firm were used. In order to avoid disturbing the track in the future new rails were laid at the time the ties were placed and aew fastenings were used throughout. It is thought that a series of observations and inspectors covering several years will yield valuable information relative to the preservation of timber and its behavior in actual use. The bulletin is illustrated with reproductions of drawings and photographs of apparatus and material, and all details as to ties are given in tabular form. ' '