Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXX, Dec. 1910 | Page 3

are not justified in drawing any conclusions as to which of
the A. R. A. types, 'A' or 'B,' or if either, is better than the A. S. C. E.
sections.
"Bulletin No. 116, issued October, 1909, gives the statistics for rail
failures for six months from October 31, 1908, to April 30, 1909, as
reported to the Committee. These statistics do show that the difference
in section can be entirely annihilated by difference in chemical
composition and by the treatment in furnace and mill.
"The results so far obtained from the heavy base A. R. A. sections are
disappointing, as we have received some rail from the mills of the new
section which was as bad as we did with the old A. S. C. E. section,
showing that the quality of the rail does not depend entirely upon the
section.
"The tests to be inaugurated by the Committee, combined with the

results of the tests at Watertown and the performance of the rail in the
track, will give us valuable data to aid us in coming to a final
conclusion."
A careful study of the results already obtained, on both Bessemer and
open-hearth steel rails, indicates that the next necessary step will be the
use of a much heavier rail, and I think the sooner this is admitted and
trial lots of say 1,000 tons each of 110-lb., 120-lb. and 130-lb. rails
rolled, of Bessemer and open-hearth steel, and put in service under the
most severe conditions, the sooner we will get rid of the present
difficulties with our rails.
WM. R. WEBSTER.
"SPECIFICATIONS FOR STEEL RAILS.[E]
[Sidenote: Process of manufacture.]
"1. The entire process of manufacture shall be in accordance with the
best current state of the art.
"(a) Ingots shall be kept in a vertical position until ready to be rolled, or
until the metal in the interior has had time to solidify.
"(b) Bled ingots shall not be used.
[Sidenote: Chemical composition.]
"2. The chemical composition of the steel from which the rails are
rolled shall be within the following limits:
=================+============================+====
======================== | BESSEMER. | OPEN-HEARTH.
+-------------+--------------+-------------+-------------- |70 lbs. and | |70 lbs.
and | | over, but |85 to 100 lbs.| over, but |85 to 100 lbs. |under 85 lbs.|
inclusive. |under 85 lbs.| inclusive.
-----------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------
Carbon |0.40 to 0.50 |0.45 to 0.55 |0.53 to 0.66 |0.63 to 0.76 Manganese

|0.80 to 1.10 |0.80 to 1.10 |0.70 to 1.00 |0.70 to 1.00 Silicon |0.07 to
0.20 |0.07 to 0.20 |0.07 to 0.20 |0.07 to 0.20 Phosphorus, | | | | not to
exceed | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0.04 Sulphur, | | | | not to exceed | 0.075|
0.075 | 0.06 | 0.06
=================+=============+==============+====
=========+==============
"3. When the average phosphorus content of the ingot metal used in the
Bessemer Process at any mill is below 0.08 and in the Open-Hearth
Process is below 0.03, the carbon shall be increased at the rate of 0.035
for each 0.01 that the phosphorus content of the ingot metal used
averages below 0.08 for Bessemer steel, or 0.03 for Open-Hearth steel.
"The percentage of carbon in an entire order of rails shall average as
high as the mean percentage between the upper and lower limits.
[Sidenote: Shearing.]
"4. The end of the bloom formed from the top of the ingot shall be
sheared until the entire face shows sound metal.
"All metal from the top of the ingot, whether made from the bloom or
the rail, is the top discard.
[Sidenote: Shrink]
"5. The number of passes and speed of train shall be so regulated that,
on leaving the rolls at the final pass, the temperature of the rails will
not exceed that which requires a shrinkage allowance at the hot saws,
for a 33-ft. rail of 100 lb. section, of 6-1/2 in. for thick base sections
and 6-3/4 in. for A. S. CC. E. sections, and 1/8 in. less for each ten
pounds decrease of section, these allowances to be decreased at the rate
of 1-100 in. for each second of time elapsed between the rail leaving
the finishing rolls and being sawed.
"The bars shall not be held for the purpose of reducing their
temperature, nor shall any artificial means of cooling them be used
between the leading and finishing passes, nor after they leave the

finishing pass.
[Sidenote: Section]
"6. The section of rail shall conform as accurately as possible to the
templet furnished by the Railroad Company. A variation in height of
1-64 in. less or 1-32 in. greater than the specified height, and 1-16 in. in
width of flange, will be permitted; but no variations shall be allowed in
the dimensions affecting the fit of splice bars.
[Sidenote: Weight]
"7. The weight of the rail shall be maintained as nearly as possible,
after complying