Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXX, Dec. 1910 | Page 2

amount of increase is not provided for in the specifications, and this appears to us to be necessary in order to secure uniformity of practice; otherwise, the fixing of these percentages becomes a matter of special arrangement. Bessemer rails are being furnished regularly with phosphorus under the maximum allowed, and where this is done, the carbon should be raised above the higher limit now fixed in our specifications, or a soft and poor wearing rail will result; yet this condition has not been fully guarded against in rails furnished under existing specifications. The lower and upper limits for carbon have heretofore been fixed with the intention that the mills furnish rails with a composition as near between the two limits as possible. The mills, however, in order to meet the prescribed drop tests with the least difficulty, keep both the carbon and manganese as nearly as possible to the lower limits, with the corresponding result that a generally poor-wearing rail is furnished.
"Some roads have prescribed the limits of deflection to be allowed under the drop test. With our present knowledge, we believe that we should fix a minimum deflection to eliminate brittle rails and to secure greater uniformity of product; also maximum deflection to eliminate soft rails. We are not able at the present time to fix these limits, but our ultimate object will be to determine and fix such limits for the specifications.
"With reference to the amount of discard, time of holding in ladle, size of nozzles, and other such details of manufacture or machinery, we are of the opinion that the physical and chemical tests required should be prescribed, and that we should see that the material submitted for acceptance meets the prescribed tests. We should not dictate to the manufacturers the amount of crop which shall be removed from the top of the ingot, as this should vary with the care and time consumed at the various mills. The railroads should not be asked to take anything but sound material in their rails. The mills can furnish such sound material if the proper care and sufficient time are taken in the making of the ingots. Information derived from the tests being made at the Watertown Arsenal shows definitely that sound rails cannot be made from unsound ingots, and that, therefore, the prime requisite in securing a sound rail is to first secure the sound ingot.
"We recommend that the present Specifications for Steel Rails be withdrawn from the Manual of Recommended Practice of the Association, as no longer representing the current state of the art.
"We submit herewith, as Appendix 'A,' a form for specifications. It will have to be amended from time to time as we receive further information on the subject."
The specifications referred to above were modified and presented at the Meeting in Supplement to Bulletin No. 121, of March, 1910, and in this final form are attached hereto.
These specifications do not represent the work of any one Society or the work of any one Committee, but are the result of all the work of the different Societies, as the members of all are so interwoven that whatever work is done in any one Society, or by the Committee of a Society, has very naturally and fortunately been carried into the others.
At the Chicago Meeting these specifications were accepted without a single change, and this is very unusual and shows how generally acceptable they were, as the members of all Rail Committees were present at the Meeting. The main points in this specification were discussed and agreed upon by the members of the Committee and the Rail Committee of the manufacturers who have co-operated with them in this work.
In the matter of Rail Sections, the Rail Committee of The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association has not arrived at any definite conclusions. The new sections "A" and "B" of The American Railway Association have not given as good results as was expected of them, and the whole matter is yet under consideration. The Committee reported as follows:[D]
"The instructions of the American Railway Association require us to study the A. R. A. sections 'A' and 'B' in use and submit a single type for standard. Owing to the conditions existing in 1908, very little rail was laid, and practically none of the A. R. A. sections, in such manner as to give the needed information. This year, several roads have laid A. R. A. sections of rail, with a view of determining the relative merits of the respective sections. These rails have been in the track so short a time that we 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