The New York Rapid-transit Subway

118 DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK SUBWAY. [Minutes of The Author, had also power to take up, alter, or relay all surface or sub-surface structures, subject only to the reasonable requirement of the com- panies owning the same, or of the Public Works Department in case of city ownership. The authority of the Transit Board was there- fore complete. As to obtaining “powers” to construct, there was nothing analogous to British procedure. The enterprise being municipally owned, the Board, having fixed the route and adopted plans, simply let a contract, after advertising, for construction and operation. In such matters special charters were avoided in American legislative practice. Usually there was a general Corpora- tion Act under which any company proceeded, having complied witli its provisions, and, in the case of railways in some States, having secured in addition the consent of the State Railway Commission. The Author had referred Colonel Yorke’s inquiries about rail-wear to Mr. George H. Pegram, Chief Engineer to the Interborough Company in charge of Maintenance of Way, who stated that the original rails were still in service on straight portions of the line, but their life was estimated at 6 years. On curves the wear was much more rapid. Fig. 22 showed the wear of the outside rail on the City Hall curve, after being laid only 3 months, from August 18th to November 18th, 1907, while Figs. 23 showed the wear on both rails of the south- bound express track at Great Central Station during 4 months. The tonnage given was the approximate tonnage passing over the track, not over each rail. An analysis of these rails showed:— Per Cent. Carbon................0-60 Phosphorus.........0'086 Sulphur ........... 0'053 Silicon............0'066 Manganese....... 1'06 Some experimental rails had been laid having the following com- position :— t Per Cent. Carbon. ...................................0-62 to 0- 72 Phosphorus .............................0'075 Sulphur ................................0'075 Silicon.................................0-2 Manganese. .............................0'9 to 1'1 which seemed to give better service. With corrugation there had been some but not serious trouble. It had been general on curves, but rare on the straight. On the latter the cause had not been apparent, chemical analysis not showing any irregularity in composi- tion in the rails where it appeared. On the inside of the outer rails on curves there was laid originally a guard- or check-rail of special