set. Curb rail is the technical name used for the main member on which the body and frame of a box car are built. Grade. To be fresh sawn, sound, square edges, and cut full to size; free from large, loose, or dead knots, grub or rafting pinholes, excessive sap, wane, or decay. The 5 by 12-inch will admit well-boxed heart centers, all other sizes to be entirely free of heart centers. In Scotland, however, where wagon oak planks are sold under the designation of "railway oak planks," heart centers are not admitted in any size and some English railroads also include the same stipulation in their contracts. Large open checks are strongly objected to everywhere, but these can be avoided by cutting stocks during the late fall and winter months, so that they dry out before the hot weather has had a chance of opening up the face of the planks. Principal ports of entry.-The Bristol Channel, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, and Newcastle-on-Tyne are the principal ports of entry for wagon planks, which are distributed from them to the car plants in the adjacent territory. Underframe parts. For the information of those not familiar with the technical names, sole bar, headstocks, longitudinals, etc., used in connection with lumber entering into the underframe of railroad cars, the following brief explanation is given: Sole bars.-The two longer sides of the underframe. Headstocks.-The two shorter ends which carry the buffers. Crossbars.-Two pieces stretching from sole bar to sole bar, to tie the frame together and take up the stresses. Longitudinals.-Parallel beams stretching from headstock to headstock in the center of the car. Diagonals.-Pieces stretching from each corner just behind the buffer to the junction of the crossbar and longitudinal. Sides, ends, tops, and bottoms.-With the exception of the framing, which is of oak, north European pine is used almost exclusively for the superstructure of freight cars, although alternative bids for Douglas fir are occasionally asked for by the railroad companies on account of official pressure being brought to bear upon them to use Empire timber to a greater extent. Little, however, has been used either by the railroad companies themselves or private car builders so far, and it is very doubtful if it will ever replace the north European pine to any appreciable extent. While larch is permitted according to the railway clearing house standard specification, practically none of it (which in pre-war days was received in fair quantities from the White Sea) is now used, and the reference to it in the specification is probably a carry-over from before the war. Lumber for car building is purchased cut as near as possible to lengths required by the particular size and type of car under construction, those most in demand being 22 and 3 by 7, 8, and 9 inches, with a few 11 inches, all 14 to 17 feet long. One reason for these lengths being used to such a great extent is that they can be cut, with very little waste, into three pieces for cars having side doors. For the floors of freight cars, which naturally are subjected to considerable wear and tear, a harder variety of wood is preferred, and knots are not so serious a defect as when the lumber is to be used for sides and ends. For this reason most of the lumber for flooring is of pine from the Baltic States, the principal source being Latvia. The Latvian lumber industry has for many years specialized in the manufacture of flooring for British railroad cars and now enjoys a virtual monopoly of this business. Lumber used for this purpose is known as wagon bottoms" and may be either of pine or spruce, no distinction being made between them. The quality known as "unsorted" is used in dimensions of 21⁄2 by 7 inches, 7 or 72 feet long. BUILDINGS AND MISCELLANEOUS SUPERSTRUCTURES Large quantities of lumber are annually required for the maintenance and renewal of stations (waiting, booking, and refreshment rooms), signal posts and boxes, bridges, and fencing. Where strength is not required north European pine is used, chiefly Russian and Swedish in various qualities, depending upon the purposes for which it is to be used. For repair of bridges or other construction work where strength is required southern pine timber is used. The grade under which one prominent railroad purchases its supplies of this is as follows: "To be well sawn, sound, straight, and free from knots, shakes, and heart shakes as selected by their inspector. Where the dimensions are exceptionally large, Douglas fir is used in place of southern pine, the grade which the same railroad uses in its tender being as follows: "To be of good sound merchantable quality, reasonably free from large, loose, or unsound knots; free from shakes or heart shakes as selected by their inspector." For signal posts hewn southern pine is preferred but complaints are made that is it becoming increasingly difficult to get timber of the size and quality required. Telegraph poles. British railroads operate their own telegraph systems and purchase a certain number of new poles each year to replace those that are worn out. The quantity is small, however, and of little importance to the lumber trade. The specifications and grading rules, as applying to poles purchased by the Post Office Stores Department, are followed with very slight deviations. Pattern making.-Canadian white pine purchased either as lumber or "wany pine logs" and cut into the required dimensions in their own shops enjoys a virtual monopoly of the railroad business. In addition, some very small quantities of Siberian, western white, and California sugar pine are used, but the railroad engineers are extremely conservative and it is difficult to introduce any other species than those to which they are accustomed, and price is not so important a matter as with private engineering companies. Delivery wagons, hand trucks, etc. The collection and delivery of freight, also of passenger baggage, is an important part of a British railroad's business. Transfer companies, common in the United States, are unknown, their work being done by the railroads themselves under what is known as the "luggage in advance" principle. Some of them also operate motor coach services, although these are only slightly developed as yet. Large numbers of hand trucks are also used for the handling of freight and passenger baggage at the stations. Most of these vehicles are made by the railroad companies in their own shops or, if motor vehicles, then the bodies are built by them. Ash (principally English) is used for shafts and framework; hickory, oak, and elm for the wheels, and north European pine for the sides and driver's cabs, considerable quantities being used for these purposes during the course of a year. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Hammer shafts, etc.-Large quantities of shafts for hammers, axes, shovels, and picks are used by railroads and are required to be turned from either tough young English ash or American hickory of the best quality. They must be straight and close-grained, free from knots and other defects, and in accordance with standard patterns. The following are the descriptions and sizes generally called for: Adze, 34 inches. Hammer Hand, finished, 16 and 18 inches. Strikers and quarter, 30 inches. Tapping, 36 inches. Pick and beater, 38 inches. Mall, 42 inches. English ash or American hickory: Some railroads prefer to make their own shafts and for this purpose purchase American hickory logs. It is said, however, that their demands, as far as percentage of whitewood is concerned, are such as to make the business unattractive. Shunting poles.Shunting poles are required to be made from well-seasoned good white hickory, straight grained, free from discolored sap, knots, and other defects. A proportion (not exceeding 25 per cent) of poles containing some red heart are accepted provided they comply with the specification and are of equal quality to the white in every other respect. The poles are 66 inches in length and must be turned smooth to a diameter of 15% inches and tapered 7 inches at one end, to 1/4-inch diameter, so as to fit the shunting hook. Each pole is tested at both ends in the following manner: With a fulcrum of 2 feet 6 inches the pole must lift a weight (placed 4 inches from end) of 196 pounds. After the test the pole must remain straight, i. e., without permanent bend. Ladders. Strong sides are required to be formed of the best Oslo pine or spruce poles with straight and long grain, free from knots and other defects; the rungs to be of good quality oak and cleft, not sawn; the ends to be put in with white lead and to be spaced at 9inch centers. The ladder must not be painted. The bolts -inch diameter to be fixed underside of second rung at bottom, also one at second rung from top with galvanized washers and burred over, 92015°-28- -15 and additional tie bolt to be fixed at every tenth rung. Additional tie bolts as follows to be evenly divided over ladder: 12 to 20 feet, 1 additional tie bolt. Over 20 to 30 feet, 2 additional tie bolts. In addition to a small number of grain ladders generally made of southern pine, folding stepladders of north European spruce 6, 7, and 8 feet long are also used in large quantities. Other miscellaneous wood items include hickory brake sticks and telegraph arms, barrows, hayrakes, flag staves, and handles for brooms, carriage washing brushes, and mops. FURNITURE The manufacture of furniture and cabinet ware is one of the principal British industries and the most important outlet for American hardwoods. With the exception of nursery furniture, cheap bedroom suites, and pieces used in the kitchen there is little call for softwood furniture, the public demand being exclusively for that made of hardwood. While there are a few large factories operating on a mass-production scale, the bulk of the furniture is produced in small factories, employing a comparatively small number of hands. In London many of these are nothing more than converted retail shops, which specialize in one or two types of furniture, such as buffets, dining tables, china and other cabinets, writing desks, bookcases, etc. Hand labor is largely used in the smaller factories and, for that reason, the milder textured northern American and central European oak is preferred. The use of machinery, however, is increasing and with its larger use the question of price rather than texture is becoming the deciding factor in lumber purchases. This does not apply to the wood used in the higher grades of oak furniture, where the central European stock still predominates. FASHIONS AND TENDENCIES The British taste in furniture to-day is essentially for plain styles and, as a result, manufacturers are utilizing to an increasing extent the natural beauties of figure and grain of the various woods rather than depending upon elaboration of design for its appeal to prospective buyers. While modern adaptations of Chippendale, Sheraton, Heppelwhite, and Queen Anne designs are still popular in the more expensive furniture, the tendency is toward a more varied type and consequently sales of "suites" are diminishing, individual pieces being more frequently purchased instead. The heavy "solid" furniture with horsehair upholstery of Victorian days has completely disappeared from the retail store; light, easily movable pieces, attractive in shape and design, have taken its place. The modern house has small rooms and the older ones are being converted into apartments and, as a result, there is no demand for large pieces of furniture. The advancement of hygienic ideas and the problem of domestic help are also influencing the demand for plain styles of furniture, many persons now demanding pieces with a flush finish |