the yard at Hoosick Falls has been reballasted. With the exception of a few cuttings, the road-bed is very well drained and probably another season a further ballasting of track will be done. It is certainly much needed between Johnsonville and Petersburgh Junc tion The life of sleepers has been greatly improved, yet there is a considerable amount of much worn and partly decayed ties, many of which are deeply cut into by the base of rail. On the main line and North Bennington branch in the State of New York, about 23,000 ties have been renewed this year. The rail is in fair condition, but a number of bars were noticed as having the head at ends of rail broken, and held in place by the fish bolt. Angle bars are taking the places of fish plates as fast as renewals are made. Some joints were noticed without a full complement of bolts, which it is suggested be remedied. Generally the adjustment of line and surface of track is good, and some sections were in this respect very workmanlike. Each of the bridges was examined. Near Lansingburgh is a thirtysix feet span low through Howe truss, having unspliced chords, some of which are partly decayed at the extreme ends. The first set of braces have been secured with rods, the full length of truss which will probably admit of the bridge being used for a time longer. Over a bighway is a plate girder deck, having a good floor and the iron work lately painted. The next bridge is a short span riveted lattice, through, in like condition.

At Johnsonville there is a trestle of several spans over a highway. The trestle is old, and two or three new caps and a few new stringers are recommended. The next bridge is a thirty-two feet span girder rod truss, having three eight by eighteen inches sectional string pieces of white pine timber, and four girder rods in each truss. The timber is in strong life. South of Hoosac Junction are two spans of double intersected riveted lattice, well painted, and with new floor beams at south end of floor. It is a deck_bridge, and has three trusses for a double track, only one of which is laid. Some of the floor timbers are split and new ones are recommended. The next structure is known as the Haines' bridge, and spans the Hoosick river. It is a deck Howe truss of one hundred and sixty feet span, covered, and with the timber in good life. A careful inspection revealed the lower chords to be defective, the ends of members have opened from five-eighths to three-quarters of an inch or more, and many have sheared or pulled out of the splicing blocks. There are four chord members, and a splice in each panel. Near the center of one truss and opposite a splice the through member adjoining has a decayed black knot penetrating at least one-third the depth of timber, and about one foot from this knot the fibre of the wood has parted the full width of member; the under side appeared to be sound, but the factor for safety at this section of the chord, must be almost entirely lost. The attention of the officers of company was called to the defective chord, and temporary means suggested to prevent entire failure of the bridge until permanent repairs, or much better, a pier could be built under center, and bridge made in two spans. Other methods could be adopted, all of which are beyond the province of your inspector. At the third panel point from south end is a strong timber bent resting upon rock foundation, and cap fastened to the lower chords. A similar bent was taken away by moving ice, and a repetition is not improbable. South of Hoosick Falls is a covered through Howe truss, of two one hundred and twenty feet spans, over same river. The south end of south span at the third panel point has a bent, and the first three panel points of both trusses have additional truss rods. The bridge is about twenty-four years old, and the timbers are not decayed. The floor timbers are spruce, more or less warped, and loose under the track stringers; a thorough overhauling of the floor is recommended. The next bridge is a through plate girder deck, over a highway; it has a standard floor and good masonry substructure. North of Petersburgh Junction is a one hundred and thirty feet span, covered through Howe truss, about twenty years old. A few new floor beams at each end, and others in place of those badly warped, are recommended. At the Vermont line crossing Hoosac river is a through Howe truss about three years old. A rail joint at south end of truss was noticed as not suffi ciently supported. Plank is used for cross ties, which is the case on most of the Howe truss bridges. A stronger floor system is recommended. The depots at Melrose, Schaghticoke, Valley Falls and Eagle Bridge have been repaired and painted. At Hoosac Junction the station building was recently burned, and a temporary structure is substituted.

North Bennington Branch.

From Hoosac Junction to the Vermont State line, a distance of five miles. Very little change in the condition of this branch was noticed, excepting in the bridging. There is a scarcity of ballast, the ties are in fair condition, and line and surface of track in ordinary adjustment. A number of the cuttings need more complete drainage. Weeds and underbrush have not been cut this year on this or on the main line. The fencing of all the road is in fair condition. Near the Junction is a plate girder through bridge in good order. At North Hoosick are two spans of Howe deck truss over the Walloomsac river, and a short span of low Howe through truss at south end. The main bridge is covered and in good life of timber, but there are signs of shearing in lower chords that should receive attention. The truss rods in two or three panel points at ends of trusses have been reinforced. A new deck has lately been put on the bridge. The next is a thirty feet span girder rod truss over a highway. It has three eight-by-eighteen sectional stringers and two girder rods in each truss, the whole in good order. North of Walloomsac is a 100 feet span covered Howe truss, given as thirty years old. The lower chords show signs of

weakness, and it is suggested that the bridge be rebuilt. The next bridge is a forty feet span low through Howe truss, two years old. It has track stringers and plank ties, widely spaced, as have all the Howe truss bridges. South of State line, where four spans of deck Howe trusses were recently burned, is now an iron structure. The old abutments and piers remain. There are two spans of plate girder deck at each end with an iron pier in center. Over the river are two spans of deck riveted lattice trusses. One of the pedestals under each iron pier has settled to some extent; the piers are to be restored to a proper level. A good standard floor covers the entire structure.

Board of Railroad Commissioners :

TROY AND BOSTON RAILROAD Co.,
SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE,

UNION DEPOT.

TROY, N. Y., October 20, 1886.

In reply to yours of 12th, our bridge master is preparing to strengthen the Haines' bridge in the manner substantially that you recommend.

Yours truly,

J. CRANDELL,
Superintendent.

ULSTER AND DELAWARE RAILROAD.

On page 316 first volume of the Railroad Commissioners' Report for 1884, may be found a report of the last inspection of this line. Since that inspection the extension between Stamford and Hobart, four miles in length, has been completed and brought into use. The extension is well constructed, has easy grades and curves, the line following a valley in which lies a branch of the Delaware river. The superstructure is laid with steel rails aud is well ballasted, lined and surfaced. A good passenger station, well furnished, and having covered platforms, has been erected at Hobart, also a freight-house, engine-house and

turntable.

Between Rondout and Stamford considerable improvements have been made. At Rondout a brick engine-house with six stalls and a new turn-table have been built. Also a large frost-proof water tank and other betterments. These with the wood and machine

shops and passenger station were found in good condition.

Much has been accomplished in widening narrow embankments noted in the report of 1954, but there are yet a few points on high embankments that should be filled out to give a firmer support and to better hold the alignment of superstructure.

The past winter has been one of severe exposure to slopes of earth cuttings, and slides have occurred where least expected and will greatly increase the work of draining road-bed, a work that should not be in the least omitted.

Last season the entire roadway was cleared of trees and underbrush, the old track debris removed or burned and the line of ballast neatly defined. Seventy miles of fencing is said to have been rebuilt in 1885, and the work of repair and rebuilding was in progress at time of inspection. Considerable stone wall was erected, of which a large amount of the fencing is composed. Barbed wire is also extensively used. As a whole the fencing is now in fair order.

Twenty-eight thousand sleepers were renewed last year, and considerable reballasting of superstructure was done. This last branch of track maintenance requires further attention, as much of the old ballast is nearly worn out and the track needs to be raised in many cuttings, or the old material removed and fresh ballast substituted. If the cost was not too burdensome a system of tile drainage in cuttings most susceptible to frosts, would be economy in track maintenance. A wet road-bed is a constant source of expense and anxiety.

There now remains six miles of iron rail in the entire superstructure, and some of this is over-worn. The company have on hand sufficient rail of like kind to make the necessary repairs, which is being done, and will bring the whole to a reasonably good condition. The steel rail is in good order, and mostly secured at joints with angle plates.

As a whole the sleepers are in strong life, and for the early season of the year in which the inspection was made, the line and surface of superstructure was in very good condition. There are quite a large number of truss bridges on the road, and of trestles and minor openings about the average of other lines. All these openings were examined as closely as possible in the time that could be given to their inspection, and under the disadvantage of a severe rainfall, which continued during the entire day. Nothing was observed as delinquent in maintenance or anywise incompetent that was not further supported with proper temporary aid, and only in one or two instances was this the case. Near Shokan station are two short spans of Queen trusses over the Bushkill, which by reason of age are now supported with bents. These trusses will be rebuilt this year. An under farm crossing, consisting of four spans of trestle work near West Hurley, is also too old and will be replaced with abutments and wooden girders.

Several Howe trusses have been rebuilt within the past year. Falls and noted in last report as on bents. Near Big Indian

trusses.

One of these is at Stratton are two other new Howe

The work of providing a bridge floor for all openings as advised by the Railroad Commissioners, has received attention and the material is at hand to further that work, but it is recommended that all openings in road-bed be thus provided. Iron rails are often used as stringers for short openings, and they answer an excellent purpose, but these require a guard-rail or ribbon firmly bolted to the ties, otherwise a derailed wheel would move the thes together and thus defeat the object of a floor system.

Improvement has been made at a few stations along the line in the passenger buildings, but very much in same direction remains to be done. At Big Indian, substantially a new depot on an improved location has recently been erected. The building is of good design, has covered platforms at ends and a covered carriage-way. The interior is neatly fin ished and comfortably furnished and if other stations of really no less importance were made to conform as far as necessary to the same design, it would add much to the appearance of the property, and be far more convenient for the patrons of the road.

Nearly all the way stations are constructed with the passenger rooms level with the freight houses attached, and have steps leading from the tracks, which are awkward and inconvenient, beside being more or less obstructed with standing freight cars. It is probably intended to reconstruct these stations as the buildings are generally dilapidated. Additions have been made to the passenger equipment since the last inspection, and the Allen wheel is being substituted for those of cast iron. The motive power has also been increased. Generally the maintenance of way, equipment and buildings are much improved.

WALLKILL VALLEY RAILROAD.

This railroad was not inspected last season. The result of an examination made in 1884 is given on page 318 of the Railroad Commissioners' Report for that year.

The character and condition of the truss-bridges, truss-girders and trestles remain unchanged, except in age of timber and the renewal of a few trestles and the flooring of others. The iron trusses and girders are well painted. A careful inspection of each truss and trestle revealed no defects, unless it be the absence of a strong floor, competent to up. hold a derailed wheel on some of the trestles which provide for under-farm crossings and waterways. Of these many have only plank ties and others have the guard rails omitted. There are a number of under-farm crossings and cattle-passes which are allowed to go unrenewed as it is intended to fill them up, arrangements to that effect having been made with the land owners. East of New Hurley is an old Howe truss crossing a stream, in the bed of which an arch culvert has been built and the road-bed partly graded over it. The bridge is fast declining in strength but still supports the superstructure. Near Welden is a trestle work partly filled and the structure will not be renewed.

Neither of the above structures which it is intended to do away with are positively insufficient, yet it would be better to complete the work of filling them with as little delay as possible, and the material for filling could be advantageously obtained from side ditching and from slides from earth slopes, and thus improve the drainage of road bed.

The masonry in the abutments of a number of small openings has become broken and is leaning inwardly. They are well shored with struts placed between them, but it would be much better if they were rebuilt.

Bridge No. 15, near Welden, is a two-span low Howe truss structure, one span of which is defective in condition and number of floor beams. New beams and more of them are at hand, and will probably soon be in place.

The roadway is very neat and orderly. Brush and weeds are cut out to boundaries, annually and old debris removed or burned. The fencing is in very ordinary condition. Repairs and extensive renewals are necessary for a firm barrier against farm stock.

The surface and line of superstructure is in medium condition, particularly that portion laid with iron rails of which there are six and one half miles. The iron rail should be at least in part renewed as much of it is exceedingly worn. Trains move over the old rail at a reduced speed. Twenty-seven miles of the road are laid with steel fastened at joints with angle plates three feet in length.

Since the last inspection considerable attention has been given to the cross-sleepers and their life raised to a much stronger condition. Eight thousand ties will be renewed this season. Stub switches are still in general use. All of the way stations were examined and a majority of them found poorly maintained, meagrely and crudely furnished and some of them very untidy. A few were noticed as reasonably clean. The terminals are owned by adjoining roads.

Rosendale is inconveniently arranged. It has one waiting room located in rear of freight department and is poorly furnished with bench sittings. The whole looks dingy and was uncleanly. For so large a place better accommodations appear to be necessary.

Springton is a flag station and is in poor order. At New Paltz there are two waiting rooms, poorly furnished, uncleanly, ceiling broken, and scarcely fit for their purpose. Forest Glen has one small waiting room, in neat condition.

Gardner has a one waiting-room depot in poor order and crudely furnished with benches. Wallkill depot has one waiting room. The ceilings are broken, otherwise it is in commend. able order. Welden has a two waiting room depot in fair order. Very little attention appears to be given the way stations which is a neglect that ought not to be. At least they could be furnished with comfortable sittings and strict cleanliness observed. The mainten

ance of way, followed by good equipment, are admitted to be the first and imperative essential, and station buildings of secondary importance, but cleanliness of passenger stations and their surroundings are in most instances more a matter of carefulness than of expense.

WEST SHORE RAILROAD.

Formerly the New York, West Shore and Buffalo railway. It is now leased in perpetuity to and operated by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company,

The last inspection of this property was made by Commissioners Kernan and Rogers in the latter part of October, 1884, and reported on page 294 of the first volume of the Commissioners' Report for that year.

The West Shore road in New York extends from the State line of New Jersey to a junction near East Buffalo with the Central-Hudson road, and thence over the tracks of the latter to the Exchange Street depot in the city of Buffalo. It also includes a branch from Coeymans Junction to a junction with the leased lines of the Delaware and Hudson Canal company immediately south of the city of Albany, and thence over the leased road to the Maiden Lane depot in that city. A branch from Athens Junction, east of Schenectady to Fuller's Station, is used as a freight transfer between the main line of the Ceutral-Hudson and its West Shore division. There is another short branch from Coxsackie Station to Athens, which is not in operation.

East of Syracuse the West Shore is double tracked, and west of that city there are about fifty-two miles of double track, a portion of which is not ballasted or in use. West of Akron, both tracks are in operation to East Buffalo. The main line is graded and the masonry constructed for a double track, allowing thirteen feet between their centers, and the bridging is of the most thorough and massive construction. There are nearly three miles of pile bridging along the Hudson river, exclusive of about one mile on the Albany branch near that city, and a short trestle fifty feet high near Selkirks on the same branch. Near Mohawk, in a basin of the Erie canal is a trestle bridge about 1,000 feet in length, and at the under crossing of the Batavia and Tonawanda branch of the Central-Hudson, near Akron, is a long pile bridge forming an approach to the iron truss over the branch road. This last structure will probably be done away with when renewal is necessary and a grade crossing substituted. Including the above timber structures, and one short span of Howe deck truss near West Park, which is the only wooden truss on the entire road, together with a few pile and trestle under-farm crossings and temporary trestles across salt vats at Syracuse, there are 570 openings from five to 290 feet span, nearly 500 of which are of iron and built with a standard of assured strength in excess of that usually adopted. The timber in the pile and trestle bridges is in strong life, ample in size of members, and all openings have competent standard floors.

The superstructure is of the best construction and as yet the sleepers show little if any decline. A considerable ballasting of road-bed has been done in the past two years and generally the surface and line of track is in exceedingly correct adjustment. Along the Hudson river and at points in the Mohawk Valley slides from slopes of rock and clay cuttings have occurred, and in two or more instances embankments resting upon clay saturated with water have moved from their positions, necessitating a temporary curving away from the adopted location, and in one instance, near Mount Marion, a short permanent change of line will probably be adopted. At Yankee Hill in the Mohawk Valley great trouble has been experienced to retain a road-bed with the vertical wall in prism of canal adjoining; much of it has been relaid, and it is hoped that further difficulty will be avoided. Near Savannah and Clyde, what are termed sink holes have been encountered and a large amount of filling is required to restore the plane of the road-bed. As a whole, the massive masonry constructed to uphold the heavy iron structures has proved competent in character of work and stability of foundation. Only two or three bridges have required a rebuilding of their substructures. The slopes of rock cutting along the Hudson river, at Little Falls and a few other points, have been very well cleaned of loose detached rock, yet a careful surveillance of all will be necessary for some years to come, and of the heavy clay slopes as well, until the action of frost and rain shall have developed their perfect rest. The grading was amply but hurriedly done and the material forming many of the large embankments has not entirely become compact. Indurated earth composes a large part of these embankments west of Schenectady and particularly west of Little Falls, no more so than of other roads in the same locality, but the embankments of the West Shore are many of them very heavy, and the lumpy shape of the material when excavated forms in the banks vacancies that only time and the elements can compress into a solid road-bed, hence the necessity of a larger force of section men to retain a proper track adjustment than is required for an old road. Considerable ditching in cuttings was noticed as desirable to aid in the maintenance of track surface, and the roadway could be improved by a more thorough cutting of weeds and underbrush; portions of the road however were very neat in this respect. There are no overhead obstructions so low as to require warnings for train men, and at grade highway crossings, unless necessary for drainage, slats for cattle guards are used. West of Frankfort the cross fences at these crossings were neatly whitewashed and at each mile post an extra rail raised on posts from the ground was provided. In the long pile bridge near Albany, which is partly filled, some of the caps were noticed as showing signs of decay, one or two were split, and the piles under

others appeared to be crushing into them. This was constructed only as a temporary expedient and its complete filling at an early day would be desirable. No other structure was observed as defective excepting that some of the iron bridges and girders should be again painted, men were observed at one or two points busy in this important work. All of the passenger depots were examined and generally found neatly kept. Of themselves they are well built and furnished with the essentials for public convenience. Some of them are large and costly buildings, and, where depots have been constructed, all, with the exception of that at Utica, are in every way suited to the localities they occupy. As a whole, it is generally conceded that the West Shore railroad stands at the front in permanency of construction, and in a few years if the standard adopted is adhered to the wisdom of such a construction will be confirmed.

SYRACUSE, ONTARIO AND NEW YORK RAILWAY.

A further inspection of the Syracuse, Ontario and New York railway was made December 18, 1886, about seven months after the inspection previously reported. Since that inspection the company have laid three additional miles of steel rails, renewed fourteen thousand sleepers, and provided a competent floor system for all the truss bridges. Such of the minor openings found defective on the previous inspection, have been rebuilt. The drainage of road-bed has been improved, the road-bed widened where most necessary, and the adjustment of track bettered. At Georgetown a new frame depot has been erected. It is comfortably furnished and of sufficient size for the business of that station. In general the property has been so far improved as to present no reasonable doubt of safety, especially as the train movement on the iron rail between Earlville and the junction with the Elmira, Cortland and Northern railroad, is at a rate of speed not exceeding twenty miles per hour. The road from the junction to Syracuse, covering about one-half its length, is now laid with steel rail, and is generally in very good condition. From the old rail removed, probably a sufficient amount suitable for repairing the iron rail will be obtained, at least for the present winter and coming spring, at which time a further laying of steel rail will be done. Possibly the remaining iron rail will be entirely removed another season. A much needed increase in the passenger equipment has been made during the past year, and the motive power has been more or less rebuilt.