Untitled - Clpdigital.org

STEEL IN ALL COUNTRIES. 13
Steel Rails.—The manufacture of Bessemer steel rails in the
United States as a commercial product dates from 1867, although
they had Imjcii made experimentally in the two preceding years.
The first Bessemer steel rails ever made iu this country were
rolled at the Chicago Boiling Mill on May 24, 1865, from ingots
made at the experimental steel works at Wyandotte, Michigan.
Several of these rails were laid in the track of one of the railroads
running out of Chicago and were still in use iu 1875. The
manufacture of open-hearth steel rails in the United States commenced
in 1878, but it has never attained any commercial importance.
It has of late been confined chiefly to California.
All kinds of Rails.—The following table gives the production
of all kinds of rails in the United States from 1867 to 1894.
Yea is.
Grow tons.
Open-henrth i Total
steel rails.
Iron rolls.
steel rails, i steel roil*.
1867.
2,277
2,277
1868.
6,451 j
6,451
8.616 |
8,616
1870
80,357
30,357
1871
84,162
34,152
1872
83.991 I
83,991
1873
115,192 |
115,192
1874
129.414
129,414
1875
259.699
259,699
1876
368.269
368,269
1877
3S5.S65 8,390 385.865
1878
491,427 8,168 499,817
1879
610,682 12.157 618.850
1881.
852,196 22,515 864,353
1882.
1,187,770 20,325 1,210,285
1,284,067 8,202 1,304,392
1884.
1,148,709 2,381 1,156,911
:--•..
996,983 4,279 999,367
1886.
959,471 4,692 963,750
1887.
1,574,703 17,145 1,579,395
1888.
2,101,904 4,693 2,119,049
1,386,277 2,988 1,390,975
1,510,057 3,588 1,513,045
1892.
1,867,837 5,883 1,871,425
1893.
1,293,053 3,819 1,298,936
1894.
1,537,588
968 1,541,407
1,129,400 1,085 1,130,368
1,016,013
1,017,098
To Ul iron ami
steel mils.
410,319 412,596
115,972 452,423
521,372 529,9-8
523,214 553,571
658,467 692,619
808,866 892.857
679,520 794,712
521,848 651,262
447,901 707,600
417,114 785,383
296,911 682,776
288,295 788,112
375,143 993,993
440,859 1,305.212
436,233 1,646,518
203,459 1,507,851
57,994 1,214,905
22,821 1,022,188
13,228 976,978
21,142 1,600,537
20,591 2,139,640
12,725 1,403,700
9,159 1,522,204
13.882 1,885,307
8,240 1,307,176
10,437 1,561,844
6,090 1,136,458
Included in the rail statistics above given is the 4.674 production 1,031,772 of
street and electric rails. The annual production of these rails
from 1874 to 1894 has been as follows, in gross tons.