Excerpt from Construction and Maintenance of Railway Roadbed and Track: Arranged and Compiled From Authoritative Sources With an Exhaustive Description of Railway Surveys and Construction In railway operation one of the most important subjects is the construction and maintenance of roadbed and track. The problems presented owing to the different conditions met are multiplex. The subject is too great to be exhausted in a single volume nor has the subject been exhausted in the many books by many men. It is, however, believed that the experience and technical knowledge herein set forth may serve to help and stimulate those for whom it is primarily intended, and that it may, perhaps, supplement the experience and studies of more advanced students who have access to textbooks and who have specialized on the subject. Originality has not been attempted. To the labors of others the writer is indebted, therefore all claim to authorship is disavowed, the humble office of compiler and editor being all he aspires to. Credit is given in the text to those to whom it is due, but if, inadvertently, the source is in some instances not given, he hopes his grateful acknowledgment will be accepted. Much of the great mass of relevant matter necessarily had to be rearranged and rewritten, and while it is impossible to meet the exact needs of every reader, yet, imperfect as it is, it is hoped the - work may find a welcome in the field of technical railway literature and prove intelligible, interesting and instructive. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.