Image ID: AAED

Haupt, United States Military Railway Department. Construction And Transportation. No. 52.

Haupt, Photographs Illustrative of Operations In Construction And Transportation, As Used To Facilitate The Movements Of The Armies Of The Rappahannock, Of Virginia, And Of The Potomac, Including Experiments Made To Determine The Most Practical and Expeditious Modes To Be Resorted To In The Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction Of Roads And Bridges. No. 52–Experiments were made to determine the time required to destroy rails in the manner which has usually been adopted by the enemy, which consists of in heating and bending. Two piles of ties were made, one of 32 ties, across which 8 rails were placed and another of 16 ties, with 4 rails laid thereon. The fire was started by splitting tow of the ties into kindling wood, and pouring half a gallon of coal oil on each of the piles. See plate 52.

Although the ties were not wet, the fires burned so slowly that in three hours the rails had no become heated to any considerable extent. The piles were then left until next morning, when they were found to be entirely consumed, but the rails were lying on the ground uninjured; the weight of the projecting ends had not bent the rails.

This experiment proves that burning is too slow a process to be relied upon for destroying rails, where time is any object; and that in any expedition to operate on the communications of the enemy, such plans must be adopted as will permit the rails to be destroyed without heating.

Haupt, Reminiscences of General Herman Haupt, plate 13. Confederate Mode of Destroying Railroad Track.