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Bond, A. Russell

"The Scientific American Boy The Camp at Willow Clump Island"

Then we sawed
through the sides of the trough at an angle of 45 degrees. When we wanted
to cut the end of the scantling at an angle it was placed in the trough,
and with the saw set in the saw cuts, as a guide, we were sure that they
would all be cut at the same angle.
[Illustration: Fig. 303. Carpenter's Miter Box.]

Laying the Track.
[Illustration: Fig. 304. How the Track was Anchored.]
From the bottom of the inclined trestleway we continued the track down the
slope to the river; but for the sake of economy, instead of using 2 x
4-inch scantlings for the rails, we bought a number of 2-inch planks at
Lumberville, and had them sawed up into strips 2 inches wide. These 2-inch
square rails were fastened together with slabs nailed on at frequent
intervals. To maintain the proper gauge the car was rolled over each pair
of rails, which were nailed first at the ends and center. To anchor the
track we drove short posts into the ground so that their upper ends lay
flush with the surface. A post was provided under each joint and one under
the center of each rail, and then the slab ties were nailed securely to
these posts. In imitation of a full-sized railway, we made it a point to
"break joints" on our track; that is, to make the end of one rail come in
line with the center of the opposite rail, as shown in Fig.


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