Discussion

Mr R. W. Foxlee, referring to the Paper on the re-laying and maintenance of the Nigerian Railway, said that the reference to the use of the timber sleepers was of considerable interest at the present time. It was an experimental length and it had been laid at a time when steel was very scarce and use had to be made of some alternative.

The Author had already made the point that, so far as economics were concerned, the steel sleeper had advantages ; but Mr Foxlee was not sure that pure economics applied nowadays. He felt that the investigation which had been made into the possibility of using timber should be followed up with a view to seeing what kind of life would be obtained from the timber, because, at least for a time, local materials might have to be employed to avoid the use of steel.