SPECIFICATIONS FOR RAILWAY MASONRY The following are the standard specifications of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association:* 1. Engineer. Where the term Engineer is used in these specifications, it refers to the engineer actually in charge of the work.
S. Cement. The cement shall conform to the requirements adopted by the Association [see Appendix I].
3. Stone. Stone shall be of the kinds specially designated and shall be hard and durable, free from seams or other imperfections, of approved quality and shape, and in no case shall have less bed than rise. When liable to be affected by freezing, no unseasoned stone shall be laid.
4. Dressing. Dressing shall be the best of the kind specified.
6. Beds and joints or builds shall be square with each other, and dressed true and out of wind. Hollow beds shall not be allowed.
6. Stone shall be dressed for laying on natural beds.
7. Marginal drafts shall be neat and accurate.
8. Pitching shall be done to true lines and exact batter.
9. Mortar. Mortar shall be mixed in a suitable box, and kept clean and free from foreign matter. Sand and cement shall be mixed dry and in small batches in proportions as directed by the engineer, water shall then be added, and the whole mixed until the mass of mortar is thoroughly homogeneous and leaves the hoe clean when drawn from it. Mechanical mixing to produce the same results may be permitted. Mortar shall not be re-tempered after it has begun to set.
10. Laying. The arrangement of courses and bond shall be as indicated on the drawings or as directed by the engineer. Stone shall be laid to exact lines and levels, to give the required bond and thickness of mortar in beds and joints.
11. Stone shall be cleansed and dampened before laying.
12. Stone shall be well bonded, laid on its natural bed and solidly settled into place in a full bed of mortar.
13. Stone shall not be dropped or slid over the wall, but shall be placed with out jarring stone already laid.
14. Heavy hammering shall not be allowed on the wall after a course is laid. 16. Stone becoming loose after the mortar is set shall be relaid with fresh mortar.
16. Stone shall not be laid in freezing weather, unless directed by the en gineer. If laid, it shall be freed from ice, snow or frost by warming; and the sand and water used in the mortar shall be heated.
17. With precaution, a brine may be substituted for the heating of the mor tar. The brine shall consist of one pound of salt to eighteen gallons of water, when the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit; and for every degree of tempera ture below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, dne ounce of salt shall be added.
18. Pointing. Before the mortar has set in beds and joints, it shall be removed to a depth of not less than one inch (1'). Pointing shall not be done until the wall is complete and mortar set, nor when frost is in the stone.
19. Mortar for pointing shall consist of equal parts of portland cement and sand sieved to meet the requirements. In pointing, the joints shall be wet and filled with mortar pounded in with a "set-in" or calking tool, and be finished with a beading tool of the width of the joint, used with a straight-edge.