COMMUNIST CHINA TO INTRODUCE REINFORCED CONCRETE RAILROAD TIES IN 1958

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP61S00527A000200120052-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 10, 1998
• Sequence Number: 52
• Publication Date: January 31, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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73
..Om Irv. .,=v Copy No.
31 January 1958
CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM
COMMUNIST CHINA TO INTRODUCE REINFORCED
CONCRETE RAILROAD TIES IN 1958
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This report represents the immediate views of the
originating intelligence components of the Office
of Research and Reports. Comments are solicited.
This document contains information affecting the national defense of
the United States, within the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18
USC, Sections 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which
in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
XICUCIOLIrMiA
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COMMUNIST CHINA TO INTRODUCE REINFORCED
CONCRETE RAILROAD TIES IN
The Communist Chinese Ministry of Railroads has announced that
it will produce one million steel-reinforced concrete ties in 1958
for use in railroad construction. 1/
The large-scale introduction of reinforced concrete ties during
1958 would help ease the lumber shortage currently plaguing the
Chinese. In 1957 more than 10 million ties were used in all types of
railroad construction--taking more than 10 percent of the national
production of lumber. 2/ Figuring 1,800 ties to a kilometer of rail-
road construction, one million ties will suffice for more than 550 km
of track and will save about 165,000 cubic meters of lumber. A state-
ment by the Chinese, "There are still some operational questions pre-
venting the introduction of reinforced concrete ties on the new rail-
road lines" 3/, indicates that experimentation is continuing on such
ties. Meantime, they will probably not be used on other than spur,
branch, and station lines.
Wooden ties cost from nine to 14 yuan apiece and reinforced
concrete ties from 17 to 20 yuan apiece. 4/ The life of reinforced
concrete ties, however, is two to three times that of wooden ties
and maintenance costs are about 25 percent less. 5/ Their longevity
would greatly reduce the number of deteriorated wooden ties to be re--
placed annually.
The use of reinforced concrete ties is at least 50 years old.
Hungary and West Germany, particularly, have made considerable use
of them. Relatively little track has been laid on reinforced concrete
ties in China. The USSR began producing this type of tie in 1955
and the original goal for the Sixth Five-Year Plan (195660) was 10
million ties. 6/ Technical difficulties in the production process,
however, have led to a downward revision of the goal to four million
ties. 7/ Poor Soviet performance in 1956 and 1957, coupled with the
reviseo plan, suggests that the Chinese too will have difficulty in
producing the planned one million reinforced concrete ties in 1958,
their first year of production.
Buttressing this belief is the statement by the Chinese that
two of the three permanent factories being established for production
of reinforced concrete ties "may" go into production in 1958. 8/
By the end of 1959 these plants and four temporary ones are scheduled
to produce 2.2 million to 2.5 million prestressed reinforced concrete
ties annually, but, again, based on Soviet experience, this figure
seems optimistic.
31 January 1958 CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM 543 Page 2
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Analyst:
25X1A9a
Coord:
Sources:
1.
CIA. FDD Summary no. 1637, 13 Jan 58, p. 14, OFF USE
2.
Ibid., Summary no 1370, 18 Jun 57, p. 39, C
3.
State, Hong Kong, Extracts from China Mainland Magazines,
no 108, 25 Nov 57, p. 30, U
4,
Ibid.
5.
MIT
FDD Summary no 1637, op. cit.
6.
Gudok,
no 32, 8 Feb 56, p.
7.
Imo,
14 May 57, p. 3, U
8.
CIA.
FDD Summary no 1637, op. cit.
31 January 1958 CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM 543 Page 3
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