The laying of the track through the "deep cut" led to an event of
great importance to future railway construction. The authorities at
Sing Sing having failed to deliver the stone blocks rapidly enough,
Mr. Stevens ordered hewn wooden cross ties to be laid temporarily, and
the rail to be directly spiked thereto. A number of these ties were
laid on the sharpest curves in the cut. They showed such satisfactory
properties when the road began to be operated that they were permitted
to remain, and the stone blocks already in the track were replaced by
wooden ties as rapidly as practicable. Without doubt the piece of
track in "deep cut" was the first in the world to be laid according to
the present American practice of spiking the rail directly to the
cross tie.