Erect the Uprights
first, and brace them with the diagonal boards, as shown in the diagram (Fig. 135). When you are certain the structure is firm and can stand the strain and weight of a loaded car, lay the two-by-four rails upon the ground, and fit them to the car-wheels by pushing the car over them, to see that they are just the right distance apart. If you make your track too wide the car-wheels will slip off the rails and run between them, and if you lay your track with too narrow a gauge the rails will pinch the flanges of the wheels so tightly that the car will stop, or the rails spread.
When one section of the track is laid and it is found that the car runs freely upon it, nail cross-ties of ordinary boards across from rail to rail, like a ladder. Then take the ladder, and turning it over so that the rails are on top (Fig. 136), adjust it to the tramway (Fig. 135), and fasten it securely, by nailing the cross-ties to the side-boards of the tramway.
In Fig. 135