He had been replacing wooden ties east of the Jamaica station, a railroad spokesman said.

Ethan knew the stress points, the wooden ties that held the most weight.

There were rusty rails underfoot, laid on rotting wooden ties.

Deeply rutted wooden ties on the bridge yesterday showed where the wheels had cut in.

They are fastened to wooden ties by means of spikes or bolts through holes in the plate.

But, for the moment, he is relying on word-of-mouth to spread the news of his wooden ties.

Panic flooded over her and she stumbled on the wooden ties.

That in turn caused some of the wooden ties between the rails to catch fire, which created a great deal of smoke.

Mr. Lebow said the fire also destroyed several of the wooden ties between the tracks.

Several wooden ties turned to charcoal, and the tunnel quickly filled with a choking, sooty smoke.