On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 21:46:07 GMT, "Herman Family"
/without_any_s/ wrote:

If you want a very tough floor, then end grain up wood is among the
toughest. I've seen that in a railroad barn once.

One of the most interesting wood floors I've seen is the
milk-unloading dock at Edge Hill Station, in Liverpool (the Edge Hill
of Stephenson's Rocket fame).

To quieten the early-morning noise of milk churns being unloaded, the
(outdoor) floor was made of wood blocks. However these wood blocks
were pie-shaped wedges, recycled from the railway. An early form of
smooth-riding patent carriage wheel was the Maunsell wheel, a cast
iron hub, steel tyre and clamped-in wooden wedges instead of spokes.