28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



January 25, 1921 



PQWEU LOGGING 



Fuel Oil in Locomotives and Skidders 



By M. J. E. Hoban, Osceola Cypress Company, Osceola. Fla. 



As we only started our plant in February of this year, it is impos- 

 sible to give comparative costs of our experience in using oil for 

 fuel in our locomotives and skidders. We had our locomotive 

 equipped for oil burning at the commencement of our operations. 

 We, however, did get estimates from ofiicials of the railroad over 

 whose main line we have a haul, and we used these in determining 

 the relative costs between oil and coal. A locomotive from the 

 time it leaves our mill until its return will log about 2.50 miles. Our 

 loaded average train is about 500 tons of timber, and the fuel costs 

 us 12 cents per ton, or a little less than $60 for the round trip. Esti- 

 mates on coal consumption at the time varied from 4.5 to 60 cents 

 per ton. At the time we made the comparative figures fuel oil 

 was quoted 3.1 cents per gallon, against coal $15 per ton. Since 

 that time fuel oil has advanced considerably, and we understand 

 coal is not quite as high. 



One of the real advantages of oil is freedom from fires. The 

 Florida East Coast, over which road we operate, uses oil as fuel, 

 and has had no fires to pay for since installing oil. 



The saving in handling of oil is considerable. Our locumotives 

 take on 1,800 gallons of oil in a very few minutes, and you do no 

 refuel until the round trip is made. You can always keep your steam 

 just where you want it. We have already installed oil on one of our 

 skidders, and have the equipment on hand to install On our two 

 overhead skidders. Our pullboat burns from 350 to 400 gallons per 

 day, depending on the length of haul. This boiler is an 80-horse- 

 power high pressure Lidgerwood machine. Our experience with oil 

 is very satisfactory, and it is only a question of what you pay for 

 oil. Boughly, you can figure 145 to 175 gallons of oil to a ton of 

 coal, depending on the kind of coal. 



Drive — Power is taken from transmission case 

 winch through a gear train and propeller shaft, 

 hovel gears and internal gear type of planetary. 



The nigger head is located at extreme left of drum 



in rear and carried to 

 Final drive is through 



The "Caterpillar" with Winch 



The Holt ' ' Caterpillar ' ' winch attachment is said to be making 

 good wherever it is being employed, either in northern or southern 

 operations. The traction ability of the machine is not decreased 

 by the winch attachment,- but instead the operating range of the 

 caterpillar is actually increased. The wdnch easily skids logs out 

 of steep hollows or other inaccessible places and then the cater- 

 pillar may be used to skid the trail down the mountain or pull the 

 loaded wagons to the railroad or mills. .The combination makes an 

 unusually versatile machine. Winch specifications for 5-ton cater- 

 pillar tractors are as follows: 



Showing the Winch in Action 



SPEED AND POWER 



Pulling JIax. 



Speed Pull reverse 



STANDARD Ft. per niin. (lbs.) speed 



Low speed 108 10400 583 



High speed 252 4450 l.Sfio 



OPTIONAL 



Lciw speed 157 7080 .s47 



High speed 371 3010 2005 



OPTIONAL 



Low speed 192 5840 1030 



High speed 454 2485 2450 



Above reverse speeds are maximum. By slipping clutch any speed up to 



maximum can be obtained. Clutch is of ample size to permit slipping 

 indefinitely. 



WINDING DRUM 



Diameter of drum 8-in. 



Between flanges 13-in. 



CABLE CAPACITY 



i,;.-in. %-in. %-in. 



1300 ft. 850 ft. 590 ft. 



i Continued from page 26) 

 seller and the buyer. These reactions are industrial and commercial in 

 the sense of being immediate, but they leave mental grooves or tendencies 

 or prejudices both with the industry and with the public. 



We acquire wasteful habits in using cheap things and efficient habits 

 in using things that are dear. The higher-priced species of lumber are 

 assigned more definite grading rules with a greater number and variety 

 of grades. The higher price of better grade stimulates the use of a poorer 

 grade. White pine was once graded only as select and common : then the 

 common was graded as No. 1 and No. 2 — below was waste ; then No. 3 

 common was made and sold and No. 4 burned ; then No. 5 into the market, 

 and now No. 6 brings a price that No. 1 once brought. The higher price 

 stimulates the demand for little used species. Once the builder despised 

 hemlock ; once you and I talked of mahogany and walnut as the only 

 hardwoods, then oak, then gum and birch and maple came into our home. 

 This is because our American hardwoods were once too cheap and when 

 they became expensive we began to appreciate their beautiful grain and 

 textnrc.^ The higher price of lumber stimulates the invention or the 

 discovery of substitutes. Wire fences, cement sidewalks and fibre boxes 

 are classic examples. The higher price brings more careful use. It has 



been the inspiration of the wood-preserving industries. It has caused the 

 railroads to creosote their ties and timber : the farmer to paint his barn. 



If we look back in our industry but a few years, we see the waste that 

 has been caused by low prices, the fastidious use of clear boards, the 

 wasteful use of large sizes, which cause the lumbermen to leave the poorer 

 product in the forest. 



Forecasting future price trends of lumber, Mr. Goodman said that 

 while commodity price indices for lumber and building materials as 

 compared with the price indices of all commodities, as compiled by the 

 Aldrich report and the Bureau of Labor, show that lumber has advanced 

 relatively in the commodity scale from 1850 to 1920 at the rate of 7/10 

 of one per cent per annum, for the next ten years lumber will advance 

 relatively in the commodity scale at a rate possibly in excess of one per- 

 cent per annum. He believes that lumber may exceed the one percent 

 per annum advance because of accumulation of deferred demand over a 

 period of four years, which must be satisfied during the next ten years 

 of the reconstruction period. Other commodities are due to suffer a 

 decrease in value of SV> percent a year for the next twenty years from 

 1920. Mr. Goodman Ijiises this prediction on the decline Tvhi eh followed 

 the Civil War. 



