CHAPTER XVIII 



RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION 



The construction of the roadbed for a logging railroad usually 

 precedes logging by a few weeks, although it may be several 

 months or a year in advance. An advantage of the latter is 

 that the roadbed has an opportunity to settle before the steel is 

 laid and the road operated. This gives a more stable track and 

 one that is cheaper to maintain. In regions subject to heavy 

 rainfall and with earth that washes badly, this practice is not 

 desirable since the roadbed will suffer through erosion. 



CLEARING THE RIGHT-OF-WAY 



Previous to starting the grading of the right-of-way, it is 

 necessary to cut and remove the standing timber, brush and 

 stumps which will interfere with the roadbed. This work is often 

 done by contract at a stated price per acre, with or without an 

 additional payment for all merchantable saw logs cut. 



Main line rights-of-way are generally cut loo feet wide in order 

 to prevent the track from being covered with " down timber" 

 during wind storms. On spur roads the right-of-way is usually 

 from 1 8 to 50 feet wide. In the South, however, rights-of-way for 

 spurs are often made 120 feet wide in order to provide skidway 

 space on each side of the track. The right-of-way crew fells 

 the timber, removes the stumps from the roadbed, if necessary, 

 and cuts the brush from the skidway site. The timber adjacent 

 to the roadbed is not felled until the surroimding area is logged, 

 because insects seriously damage felled timber that remains in 

 the forest during the warm months. Where the skidway sites 

 are cleared off by the logging crew the cost is usually greater 

 than by the method above mentioned both because of the 

 enforced idleness of the teams and the low efficiency of team- 



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