RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION 259 



In the Pacific Northwest, clearing a 50-foot right-of-way costs 

 from $2 to $12 per 100 feet, depending on the amount of brush, 

 down timber and standing timber on the site and the difficulties 

 of moving it. The average should not exceed $500 per mile 

 if the stumps are blasted and the timber is dragged from the 

 right-of-way by a yarding engine. 



Following the felling of the timber and the removal of stumps 

 comes the construction of the roadbed. This covers the move- 

 ment of earth and rock for cuts and fills, the construction of 

 trestles, culverts, cribbing and other timber structures. 



FILLS AND CUTS 



Fills on a logging road should be 12 or 14 feet wide on top for 

 a standard-gauge road and 10 or 12 feet wide for a narrow-gauge. 

 The standard slope for an earthwork fill is i^ : i.^ When the 

 fill is made from rock, a i : i slope may be ample. 



In cuts the roadbed must be wide enough to give room for a 

 drainage ditch on either side. These will require about 3 addi- 

 tional feet each, and the cut should be about 16 feet at the 

 base. In earth cuts the ratio of slope is i| : i and in solid rock 

 cuts the walls are perpendicular or nearly so. 



Main lines are graded up carefully, and suitable ditches main- 

 tained. Even on level sections it is desirable to elevate the 

 track and put in ditches, because of the cheaper cost of main- 

 tenance during wet weather. 



A form of main line spur track used in southern Arkansas 

 is shown in Fig. 75, a. 



The earth from the ditches is sufficient for ballasting the ties 

 and the grade costs but little except for the ditches. The 



' The angle of repose or slope that a face of earth makes with the horizontal 

 when not subjected to the elements is as follows: 



Compact earth 50 degrees or | to i 



Clay, well drained 45 degrees or i to i 



Gravel 40 degrees or i j to i 



Dry sand 38 degrees or i| to i 



Wet sand 22 degrees or 2^ to i 



Vegetable earth (loam) 28 degrees or if to i 



Wet clay i^ degrees or 3 to i 



V 



