TIMBER-SLIDES. 333 



[In the Tihri-Garhwal railway-sleeper slide, a wire for an 

 electric bell at the top of the slide was provided along the 

 line, and men were stationed at intervals, so that if by any 

 chance the sleepers jammed, the men above might be warned 

 to stop sliding any more sleepers till matters had been set 

 right below. Tr.] 



In the case of temporary slides, as soon as all the wood 

 lying at the slide-top has been launched, the pieces which 

 have stopped on the way are sent down, and then the pieces 

 of the slide itself are taken up one by one, and sent down 

 the remainder of the slide. Usually the slide leads down to 

 the stream used for floating, into which the wood falls, but 

 if the logs fall on to the ground at the end of the slide, 

 one or two men must be there to roll them out of the way 

 of the succeeding logs, which might cause breakage if they 

 fell on other logs. All this work is very dangerous to people 

 who may be anywhere near the slide, and the workmen must 

 be exceedingly careful to avoid accidents. Sometimes, for 

 instance, a slide crosses a footpath or cart-road, or there 

 may be interruptions in the slide, or difficult places with 

 insufficient gradient, etc. At all such places men must be 

 posted to warn passers-by of danger, and to expedite the 

 logs, etc., which are descending. 



(b) Road-slides. In the transport of logs by road-slides 

 men must be posted along the slide ; they should place fresh 

 transverse pieces under the logs which are sliding-down, or 

 remove some of these pieces, according to the rate at which 

 the logs descend. They should also repair the roadway, where 

 any damage has been done, signal to the men above and, 

 below them, and generally expedite the work. On such slides 

 only one log descends at a time, and as soon as it has arrived 

 at the bottom of the slide a signal is given to launch a fresh 

 log, which three or four men effect at the top of the slides 

 with krempes. 



Road-slides with gradients of 8 12 % can be used only 

 in winter. With a gradient of 1250 % they may, how- 

 ever, be used in summer, and the logs always descend 

 butt-end first, the ends of the logs being rounded for the 

 purpose. 



